Injury is never a welcome development in any sporting activity. But it cannot be helped at times, especially in high contact sports. One of the more common sports injuries – whether in professional or non-professional level – is known as torn ACL injury. The acronym stands for anterior cruciate ligament and it entails that there is a tear in your knee or cartilage. It is actually the main front to back stabilizer of the knee.

This type of injury is common in sports that have high amount of activity in the knee area such as football, soccer, skiing, and basketball. In other words, it is common in high impact sports where the knee area is induced to make sharp changes in positions and movements and make abrupt stops from high speed.

Sometimes occurring without any warning, this injury is career threatening even to professional athletes. Indeed, many athletes had to completely stop playing because of injured ACL gone bad. But the good news is that torn ACL can definitely be prevented.

Here are some things you may perform to prevent ACL injury:

  • Perhaps the best way of prevention is to stretch and strengthen the leg muscles, especially the front and back muscles of the thigh (quadriceps and hamstrings);
  • Avoid wearing high-heeled shoes; and
  • Avoid wearing shoes with cleats in contact sports.

If you are already suffering from ACL, you may prevent another one by:

  • Changing your sports techniques to avoid motions that might stress the injured knee;
  • Changing your lifestyle to avoid sports that have a high risk of injuring your knee further; and
  • Strengthening the injured knee through rehabilitation exercises.

In Indiana, Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Keith Pitchford is known for his holistic approach at improving your physical fitness so that you may find it easier to perform certain sporting activities with ease. With years of training and experience, he performs treatments to various sports-induced injuries that may hamper your overall performance, as well as proper guidance on other aspects of sports medicine for both elite and casual athletes.

The treatment and rehabilitation services include injuries affecting torn ACL injury Indiana. Dr. Pitchford ensures that your rehabilitation is of comprehensive and thorough process so that you can very well go back to playing your favourite game. If warranted after rehabilitation, the injured ACL may then be repaired by arthoscopy.

To schedule consultation or other inquiries, please contact us at (219) 365-0220 or via this page.