“What is the treatment for an ACL Tear?”

If he is young and active, he should consider reconstruction.

It depends on the percentage of the ligament torn, stability of the knee, physiologic age, activity level and goals following treatment. If the ligament is completely torn, it will not heal and requires reconstruction in many cases.

Good luck,

Dr. Louden

All tears can be treated in a variety of ways. Most need early therapy for range of motion as well as to help with pain and swelling. Depending on the age and activity level of the patient there may be a need for early surgical reconstruction but it isn’t an absolute! There are some people who have ack deficient knees who have very little or no instability symptoms and may not require surgery. In younger or very active patients who have symptomatic instability the reconstruction is indicated. There has never been any demonstration that shows that ack reconstruction stops the occurrence of arthritis in the injured knee but it does reduce the incidence of major meniscal tears in the first five years. There are many ways to reconstruct the act and non have been truly proven to be superior over another. It has more to do with surgeon comfort with a particular technique and a heat deal to do with patient compliance with therapy postoperatively

If you have an ACL tear and an ACL Deficiency than that the simplest thing to do is to brace it and treat with common analgesics if necessary for pain. For those that are not high end athletes this is the best approach. Common sports braces designed to prevent hyperextension should be worn for weekend / minor sports and activities. Sport braces are made for just that purpose. More aggressive athletes and people with jobs requiring significant mobility might consider ACL Reconstruction surgery. If this is the case, find a knee specialist who deals strictly with these procedures.

An ACL tear is not usually painful. He likely has an unstable arthritic knee.