subject: Definition, Causes, Symptoms and Prevention of ACL Injuries [print this page] Definition, Causes, Symptoms and Prevention of ACL Injuries
What are the symptoms of ACL injuries?
Symptoms of this musculoskeletal injury include:
? A sudden popping sound, instability and swelling of the knee
? Moderate to severe pain
If these symptoms are ignored or left unchecked and untreated, continued athletic activity, particularly on the injured knee can result to devastating consequences. This may include the risk of developing osteoarthritis and massive cartilage damage.
What are the possible causes of ACL injuries?
The most common instance of Anterior Cruciate Ligament injuries is when an athlete decelerates rapidly and suddenly changes in direction. It is also associated with stiff-legged or heavy landing and turning or twisting the knee while landing.
Are women also prone to ACL injuries?
Yes, women who are into sports like:
? Basketball;
? Soccer/football;
? Volleyball; and
? Tennis
are the ones prone to ACL injury. It is even mentioned that women are more prone to it than men. It is speculated that this is due to the difference between the sexies in terms of general muscular strength, anatomy, training techniques, reaction time of muscle coordination and contraction. There are also studies that mention that hormone-induced changes in muscle tension due to a woman's menstrual cycle can also contribute to the risk. It is also noted that since women have a wider pelvis, the femur is forced to angle toward the knee.
Though there are various types of information and misconceptions about ACL injuries in athletes, most would agree that it is definitely a result of such athletes landing flat on their heels when force is directed to the tibia and to the knee. So if there is a sudden forward slide of the tibia, the femur is restrained by the ACL injury.
How are ACL injuries diagnosed?
There are different tests that the doctor will necessitate for proper diagnosis. This includes the following:
? The anterior drawer test
? The pivot-shift test
? The Lachman test
? Through MRI scan
Are there ways to prevent ACL injuries?
Yes, there are ways to prevent an ACL injury and these should be taken seriously. What you can do is to start implementing and adding warm up drills such as balancing and jumping. Doing so can help increase neuromuscular conditioning and control. It is important to focus on making the leg muscles stronger such as the hamstrings and the quadriceps.
Other good ways to prevent ACL injuries are:
? To not wear shoes with cleats when playing contact sports
? To do some forward running in order to warm up the hamstrings and the hip extensors
? To change mechanics such as cutting and pivoting excessively
? To avoid sports like soccer, football and basketball as much as possible
? To wear a knee brace
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