Oh No, Not a Torn ACL!

She’s been hobbling around since she hurt her knee on the slopes earlier this winter. “It’ll get better,” she convinced herself.

Yet when I checked her knee out tonight, it was clear she’d torn her ACL. Neither of us wanted to admit it. But it was torn.

She could bend her knee all the way. Straightening the knee was another matter. For months now, her knee simply wouldn’t straighten. That rules out swelling as the culprit limiting her, as swelling in a knee gives a characteristic limitation when attempting to bend the knee more so than straightening it. When I relaxed her hamstring muscle, her knee extended fully. That over protective muscle was attempting to help out where the ACL couldn’t.

And the knee has continued to give out on her. She simply can’t trust it.

Now this is a young, athletic gal. She’ll do well to follow up with her orthopedic doctor for further direction, which will likely include a recommendation for surgery. Along with this news, I gave her a couple exercises to help her manage stabiltiy and strength of the injured knee. Then I made sure she had the online link to the document I wrote on the topic.
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You too can view this free resource for people with ACL injuries by visitng my clinic website. Simply click here to read this highly illustrated and easy-to-read document.