14
March
2019
|
08:00 AM
America/New_York

One approach does not fit all in ACL reconstruction

The article discusses treatment options for a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee, noting that the age, activity level and type of sport should be taken into account for each patient.

The ACL is reportedly one of the most commonly injured knee ligaments among professional and recreational athletes. Those at highest risk for an ACL injury are athletes who engage in pivoting and cutting sports, such as football, basketball, skiing and soccer. Adolescent athletes who return to a sport may be susceptible to injuring their ACL a second time, according to Frank Cordasco, MD, a sports medicine surgeon at HSS.

"Multiple investigators have demonstrated second ACL injury rates [in adolescent athletes] ranging from 25% to 40%, which is certainly unacceptable. The causes are multifactorial and have been identified as modifiable or extrinsic and non-modifiable or extrinsic risk factors,” he notes. "The impact is significant given that these are structural knee injuries in adolescent athletes who have their whole lives ahead of them."

Read the full article at Orthopedics Today.