Can you live a normal life with a torn ACL?

Can you live a normal life with a torn ACL?

Can I live a normal life with an ACL tear? Yes, but it may take some time before you’re completely back to how you were before the injury. Whether you choose to have surgery or not, with physical therapy you will eventually be back to normal and able to live your life.

Can ACL grow back?

Part of what makes recovery from a torn ACL so tricky is that the ligament does not naturally regrow itself. “Unlike other ligaments, when the ACL tears, its ends don’t reconnect because the synovial fluid that surrounds the ACL inhibits healing,” according to the Boston Children’s Hospital on their blog.

Can you walk with torn ACL?

Can you walk with a torn ACL? The short answer is yes. After the pain and swelling subsides and if there is no other injury to your knee, you may be able to walk in straight lines, go up and down stairs and even potentially jog in a straight line.

How do you fix your ACL?

During ACL reconstruction, the torn ligament is removed and replaced with a band of tissue that usually connects muscle to bone (tendon). The graft tendon is taken from another part of your knee or from a deceased donor.

Should I have ACL surgery or not?

In other words about 50% of the patients will not need an ACL reconstruction if they are treated with structured rehabilitation. If we follow the prevailing advice that all young active patients should have reconstruction of the ACL 9, about 50% would be having unnecessary surgery.

What happens if you don’t do ACL surgery?

If nothing is done, the ACL injury may turn into chronic ACL deficiency. Your knee may become more and more unstable and may give out more often. The abnormal sliding within the knee also can hurt cartilage. It can trap and damage the menisci in the knee and can also lead to early osteoarthritis.

What happens if ACL surgery is not done?

In the absence of an intact ACL – even when no other injury is present – the menisci (pads of cartilage that cushion the bones that meet at the knee joint) have a higher risk of injury. If a tear forms in one or both menisci of the knee, pain and swelling may occur.