ACL Injuries New York - When is ACL Reconstruction Surgery is Necessary?

In New York orthopedic surgeons see hundreds of ACL injuries to various degrees of severity. Not all ACL injuries require surgical treatment, however. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a very important ligament in the knee. If the ACL is damaged or torn it can greatly impact physical abilities.  ACL injuries are mostly commonly found in athletes, as they are susceptible to knee and other joint injuries within the realm of high-impact sports.

Signs of a twisted or strained ACL can include a “pop” being heard, immediate onset of swelling in the area, intense pain, and a buckling or unstable sensation in the knee.  Before diagnosing ACL Injuries New York orthopedic specialists will perform tests such as the Lachman Test, Anterior Drawer Test, and Pivot Shift Test to see how much the tibia moves in relation to the femur. In some cases, an X-ray or MRI may be ordered in order to visualize and assess any internal damage to the surrounding soft tissues of the injured area.

Depending on the degree of the ACL injury, your New York sports injury doctor will recommend the appropriate treatment plan. He or she will immediately recommend the well-known rule of RICE:

• Rest the knee by using crutches and keeping weight off of it
• Ice the knee
• Compress the knee with a wrap
• Elevate the leg

Non-surgical treatment is generally recommended for less serious ACL injuries, as well as for those patients who can adapt to the lifestyle. While surgery is often the best cure, it does also require a rehabilitation period. Most older patients who can adapt to becoming less active, & avoid high-intensity sports will do fine with a non-surgical treatment, though they do run the risk of reinjury. Athletes and younger patients who wish to continue with high-intensity, pivoting sports such as soccer, tennis, basketball, football, etc, or who received more than one major ACL injury, or who continue to experience symptoms well after the non-surgical treatment, may be good candidates for ACL reconstruction surgery.

After ACL reconstruction New York patients will enter a structured rehabilitation program. From the time of the surgery it will take about 6 months before an athlete may return to supervised sports playing. Usually, about a year following surgery, the doctor will evaluate the knee to measure the final results of the reconstruction in these areas:

• Motion
• Stability
• Symptoms such as pain or swelling
• How well the knee functions in daily living
• Whether or not the patient has been able to return to sports

Some of these follow-up exams have shown that 90 to 95% of patients with ACL reconstructions have good to excellent results.

Although most specialists will say that surgery is not critical to every treatment process of an ACL injury, reconstruction surgery does provide incredible results. Whether or not a patient is considering a lifetime of high-impact sports playing, surgical treatment does get a person back on his or her feet quicker, and reduces the risk of reinjury.