Knee Injury Research Paper

Words: 1341
Pages: 6

“Your MRI results came back, and I am sorry to inform you that you have completely severed your ACL.” This sentence still sends chills down my spine and makes my heart sink to my feet, and yet, it a sentence that is being told to young athletes more often now than ever. I have heard that exact same sentence three times in my life, and I can attest to how defeating it is to be told that you cannot play a sport anymore due to a knee injury. The knee joint is the leading cause of sports-related injuries among young athletes, and the ACL is one of the most commonly torn ligaments in the knee (Joseph, et al.). With more athletes than ever experiencing ACL injuries, there are variety of risk factors that could potentially increase an athlete’s chance of tearing his or her ACL which include skeletal maturity, body composition, and even the sport one plays. …show more content…
The ACL is a ligament found inside the knee joint that runs diagonally in the middle of the knee. Its job is to regulate the back and forth motion of the knee and prevent the tibia from sliding in front of the femur. Without the ACL, the knee tends to buckle, becomes unstable, and limits the overall movement of the knee, usually preventing it from fully extending or bending (“Anterior Cruciate Ligament”). What this means for athletes is that without an ACL, one cannot pivot, cut, jump, or stop suddenly, because there is no ligament to hold the tibia in place, and the athlete is no longer able to control his or her movements. This means that injury to the ACL almost always requires surgery and months of recovery in order to be able to return to