ACL Injuries and Chiropractic Care

An ACL injury is one of the most common and well-known knee injuries. Tearing an ACL often occurs during sports, and it is a common injury among athletes, especially soccer, basketball, and football players. However, ACL injuries can also happen outside of athletes, but it is less common.

What is an ACL?

ACL stands for Anterior Cruciate Ligament, and this ligament runs diagonally across the middle of your knee and has many different functions. The ACL is responsible for stabilizing rotational movements at the knee, which occur when you pivot. The ACL is also a secondary restraint to knee hyperextension.

How Does an ACL Injury Happen?

An ACL injury normally occurs without any contact from another person. The most common form of an ACL injury is a deceleration injury that occurs when an athlete is planting or changes directions, and the ACL cannot withstand the force of it, so it tears. This will cause the knee to give out or buckle. The ACL can also be torn if it is hyperextended when landing from a jump. 

The last way an ACL injury occurs is with direct contact with another person that hyperextends the ligament. However, these injuries often involve more than one ligament.  

How Do You Know That You Tore Your ACL?

When the tear happens, you will often hear a popping noise or feel it give out from under you. Within 24 hours, it should begin to swell and become painful. 

What Is The Treatment for an ACL Tear?

Unfortunately, the only true treatment option for an ACL tear is surgery. The reconstructive surgery, rehabilitation, and recovery process can take 8 to 12 months. This may make you wonder how chiropractic care can help! 

How Can Chiropractic Care Help a Torn ACL?

Going to a chiropractor can help with recovering from an ACL tear post-surgery, but it can also be preventative. Regular chiropractic care can help with the prevention of an ACL injury in an athlete. Helping prevent ACL injuries for athletes includes increasing flexibility and strength to the knees and lower body. 

This doesn’t help if you have already torn your ACL and are looking for other ways to help the long recovery process to possibly move along faster. Depending on the severity of the ACL injury, chiropractic care may be able to assist in the recovery process. A chiropractor can help restore the proper knee function and motion, no matter if it is a sprain or tear. Chiropractic care can help restore the knee to full motion after the initial injury. 

Closing

An ACL injury may also be an indicator of other injuries from playing different high impact sports. If you participate in high impact sports there may be benefits to visiting a chiropractor to improve your flexibility and increase your body’s ability to heal. 

At Fletcher Chiropractic in Lincoln, Nebraska, we want to help you to get back to the sports you love and being able to perform everyday tasks. If you have a torn or injured ACL consider scheduling an appointment today to see if we can help you out!!