World Cup Football Fever - Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries

Football is popular in the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia andtears of the menisci(semilunar cartilages) and this can
Bahrain. Every town in the Middle east has a largelead to secondary osteoarthritisSymptomsThe person
stadium and the game is played in the streets andfalls to the ground and is unable to continue the sport
village playgrounds. with the world cup around theor activity which he was pursuing. He can feel or hear
corner, many amateur footballers will try their skills ata popping sound in the knee joint. A swelling develops
the game.The game of football extracts a heavy tollrapidly. There is a feeling of instability in the knee
of ligament and cartilage injuries of the knee joint.joint. Pain in the knee immediately, which worsens
These are the commonest ligament injuries and thewith the onset of swelling. Repeated giving away of
anterior cruciate ligament has been considered as thethe knee can occur as the patient runs around
most valuable piece of connective tissue in thecurves or while coming downstairsWhat is the future
human body as professional football clubs hand overfor a patient with an ACL injury?Complete ACL
contracts to footballers worth several millions ofinjuries result in instability of the knee joint.
Euros and dollars and withdraw them immediately ifWhenever the person runs or comes downstairs
the player is injured. The MOH hospitals in Oman,rapidly the tibia slides off the femur. This can lead to
Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia treat a large number ofrepeated falls. These can result in injuries to the
knee injuries. There have been a larger number ofsemilunar cartilages or menisci. Meniscal tears can lead
new concepts in the treatment of this injury.ACLto mechanical symptoms like locking or unexpected
Injury(anterior cruciate ligament injury)falls.A combination of persistent ligamentous laxity
Anatomical background-The ACL (anterior cruciateand meniscal tears can result in the development of
ligament) is one of four ligaments stabilising the kneesecondary osteo-arthritis.Treatment- RICE(Rest, ice,
joint. Ligaments are cord like tissues, which connectcompression, elevation). An ACL injury is a serious
one bone to another. In the knee joint there are fourone which needs medical attention immediately. The
ligaments, namely the medial collateral (inner), lateralsurgeon may aspirate the blood inside the joint to
collateral (outer), the anterior cruciate and theprovide comfort. He may order a MRI scan to
posterior cruciate. The anterior cruciate ligament runsconfirm the diagnosis immediately. An ACL injury can
from the back of the thigh-bone to the front of thebe treated conservatively in those individuals who are
inner side of the shin or leg bone. It prevents the legwilling to restrict their sporting activity. For those
bone from sliding off in front from the thigh bone.unwilling to do so, surgical treatment is advisable.
The ACL injury can be a partial sprain or a completeSurgical treatment consists of an examination under
tearMechanism of injury-The most commonanesthesia, arthroscopy and ACL reconstruction. The
mechanism is a sports injury where there is a cuttingorthopedic surgeon may decide to take a graft from
or twisting injury to the knee.Activities for riskInjuriesthe patellar tendon or hamstrings. Bony tunnels are
in sports like football when the player tries to tackledrilled through the tibia and femur and the graft is
from the back, his knee twists and he falls to thefixed.The Author is a Knee specialist in Chennai doing
ground. Involvements in other sports like basketball,arthroscopic surgery, Joint replacements,
cricket, skiing and hockey can also result in ACLArthroscopic ACL Reconstruction,Cartilage restorative
injury. A blow to the knee from the front. Patientssurgery. Operations are performed according to
with cruciate ligament injuries are prone to developlatest techniques at Knee & Shoulder centre, Chennai.