Anterior cruciate ligament

The anterior cruciate ligament (or ACL) is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It connects from a posterio-lateral (back & outside) part of the femur to an anterio-medial (front & inside) part of the tibia.

Related Topics:
Ligament - Knee - Femur - Tibia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Damage to the ACL frequently occurs with lateral blows to the knee (as happens with a tackle from the side in American football) and often is accompanied by injuries to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and the medial meniscus, which is attached to the MCL; physicians are taught "...knee injuries come in threes - anterior cruciate, medial collateral, medial meniscus." Clinical studies, however, have noted a lateral meniscal tear to occur more commonly than the classic "terrible triad" noted previously. A damaged ACL can be confirmed (clinically) by a physician with the anterior drawer test, the Lachman test, or an MRI.

Related Topics:
American football - Medial collateral ligament - Medial meniscus - Anterior drawer test - Lachman test - MRI

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Non-contact tears or ruptures of the ACL often occur when athletes moving quickly in one direction make a sharp or sudden change in direction (cutting). In jump sports, ACL failure has been linked to heavy or stiff landing as well as twisting or turning the knee while landing. Studies indicate that women in jumping and cutting sports such as basketball, volleyball, cheerleading, or football (soccer), are significantly more prone to ACL injuries than men; this is generally believed to be due to differences between the sexes in the angle between the hip and knee, general muscular strength, and possibly training techniques (a new study suggests hormone-induced changes in muscle tension associated with menstrual cycles may be an important factor http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s1340448.htm). Women athletes are being taught safer jumping and landing techniques to better protect them from cruciate injury http://www.casebook.kneeguru.co.uk/fnoyes/index.php.

Related Topics:
Basketball - Volleyball - Cheerleading - Football - Hip

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is one of the most common serious injuries in Association Football (Soccer) and Australian Rules football. ACL injuries are also common in alpine skiing, partially because of improvements in boots. Today's boots have been successful in preventing many of the ankle and leg fractures once caused by accidents; however, the tradeoff has been that the stresses have been transferred to the knees, resulting in many ACL tears.

Related Topics:
Association Football - Australian Rules football - Alpine skiing

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

An ACL injury can often be debilitating for far longer than a broken leg.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~