Rehabilitation following Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Reconstruction is an essential part of a full recovery. The ultimate goal of this rehabilitation program is to restore functional ability and enable you to return to your sport or physical activities, with a reduced risk for additional injury.
This is a common question asked by patients that have injured or torn their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) when considering reconstructive surgery as a treatment.
ACL tears are one of the most commonly reported knee injuries in athletes, particularly in pivoting and cutting sports such as soccer, basketball, football and rugby. In our corner of the world, skiing and snow sports are another common cause of ACL injuries.
Reconstructive surgery is currently the gold standard treatment for an injured or torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). In ACL reconstruction, the torn ACL is surgically removed and replaced with another tendon or “graft”.
An allograft is one of several types of grafts that can be used to reconstruct a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). An allograft is tissue harvested from a human donor.
The patellar tendon autograft is the second most common choice used for an ACL reconstruction autograft after the hamstring tendon autograft.
The quadriceps tendon autograft is the third type of autograft used for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. —– Learn more about the other graft types here —– Although the use of this graft was first described in 1979, it has not been widely used until more recently. The most recent surveys show that worldwide, this…
Synthetic grafts for ACL reconstruction were first introduced in the early 1980’s, however, they are rarely used. These first generation grafts showed initial promise with short term follow up, but had a high failure rate in the long run.
Autografts in ACL reconstruction are tendons harvested from the patient’s own body at the beginning of the procedure and prepared as a tissue graft that can be inserted into the knee during the same procedure in an attempt to restore the normal anatomy of the ACL.
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is currently the gold standard of care for ACL injuries, particularly for young, active individuals and athletes who plan to return to a high level of sporting activities. In ACL reconstruction, the torn ACL tissue is surgically removed and replaced with another tendon or “graft”.
Patellofemoral instability is a debilitating condition that frequently occurs in young, active people, significantly affecting their quality of life. It can occur due to injury e.g. a direct impact to the knee, or from variations in a patient’s anatomy that allow the patella (kneecap) to dislocate with minimal force. Patellofemoral instability, however, is not just…
Stem cell therapy has recently grown in popularity as a treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) and musculoskeletal (MSK) injury. The rationale for their use is their natural ability to develop into many different cell types, thereby contributing to the healing process. But what scientific evidence justifies their use in this area of health care?
