Muscle & Connective Tissue Injuries

Muscle and connective tissue injuries include sprains and strains, which are the most common injuries for people engaged in physical sports. A sprain is an injury of a ligament, which connects our bones to each other. A strain is an injury that can occur to a muscle or a tendon, which connects our bones to our muscles. If you have a muscle or connective tissue injury, you will likely experience pain, swelling, and limited movement of that body part. Sometimes these injuries are evident as soon as they occur, while others take time to develop. Usually rest helps to heal the area, and ice can reduce swelling. If these remedies dont help you, physical therapy or surgery may be necessary for a full recovery.

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QWhy are females more at risk for ACL injuries?

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A National Athletic Trainers' Association answered

Females are more likely to sprain their ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) than males due to many physiological differences and factors. The ACL itself is smaller and more lax or loose in females than in males; some other areas of flexibility or laxity are in the anterior knee and the knee joint itself. Females also have less muscular structure and strength than males which can lead to knee joint instability; as well as a different angle that the femur connects with the tibia, causing a greater likelihood of knee and other lower limb injuries. Hormonal and menstrual influences also play a role in how females are more likely to sprain their ACL than males.

This answer provided for NATA by Loras College.

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QWhat causes an ACL injury?

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A St Francis Medical Center answered
Most anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are the result of a specific trauma and are associated with a pivoting or twisting motion. Your knee joint consists of three bones: the femur (thighbone), tibia (shinbone) and patella (knee cap). Four bands of tissue called ligaments hold the bones together and keep them stable. The two collateral ligaments control sideways movement within the knee. The anterior (front) cruciate ligament and posterior (rear) cruciate ligament cross each other to make an X and control forward and backward motion.

ACL injuries can occur from:

changing direction rapidly

stopping suddenly

slowing down while running

landing from a jump incorrectly

making direct contact or colliding, such as a football tackle

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QCan repetitive stress injuries be prevented?

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A Sigma Nursing answered

To help prevent repetitive stress injuries related to computers or gaming, ensure that your chair and keyboard are at the appropriate level and that you sit properly. To help prevent repetitive stress injuries related to sports, ensure that you stretch before and after exercising and that your shoes and sporting equipment are sized to fit you properly. Try to vary your exercise routine as opposed to repeating the same routine daily. Take frequent breaks from any repetitive activity, particularly for the types of jobs that may put stress on a particular body part, like scanning groceries. Ensuring that you maintain proper nutrition so that your bones and muscles can continue to be strong and resistant to repetitive stress injuries is also essential.

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QWhat is the recovery time for ACL reconstruction surgery?

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A Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center answered

The recovery time after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery is longer than many similar surgeries. This is because people who've had an ACL tear reconstruction usually want to get back to strenuous activity, which takes longer than just getting back to daily living. The full recovery time is required, so they can get back to playing contact sports or, for example, to get back on the slopes. This usually takes six months to a year, depending on how much time and effort you put into rehabilitating your knee after surgery.

Rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction surgery is critical. A lot of surgeries don't require much therapy afterwards. But an ACL is the exception. The surgeon's job takes about an hour or an hour and a half in the operating room. But the person with the injury has to go through months and months of very strenuous, sometimes painful, recovery to get back to where they were. By far, the most important thing in an ACL reconstruction is what people and their physical therapists do after the surgery is done.
QWhat are the symptoms of an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury?

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A Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center answered

An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is very painful. Usually the knee swells up right away, and you can't walk on it. Often, people will hear or feel a big pop in their knee, which is the ACL actually tearing.

After a few days, it often subsides to where it's more comfortable, and they can walk around on it. They think they might be getting better until they start to try to turn corners when they walk or go back to their sport. Then they realize something isn't right with their knee. If the ACL is torn, the knee won't feel solid or reliable. It's not usually a very subtle thing.

Anybody who has this kind of injury knows right away they've done something wrong to their knee. They may not know it's their ACL that's torn, but it's usually a very painful traumatic event where your knee gives out on you. You may fall to the ground and then feel or hear the pop in your knee. It's usually not possible to walk on it right after that, because the pain is so severe. Then it often swells up right away and feels unstable.

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QHow soon should I see a doctor if I suspect I have an ACL injury?

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A Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center answered

If you think you have an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear, you have a severe injury to your knee, so the sooner you get checked out the better. Often, the doctor will need to examine you in person. If you're too sore to be examined and can’t tell if it's torn, sometimes your doctor will ask you to come back in a week or two. But a torn ligament certainly isn't something to put off for a few weeks or months to see if it gets better. ACLs will not heal on their own—they never do. The problem with waiting is that because your knee is unstable, it slides around. This allows any healthy cartilage in your knee to be chewed up. So you're really damaging your knee further if you don't get it taken care of as soon as possible.