Essay: What is an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury?

The over-stressing or sprain of the Anterior Cruciate ligament in the knee. It could be slightly torn, significantly torn, or entirely torn. The ACL does not allow the tibia to slide out in front of the femur, and plays a large role in the rotational stability of the knee. Typically when an ACL injury occurs it involves other structures in the knee. Damage to the Anterior cruciate ligament could cause meniscal tears, osteoarthritis, and chondral lesions (Levine et al., 2012). ACL injuries can be caused by the over-extension of the knee, collision, changing direction, stopping suddenly, from jumping and not landing correctly, or direct contact. Many injuries occur without direct contact to the knee, and happen frequently in sports like soccer, volleyball, and basketball (Levine et al., 2012). In sports these injuries can have detrimental effects on an athlete’s career, some are never able to perform on a high level again. Understanding Anterior Cruciate Ligament injuries is important because they are one of the most common knee injuries, and affect people of all ages.
The focus of this paper will be to analyze articles that studied some of the primary movements that cause anterior cruciate ligament injuries, and how they affect athletes in sports like Basketball and Football. This paper will not discuss the treatments used for Anterior Cruciate Ligaments. Oh et al. (2012) examined how axial tibial torque in conjunction with knee varus or valgus moment affected the peak antero-medial bundle of the anterior cruciate ligament during a simulated pivot landing. Levine et al. (2012) measured anterior cruciate ligament strain under physiologically imperative loading circumstances, and how non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injuries could be triggered by soft tissue and bony patterns combined with applied loading conditions. Wang (2011) compared single and double-leg landings during stop-jump tasks and how they were influenced by potential lower extremity loading. Krosshaug et al. (2007) conducted a study that inspected videos of Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury situations in basketball, in order to designate the mechanisms of the injury. Carey et al. (2006) calculated the effects of anterior cruciate ligament injuries on National Football League player performance. These studies provided potential causes of Anterior Cruciate Ligament injuries, and the effects they may bring to victims.