Ligament injury is more common than people think and it is not something that’s particularly limited to athletes. Ligament injury is a result of overstretching, tearing, and breakage of cords of elastic and tough fibrous tissue present in the joints connecting two bones. Causes of ligament injury include accidents, sudden falls, playing sports, and imbalance during activity.
Moreover, poor nutrition can cause weak tendons and ligaments leaving them unprepared for even small traumas. The ligament injury treatment is then performed according to the measure of severity of the Acl injury followed by the precautions to avoid re-injury.
This article navigates the reader through the basic understanding of ACL, ACL injury detection, measuring the severity of ligament injury, ligament injury treatment, after-injury effects, dietary additions, and precautions.
What is ACL?
ACL stands for Anterior Cruciate Ligament. This ligament is present in the knee joint holding the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shin bone) and stabilises the functions.
How can one detect an ACL tear?
Someone with an ACL tear can hear a popping sound in the knees, followed by swelling, pain as well a restricted range of motion. Depending on the grade or degree of the injury ACL tear treatments include ACL surgery, rehabilitation, a prescribed diet for faster recovery, etc.
What Are The Measures Of Severity Of Ligament Injuries?
Just like most of the ligament injury treatment, ACL injuries are also measured in degrees. These degrees are general classification of the severity of the ligament tear. The categories are as follows:
- Grade 1: In this, the fibrous tissue is slightly stretched with little damage. This Acl injury doesn’t affect any mobility restrictions and can heal on its own with subtle care. Most people don’t even feel pain in this.
- Grade 2: When the ligament is stretched to an extent where it shows cracks or is partially torn on the screen tests, it comes under Grade 2. This ACL tear is painful and restricts the range of motion. Possible treatment options include medication, rehabilitation as well as ligament strengthening exercises.
- Grade 3: When the ACL in the joint is completely broken it is considered a third-degree/grade 3 case. The treatment includes surgery, rehabilitation, and follow-ups.
What Are The Recommended Ligament Injury Treatments?
After analysing the severity of the injury, the patient is prescribed a suitable ACL tear treatment that includes primary care, conservative ACL tear treatments, advanced ACL injury treatments, ACL surgery, and alternative therapies. The initial ACL Injury treatment starts with:
Primary Care
R.I.C.E Method
In this method the patient is advised to take appropriate rest from the activity that might have caused the injury. They are prohibited from using that particular muscle group for recovery while applying ice packs every 2-3 hours after the injury for up to 2 days. In addition, patients under recovery are required to do compression with an elastic band aid to provide support, and elevation of the affected area.
Rehabilitation
For the patient to return to regular activities, rehabilitation is necessary. To restore the range of motion and stability of the knees, the patient is sent through physical therapy followed by functional training and a gradual return to activity.
Conservative ACL Injury Treatments
Conservative ACL tear treatments are generally used for treating Grade1 or 2 injuries and usually focus on restoring the function, relieving the pain and swelling by a combination of:
Medications
Depending on the severity of the ACL tear, the patients are prescribed pain-relievers medicine and follow-ups after analysing their screen tests such as X-rays, MRI scans, and ultrasounds. The most commonly prescribed medicines include ibuprofen and naproxen proven for reducing pain and inflammation.
Physical Therapy
Patients gradually restore their mobility via a combination of exercises that improve their range of motion and flexibility, as well as, strength exercises that improve stability. These include heel slides, hamstring stretches, leg raises, hamstring curls, clamshells, planks, etc.
Weight Management
The patient is advised to take rest and eat nutritious food with added supplements to recover. This often leads to weight gain. Naturally, extra weight increases the stress on the knee joint and that’s least favourable during recovery. To balance out the equation, the exercises that leads to weight loss without or with minimum use of the affected muscle region is recommended.
Joint Protection
This focuses on using proper techniques while performing any activity to eliminate the chances of further injury and use of proper gear. The use of proper medical support gears like elastic band aid, knee caps, crutches, etc.
Activity Modification
Avoid high-impact activities that may require sudden pivoting, jumping, running, etc., and instead indulge in sports or activities that put low impact on the knee joint such as swimming, cycling, etc.
Advanced ACL Tear Treatments
All the new advancements in medical treatments come under Advanced ACL Tear treatments. These methods are most prevalent these days and have shown faster recoveries and ability to regain the same or even better performance levels for athletes.
Bracing and Orthotics Supports
Bracing provides extra support and stability to the knee that even results in faster recovery. Orthotic devices reduce the stress on the knee joint as well as improve the alignment of the knee.
Injectables
This ACL injury treatment includes platelet-rich plasma therapy, stem cell therapy, and prolotherapy.
- Platelet-rich plasma therapy: It includes injecting a concentration of platelets from the patient’s blood to the affected area.
- Stem Cell Therapy: This therapy includes deriving stem cells from the adipose tissue or bone marrow and injecting them into the affected area.
- Prolotherapy: This involves injecting irritants to activate the body’s healing response that further stimulates and strengthens the ligament.
ACL Surgeries
This ACL injury treatment is required for the Grade 3 ACL injuries or when recovery failed with the conservative approach.
- Arthroscopic ACL Reconstruction: A minimally invasive surgery where small incisions are made with the help of an arthroscope (small camera) and surgical instruments the graft (either autograft or allograft) to replace the ACL tear.
- Open ACL Reconstruction: A method in which the larger incisions are made to access the knee joint and hence, is less prevalent these days.
- ACL Repair: This surgery involves the suturing the ends of the ACL together rather than completely replacing the ACL with the graft. Comparatively the success rate of this surgery is marginally lower than the other two mentioned above and hence, is less exercised.
- ACL Revision Surgery: This surgery is specifically performed only when grafts are unable to integrate properly after the initial reconstruction surgery or the ACL reconstruction surgery itself fails.
Alternative Therapies
These therapies are prevalent in all parts of the world and have shown tremendous results in patients. These therapies are great if used alongside physical therapy as the combination makes the affected area stronger while relaxing the tensed muscles resulting in faster recovery.
- Cryotherapy: This therapy involves applying a cold compress on the ACL tear or affected area to reduce inflammation and relieve pain.
- Thermotherapy: It also goes by the name heat therapy which is to apply heat to the affected area to release pain and reduce muscle tension.
- Acupuncture: It involves the insertion of fine needles to certain pressure points that relieve pain, and muscle tension and promote health.
- Massage: These are often used alongside physical therapy and are useful for the healing process after an ACL tear.
How Long Does It Take To Recover?
Recovering after an ACL injury can take as little as 3 months to 1 year completely depending on the severity of the injury as well as the ACL tear Treatment the patient went through.
After Effects of Ligament Injury on Mental and Physical Health
After an Acl tear surgery, a patient goes through a lot both physically and mentally during the recovery phase. The recovery phase requires rest, simple movements, good nutrition and no sports that are immensely harder for athletes.
Psychological / Mental Health
After undergoing ACL tear treatments, especially ACL surgeries, patients are usually seen suffering with:
- Anxiety and Stress
- Irritation and frustration
- Anti-social behaviour
- Depression
This happens due to several reasons such as relying on others to perform their daily chores, inability to play sports, uncertainty of proper recovery, chances of re-injury, prolonged pain, limited mobility, etc. To combat these factors psychological counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy are recommended.
Physical Health
There are many after-effects that one has to go through post-treatment such as:
- Weight gain
- Muscle loss
- Low energy level
- Decline in performance
- Chances of Re-injury
Due to mobility restrictions, not using a particular muscle group anymore during the time of recovery can lead to weight gain as well as muscle loss. This also affects the performance levels of a person and makes it even harder for the athletes to cope. Due to pain, scarring, swelling, and weakness, there is always a small possibility of re-injury.
Preventive Measures to Avoid Ligament Injuries
Although there is a good possibility of recovery, one must always take preventive measures. It guidelines the training of the affected area and the muscle group around it for better stability, support, and alignment. The procedure includes:
- Strength exercises
- Proper warm-ups and stretching
- Use of proper gears
- Regular follow-ups
While following these even the athletes can return to the same performance score or even better post ACL surgery.
Dietary Additions
Diet plays one of the most important factors post-ACL surgery. A diet that is rich in protein, calcium, vitamin B6, and B12 is generally prescribed as it strengthens the tendons and ligaments.
Conclusion
Knowing possible ligament injury treatment options is crucial as ACL injuries are common among people and sportspersons. It can have an impact on both the person’s body and mind alike. This article gives a proper guideline to our readers about the causes, degrees, detection of ACL injury, ACL injury treatments, after effects, aftercare, and on top of it preventive measures.
Find effective treatment for ligament injuries of all levels at Santokh Hospital. Visit for an initial consultation to discover all the available treatment options and how you can join the road to recovery. Our resident and visiting specialists undergo in-depth investigation to suggest the best possible treatment options.