Tag Archives: knee injury

The ACL: The Crucial Knee Ligament

Written by: Lisa Martin, PT, DPT

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Are you an athlete? Do you have children involved in sports that might be susceptible to a knee injury? Your anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is located in the center of your knee, connecting your femur (thigh bone) to your tibia (shin bone). The ACL provides stability to prevent forward movement and rotation of your knee joint especially while running, cutting in sports, or skiing down a mountain. A complete or partial ACL tear is common in both contact and non-contact sports. An ACL injury can leave a person unable to finish out a sports season and even possibly result in surgery. Many studies have shown that prevention programs can decrease your risk of sustaining an ACL tear.

 

Females are 4-6 times more likely to injure their ACL due to overuse of their quadriceps muscle (thigh muscle), knees coming together more during landing, and decreased ankle, knee and hip bending during athlete performance compared to males. (1, 2) Other risk factors include: footwear, surface type (e.g. grass, snow, ice, turf, wood), knee laxity (e.g. looseness), foot overpronation (flat feet), and body mass index (BMI). (3)

 

Screening examinations by a physical therapist can identify if you have any of these predisposing factors for an ACL injury. The examination may include an assessment of your stomach (core) and leg strength, hip, knee, and ankle range of motions, and completion of a series of functional tests to help determine if you are at risk for an ACL injury. (1, 2) Your mechanics will be assessed during tasks such as jumping off a box to the floor, during single leg jumps or with cutting motions. Once these factors are identified, your physical therapist can then develop an individualized treatment plan focusing on strength, sports mechanics, and flexibility to help you reduce these risk factors and in turn reduce the risk of ACL injury. Your physical therapist can educate and train you on the proper way to land to improve absorption of weight through the legs and muscles avoiding increased forces through the knee.

 

Have you ever had knee pain or a feeling of instability in your knee after playing in a sports game or skiing?

 

Is NY Knicks Wonder, Jeremy Lin, Out for the Season?

Written by: Tim Abel, PT, DPT

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Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty

 

As a lot of you know, Jeremy Lin, point guard for the New York Knicks, underwent surgery on his knee to repair a torn meniscus. This is really unfortunate for the Knicks because Lin was playing well, and they are fighting for the last playoff spot in the Eastern conference. Lin’s timeframe to return to action was put at 6 weeks.

 

Although you might not hear about meniscus injuries in sports as much as you do an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear or Achilles tendon rupture, we see a large population of individuals both athletes and non-athletes alike that suffer meniscal injuries each year. The meniscus is a “C” shaped structure in the knee composed of cartilage. It sits between your femur (the thigh bone) and tibia (the shin bone). You have two in each knee, a medial (inside) and lateral (outside) meniscus.

 

The meniscus has many functions, the most important being shock absorption as your leg supports your body weight, but the meniscus also aides in joint stability, joint nutrition and proprioception. The meniscus is typically torn when someone is twisting, turning, or changing directions with their foot planted on the ground. Symptoms can include swelling, pain along the joint, clicking, and even locking of the knee in some cases. The treatment options for a meniscus tear are typically one of three including rehabilitation (Physical Therapy, PT), menisectomy (removal of injured portion via arthroscopic surgery), or meniscal repair (surgical fixation via arthroscopy). There is also a less common technique called a meniscus transplant, where surgeons replace the injured meniscus with one from a cadaver.

 

Factors for determining which treatment option will lead to the best recovery are the location and size of the tear. The inner portion of each meniscus is avascular, meaning it does not have a blood supply. Tears in the avascular portion are often removed instead of repaired because of the limited potential to heal. Meniscal repairs are most successful when tears are in the vascular portion of the meniscus, which is located along the outside of the meniscus.

 

Let’s hope Lin’s injury was in an area with good blood supply, because with the amount of running, cutting, twisting, and jumping in basketball, he is going to need strong, healthy knees. I personally don’t think Jeremy Lin will see any more playing time this season, especially because if the Knicks make the playoffs, they will likely face the Chicago Bulls or Miami Heat, and won’t be around for too long. Do you think Lin will make a comeback this season?

 

Reference:  Dutton M. Orthopaedic examination, evaluation, and intervention. 2nd ed. McGraw Hill; 2008.