• Twisting and rotational injuries, such as occur with a sudden change in direction or speed
• Contact injuries in collision sports or road accidents
• Hyperextension injuries
• Hyperflexion injuries

Symptoms of an ACL Injury Patients report the following associated symptoms of anterior cruciate ligament injuries:

• An audible ‘pop’ sound from the knee
• A sensation of something tearing inside the knee.
• A feeling as if the knee has momentarily ‘come out of its joint’.

These symptoms are usually followed by:

• Swelling of the knee
• Difficulty walking and
• Pain

Instability of the knee is particularly noticeable:

• on uneven ground or

Types of ACL Injury

• Most ACL injuries are complete tears.
• Partial ACL tears

ACL Injury Diagnosis ACL  tears are diagnosed by the following:

• History of injury
• Nature of knee pain and other symptoms
• Physical examination
• Imaging tests

Imaging tests

• MRI scans will show the ACL tear as well as any meniscal or cartilage damage

Untreated Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries When this ligament tears, unfortunately, it doesn’t heal and often leads to instability of the knee. If untreated, additional ligament problems are more likely to develop for both active adults. A significant number of patients with an untreated (unreconstructed) ACL tear have recurrent:

• Knee instability
• Buckling of the knee
• Giving-way of the knee

These recurrences must be avoided as these episodes cause further problems like cartilage and meniscus tears and premature wear and tear resulting in arthritis of the knee. Outcome Patients with ACL tears who do not wish to have an ACL reconstruction are strongly advised to give up all sport that requires turning, twisting, and side-stepping. Some of these patients will continue to experience episodes of instability of the knee with ordinary activities of daily living (ADLs). Most athletes with a torn ACL will proceed with surgical ACL reconstruction to stabilize the knee so as to allow normal unrestricted activities.