Did I tear my ACL?
Uhoh! Did you mess your knee and not sure what you injured? We’ve got you covered. Here are the major signs and symptoms that you might have torn your ACL as well as a guide as to what to do if you think you have.
But first off- remember ligament tears of the knee don’t always require imaging (An MRI, ultrasound, or x-ray)! There are specific tests that a well trained therapist (like ours!) can do with their hands to test whether the ligament is torn or not and even how much it is torn! So read on before you rush out for imaging.
Here are the Major Signs You Might have Torn your ACL!
Plant, twist, pop - this is one of the cardinal signs that you may have torn your ACL.
Swelling in and around your knee almost right away
A feeling of instability. You may describe this feeling as your knee “giving out” when walking or twisting.
If this sounds like you and something you have experienced, there are some things you can work on!
What to do if you think you’ve torn your ACL!
As mentioned above, get in to see an injury specialist who knows how to test your ACL (and other ligaments). The knee can be a bit tricky because there are other injuries that can sometimes masquerade as an ACL injury so you want to be sure before you start any exercise or treatment.
But instead of waiting weeks or months for an MRI, you can call us and get in likely the same day or next day and have us assess the knee and tell you whether it is torn or not!
If you know for SURE you’ve torn your ACL
Your body’s natural mechanism when spraining or tearing a ligament in your knee, especially the ACL, is hamstring guarding. This means they tighten up right away as a protective mechanism to hold your tibia back into place since that ligament can no longer do its job. On top of this, it shuts down a key muscle in your quad called your VMO or ‘vastus medialis’ which provides the majority of knee stability and proper joint alignment.
Solutions to this are simply performing hamstring stretching to relax the hamstring and teach the muscle not to work so hard, then subsequently re-training that quad muscle to activate again.
These are key exercises to regain full mobility of the knee so that you can begin to retrain muscular stability around the knee. By working on muscular stability surrounding the knee, we can teach these muscles, the first line of defense for stability - to protect and hold the knee joint in its proper positioning without relying on that second defense - the ligaments holding the knee in place.
Click HERE to see my favorite Knee Exercises to help with this!
Getting back into Sport after an ACL Injury
Based on your level of activity and requirements for explosive, cutting, and pivoting activities, specifically in sports, surgical intervention may be required as more intense activities like these will require that physical second line of defense to ensure you can perform these activities at the best possible level.
With such forceful movements required to sprain the ACL, there is a possibility that other areas have also taken the brunt of the force. If you notice sensations of clicking, catching, or locking, and it feels painful deep in the knee when performing deep knee flexion or full knee extension, this is another key indicator that other structures have been injured so make sure to get assessed by someone who knows what they’re doing!
Still think you might have torn your ACL and want confirmation? Click the button below to request to a FREE First Session so we can test your ACL and confirm if it’s torn or not!
Written by Brooke Wynnyk
Certified Athletic Therapist
… and Knee guru!
Learn more about Brooke HERE