Are you an athlete who loves and enjoys sporting activities? You have an increased risk of developing an ACL tear when you injure yourself during a sporting activity. ACL injuries may especially be common if your sporting activity involves sudden changes in direction and landing sports.
Pearland ACL repairs involve comprehensive treatments, including rehabilitation programs and surgery to support recovery. But if you have joint instability, you may require surgery to repair your ligament and anchor your tendon. The following discussion will highlight important information you need about ACL repair and how it can help treat your pain after an ACL injury.
What Symptoms Indicate an ACL Tear?
Usually, you may hear a popping sensation in your knee when you develop an ACL tear. Your knee may feel unstable, swell and become too painful to hold your weight. Pain may be so severe that you may be unable to continue your regular activity, lose your range of motion, and develop rapid swelling.
You may need immediate medical care if you have a knee injury that causes symptoms similar to an ACL injury. Immediate treatment can help your doctor make an accurate diagnosis and recommend proper treatment depending on the severity of the knee injury.
What Increases Your Risk For an ACL Tear?
Because of anatomical differences, you may have an increased risk of developing an ACL tear if you are female. Secondly, your risk may increase if you participate in certain sports, use faulty movement patterns and use poorly maintained sports equipment.
What Treatments Can Help Repair Your Torn ACL?
You may receive immediate treatment following a knee injury. Prompt treatment may include general rest to promote healing, ice to reduce swelling, applying compression around your knee, and lying down with your knee elevated. Other treatment options will be discussed in the following discussion.
Rehabilitation
Your treatment will begin with several rehabilitation sessions in the following weeks to help improve your ACL symptoms. During rehabilitation, your doctor will teach you exercises you can perform at home. Your doctor may also recommend wearing a brace to stabilize your knee while avoiding putting weight on your affected knee as you continue your recovery. Rehabilitation aims to reduce pain and swelling to help restore a full range of motion and strengthen your knee muscles.
Surgery
Your doctor may recommend ACL reconstruction if you are an athlete and would wish to continue engaging in your sporting activities. Surgery may also be beneficial if you have more than one knee ligament injury and the injury is causing knee buckling during daily activities. During surgery, your doctor will replace the damaged ligament with a graft to connect your muscle to the bone. After surgery, your doctor may recommend rehabilitative programs to restore knee stability and function.
After an ACL injury, you may develop pain and instability that interferes with your ability to move. Therefore, you may require immediate medical treatment to reduce your pain and allow you to resume regular activities. Your doctor may recommend rehabilitation to lower pain and swelling, thus restoring full function to your knees and strengthening your knee muscles.
Conversely, surgery may be necessary if you wish to continue your sporting activity and have more than one ligament injury in your knee. You can then go for rehabilitative therapy after surgery to improve your knee function.