ACL Soccer Injury
ACL Soccer Injury - What is ACL?
ACL Soccer Injury - Introduction to ACL Knee Ligament
ACL, or Anterior Cruciate Ligament, is one of four knee ligaments holding the knee joint together.
Purpose for ACL knee ligament is to hold the knee in place, and not allow the knee to move back and forth.
Unlike MCL and LCL knee ligaments that are located on the side of the knee (inside and outside) preventing it from moving sideways, ACL and PCL are two knee ligaments that form an X inside the knee, preventing it from moving inside/outside, forward/backward.
ACL tear can range from
mild stretching of the ligament, to completely tearing the ACL knee
ligament, requiring surgery to fix the damage done.
It is very important to treat any type of ACL knee injury, because no treatment can lead to much worse outcome for days, months or years to come.
ACL strain or full tear can happen for various reasons, contact or non-contact.
ACL
soccer injury, in most cases, will occur in non-contact situations when
the knee joint is twisted or bent by the player pivoting or landing
from a jump.
Being
hit by another athlete may also lead to an ACL knee injury, however it is a
lot more common that an athlete will cause the ACL knee injury on their
own; by simply twisting or turning their knee the wrong way, causing the injury to themselves.
It is also very common that other surrounding knee ligaments will get injured at the same time that ACL knee injury occurs.
ACL Soccer Injury - Common Symptoms
- Hearing or feeling a POP, followed by pain on the outside and the back of the knee.
- Swelling will develop within the first few hours of the ACL knee
injury.
- Rapid swelling within minutes is usually a sign of a more
serious ACL tear.
- Knee movement will be limited because of
pain and swelling.
- Knee will feel unstable when putting weight on it, buckling or giving out.
Most important thing when feeling like there has been a knee ligament injury is to STOP playing.
STOPPING
may prevent an athlete from making the injury much worse with pain and
swelling showing after the body has cooled down.
ACL knee injury can be a mild strain, partial tear of the knee ligament, or a complete tear of one or more of the knee ligaments.
Strains and
partial tears of the ACL are rehabilitated through time and proper
rehabilitation program, while a complete tear of the ACL will require
surgery.
It is hard to assess the damage of the ACL injury, so it is very important to consult a doctor for proper assessment of the injury.
Doctors
will compare the injured knee to the healthy one, and decide on whether
or not an X-Ray, MRI or Arthroscopy needs to be done.
Knee injuries are classified into Grade I, Grade II and Grade III injuries.
ACL Soccer Injury - GRADE I
Grade I ACL knee injuries happen when the ligament fibers are over stretched but there is no tear in the ligament.
There may be little tenderness and swelling, but the knee will still feel stable during activity.
Treatment for a mild strain of the ACL Knee Ligament will be RICE.
- Rest
- Ice
- Compress
- Elevate
Athlete should stay away from playing soccer or other sports for 1 - 2 weeks for proper healing of the ligament.
ACL Soccer Injury - GRADE II
Grade II ACL ligament injury occurs when the ligament fibers are partially torn.
Tenderness and more swelling will follow with the knee showing symptoms of instability when putting weight on it.
Treatment for Grade II ACL Knee Ligament Injury will start with RICE (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate).
- Rest
- Ice
- Compress
- Elevate
- Inflammatory medication to help reduce swelling.
- Exercises to return mobility and strength.
- Seeing a doctor is recommended to assess full extent of the injury.
- Treatment will last 6 - 8 weeks.
ACL Soccer Injury - GRADE III
Grade III ACL injury is diagnosed when the ligament tendons are completely torn.
There will be little tenderness that will follow with a lot or little swelling.
Surprisingly, there is no severe pain when an ACL Knee Ligament is torn.
Knee will feel unstable and the athlete will not be able to control the knee movements.
Treatment will require knee surgery, and ACL rehab afterwards.
This type of injury to the ACL Knee Ligament will keep the athlete sidelined for at least 6 months.
Doctor should be seen immediately to properly assess the damage of the ligament.
RICE
(Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate) is a good way to treat the injury right away before seeing a doctor.
Use of crutches or
knee immobilizer is recommended to keep the knee still after an
ACL tear.
Seeing a Doctor is crucial to prevent long term history of ACL ligament injury.
After surgery, athletes will have to spend several months in rehab to bring the ACL Ligament to full strength before returning to playing sports.
Knee Treatment and Recovery
Knee treatment will depend on many factors such as how much of the ACL ligament is torn, are there any other parts of the knee injured, how active you are, health, age and how long ago the injury occurred.
Chance of ACL injury can be greatly reduced by simply stretching and warming up before any activity that requires running and sudden change of direction.
For more information on different knee injuries and rehabilitation visit Different Knee Injuries.
| Soccer Related Injuries & More |
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| ACL Injuries ACL or Anterior Cruciate Ligament is one of four knee ligaments holding the knee joint together. |
| ACL Injury Recovery ACL Injury Recovery will be needed after every ACL ligament tear or mild sprain. |
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| Common Soccer Injuries I wanted to create one web page with information on common soccer injuries and what these injuries feel like so that you can sometime recognize what is going on when it does happen to you or your players. |
| Hamstring Exercises Many athletes and regular people have hurt their hamstring at one point in their life and know how discomforting a hurt hamstring can feel. |
| Treatment for Injured Hamstring Hamstring injury treatment will vary depending on the severity of the injury. |
| Hamstring Injury Hamstring muscle injuries occur very frequently in athletes participating in various physically demanding sports that require sprinting and sudden change of movement and speed. |
| Hamstring Stretches Stretching the hamstring muscles is very important for our overall health as it reduces lower back pain and gives us strong and lean hamstrings that will help with our lower body range of motion. |
| High Ankle Sprain Ankle Syndesmosis injuries are often referred to what people call high ankle injury due to ankle swelling and ankle joint pain in the ligaments above the ankle. |
| How To Tape Your Ankle Ankle taping is a big part of preventing ankle injury for players participating in any type of sport where running and change of direction is required, such as soccer, football, basketball etc. |
| Knee Injuries in Soccer Knee injuries are very common in sports that require running and change of direction. Soccer is one of many sports where ligament injuries have a chance to sideline the player for longer periods of time. |
| LCL Knee Injury LCL (lateral collateral ligament) is one of the four knee ligaments holding the knee in place. |
| LCL Injury Recovery When it comes to LCL ligament injury, time is the best healing process and surgery is rarely required for treatment of common lateral collateral ligament injuries. |
| MCL Knee Injury MCL or Medial Collateral Ligament is one of the FOUR major ligaments that hold the knee together preventing it from sliding left and right or back and forth. |
| MCL Injury Recovery MCL rehab is needed after an MCL ligament injury and time is the best friend in getting over the MCL knee injury. |
| PCL Knee Injury PCL ligament crosses with the ACL ligament preventing our knee from moving back and forth. |
| PCL Injury Recovery PCL injury rehab will be different depending on the level or degree of knee injury suffered. |
| Ankle Injury Most sport players have twisted their ankle at least once considering that rolled ankle is one of the top sport injuries so I decided to cover everything about ankle sprain in this article. |
| Concussion Symptoms What is a concussion? Concussion is a traumatic head injury that occurs from mild or severe blow to the head. |
| Concussion Treatment Following a concussion, rest is the best answer for concussion treatment. |