Whether you’re an athlete pushing your body for speed and precision, or a person who has a history of knee injuries and concerns about risks of knee instability and falls, you need to take an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear seriously.
This ligament is one of the bands of tissue holding your knee joint together, and it may strain or tear into two pieces under physical stress.
At the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, sports medicine expert Dr. Michael Blackwell ensures that your ACL injury receives the right treatment. Dr. Blackwell provides care for ACL injuries from his two locations in Tomball and offices in Kingwood and Conroe, Texas.
Some individuals need surgery to fully repair a torn ACL, while others can recover sufficiently with rest, pain relief support, and physical therapy. The severity of the injury and the amount of pressure you plan to put on your knees in the future are deciding factors.
Strong, flexible bands of tissue hold the ball and socket of your knee joint together. These bands include your ACL and your posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). The ACL is located toward the front of your knee joint, while the PCL is farther back. You need these ligaments to control the movement of the joint and prevent it from coming apart.
Your ACL is particularly vulnerable to injury after falls and accidents. In his sports medicine practice, Dr. Blackwell observes that ACL tears occur most often in athletes who land after jumps or pivot sharply to change direction while not sacrificing speed or momentum.
Partial ACL tears are more likely to be treatable without surgery. When your ACL tears into separate pieces, you’ve experienced a more severe injury than a strain. If the ACL is in multiple pieces, surgery allows Dr. Blackwell to reattach them, using grafts to restore this part of your knee’s interior structure.
The severity of your injury is only part of what we consider when considering surgical vs. nonsurgical treatments. Dr. Blackwell also asks about your future activity plans and risk concerns.
For example, if you want to be able to continue an athletic career, which means putting intense pressure on your knee after an ACL injury, you need surgery for complete knee joint restabilization.
Surgical treatment also decreases your risk of losing knee stability in the future, meaning that you won’t need to worry as much about your ongoing chances of falls, trips, and further injuries.
If your injury is mild to moderate, or if you’re content with future plans involving only moderate, low-impact physical activity, you may be able to avoid surgery for an ACL tear. If you decide to pursue nonsurgical treatment, Dr. Blackwell supports you as you heal with targeted physical therapy and pain management support.
If you’ve suffered an ACL injury and need evaluation and treatment, contact Dr. Blackwell at the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine today.
Whether you plan on ACL repair surgery or nonsurgical recovery, seek medical care as soon as possible after your injury. Call now to set up your consultation, or book online with our easy-to-use scheduling tool.
