Have you experienced?

  • An incident of planting and pivoting your foot or hyperextending your knee followed by extreme pain in your knee joint
  • Large amounts of swelling in the knee joint immediately after the injury occurred
  • Subsequent loss of strength and feeling like your knee will give way from underneath you

Have you seen?

  • Your family doctor for a referral to an orthopaedic specialist
  • A Physio or Athletic Therapist to assist in the healing process, maintain strength and flexibility
  • A bracing specialist to be fitted for an off-the-shelf or custom knee brace to help with stability

What to know about your ACL:

  1. The ACL is a small but very important ligament inside the knee joint. It helps to prevent unwanted forward movement of your tibia (shin bone) and accounts for approximately 90% of the stability in your knee joint.  Without it the knee feels wobbly and unstable.
  2. Female athletes are up to 8 times more likely to sustain an ACL injury while playing sports. Increased risk factors include pelvic-knee alignment, joint laxity, muscle development and hormonal differences.
  3. ACL injuries can occur on their own or in combination with other structures of the knee. Most commonly called the “terrible triad”, this injury involves the ACL, MCL (medial ligament) and medial meniscus.

When NOT to have surgery:

  • There is only a partial tear of the ACL
  • The growth plates have not yet fused (young athletes)
  • The tear is complete but instability, pain and swelling is minimal