ACL Tears and Treatment

The anterior cruciate ligament is a key mechanism that stabilizes the knee. If torn, the knee will lose stability. Later on, this will lead to damage on the knee ligament and knee joint, which will need knee replacement to fix.

ACL sprains and tears usually happen to active persons between the age of 15 to 25. The injury often occurs in sports such as basketball due to landing from a high jump, sudden changes in direction, and quickly stopping from a sprint.

The most common signs of ACL sprains and tears include a popping sound while walking or moving the knee in general, pain, and swelling. Most of the time, this can be treated non-surgically through resting, icing, compression, and elevation. If the ACL is torn, however, ACL surgery will have to be done.

Anatomic ACL reconstruction surgery is a new procedure that is not widely offered by orthopedic surgeons. In this procedure, a patient may choose to get tissue from another part of his/her body or choose to make use of donor tissue to replace the torn ACL. This will help the injury heal faster and perform better in the future.

Dr. Christian Yaste is one of the few orthopedic surgeons that offer ACL reconstruction.