How common are anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, and how do they occur?
They’re not as common as people think. But if it happens to you, it’s a big deal. Everyone usually relates them to contact injuries, but a lot occur without direct contact. They happen with changing direction. You make a mis-timed step, and your body thinks it’s going to be on the ground before you’re there. Your muscles prepare, and by the time you hit, it gets your leg in a position so when you do hit the ground, it forces your leg forward to the limits of the ACL and the ACL tears. The ACL is like a string. Think of it like a rope between two cars. One car is towing the other car. If the rope isn’t taut, you’re OK. To pull the car, you have to pull the rope taut, but if one car is going the other direction, you’ll put more tension on the car than is supposed to be there, and the rope will break. Q: Do you know immediately when you injure your ACL? A: Most everybody does. Q: What should you do? A: Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t need to fix everybody. It depends on what their
