Can a Grade 2 ACL tear heal itself?

Every year in the United States, between 100,000 and 200,000 anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears occur, resulting in significant knee instability for women and men of all ages. ACL tears are especially common among athletes, but they can occur in anyone of just about any age. For many patients, ACL tears require surgery — but that’s not always the case.

At Performance Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine — with locations in Shrewsbury, Wall Township, and Toms River, New Jersey — David Dickerson, MD, helps patients get the care they need so ACL injuries heal quickly and completely. Every knee injury treatment plan is customized to the individual patient’s needs and goals, using both surgical and nonsurgical approaches when appropriate.

Will an ACL tear heal on its own? Maybe. If your ACL is injured, here’s how to tell when surgery just might be the better option.

Full and partial ACL tears

The ACL is a major knee ligament that helps keep your knee stable and functional. Most ACL tears occur as a result of pivoting movements — changing directions rapidly while moving — but they can also be caused by falls and other impacts. 

A torn ACL typically causes symptoms of instability in the knee, along with knee pain and swelling. Sometimes, the cartilage, kneecap, or other ligaments can be injured, as well. 

ACL tears can be full, which means the tear extends through the entire ACL, or partial, extending only part-way through the ligament. The type of symptoms and their severity vary depending on whether the tear is full or partial.

Treating an ACL tear

Before Dr. Dickerson prescribes any type of treatment for an ACL injury, he performs a thorough evaluation of the joint. X-rays or MRIs see inside the joint to determine the severity of the tear. The treatment he prescribes is based on factors such as whether the tear is full or partial, the symptoms you’re having, your lifestyle, and your own treatment goals and expectations.

Full vs. partial tears and healing

Full ACL tears cannot heal on their own. These tears almost always need to be treated surgically, typically using a minimally invasive approach called arthroscopy. While a very few patients may restore some of their lost function without surgery, the knee will remain unstable, and that means the chances of reinjuring it are very high.

Even partial ACL tears may require surgery if the injury involves other ligaments, tendons, or your kneecap. In these cases, surgery can be used to fix multiple problems that could interfere with therapy or wind up causing significant problems later on.

Avoiding surgery

On the other hand, some partial ACL tears may be treated without surgery as long as the tear is relatively minor — and as long as you’re willing to alter your activities to avoid putting too much strain on the joint so you heal properly.

Nonsurgical options like physical therapy and lifestyle modifications may be effective in some men and women who have little to no instability in the joint following an ACL tear, along with those who lead relatively sedentary, inactive lifestyles.

Bottom line: Only a skilled orthopedic doctor can determine when surgery is the better option. Dr. Dickerson discusses all of your options with you so you can make an informed, confident decision about your treatment.

Get help for your knee pain

As major weight-bearing joints in your body, your knees see a lot of wear-and-tear. It’s not surprising that knee pain and weakness are common complaints among both women and men. The key to relieving your symptoms and improving knee movement and flexibility is to get medical care as soon as possible, when symptoms first begin.

As a leading board-certified orthopedic specialist in New Jersey, Dr. Dickerson can help you get the care you need to ensure your knees stay strong and healthy. To learn more about how we treat ACL tears, give us a call at the office convenient to you to schedule an appointment today.

With football season just around the corner, news reports of ACL injuries can’t be far behind. Anterior cruciate ligament tears are a common injury for many athletes, including football players, whose knees are repeatedly subjected to quick turns that can strain the ligament beyond its normal bounds.

But even though ACL tears may be more common among athletes, they can happen to anyone. Data show up to 200,000 ACL tears occur each year in the United States, including tears that affect athletes and nonathletes.

We often hear of athletes undergoing surgery to repair their ACLs during the football season. But the good news is that not all ACL tears require surgery. The key to recovery is working with a doctor like Dominique Nickson, MD, who has considerable experience treating ACL injuries in patients from McKinney, Texas, using conservative and surgical techniques. 

When you work with a doctor skilled in treating ACL injuries, you can feel confident you’ll receive the most appropriate treatment based on your specific needs. Here’s how to tell if your ACL needs surgery or if conservative treatment might be a good choice.

ACL tears: How they happen

The anterior cruciate ligament is one of four major ligaments that connect the bones of your knee joint. Located in the center of the knee, the ACL plays a role in rotational movements and prevents your shin bone from moving too far forward when you bend and flex the joint.

Most ACL tears and strains happen when you twist your knee or overextend it during physical activity, but they can also happen after a fall or another traumatic accident, like a car crash. Some serious tears cause damage to the kneecap or meniscus, too.

Tears that extend through the ligament (essentially tearing it in two) are called complete tears. If the tear extends partway through the ligament, it’s a partial tear. Symptoms vary depending on whether the tear is full or partial and can include:

• Knee pain
• “Snapping” sensation at the time of injury
• Knee instability
• Swelling around the knee

Your treatment will also depend on whether you have a full or partial ACL tear.

Treating ACL tears

Certainly, one goal of ACL treatment is to relieve your pain. But treatment also focuses on stabilizing the knee, allowing your joint to function while reducing the risk you’ll have another ligament injury in the future.

Before recommending any treatment, Dr. Nickson performs a thorough exam of your knee and orders diagnostic imaging of the joint. Based on those results, he’ll determine if your ACL tear can be treated conservatively or whether surgery is the right choice.

Conservative care vs. surgery

The good news: if you have a mild ACL tear without significant joint instability, there’s a good chance you can be treated conservatively, with options like:

• Rest
• Bracing or crutches
• Medicine to reduce pain and swelling
• Physical therapy
• Lifestyle modifications to reduce strain on your knee

If you lead a very active lifestyle or you want to resume activities that take a toll on your knees, you’ll probably need surgery even for more mild partial tears or for tears that involve other structures of your knee.

Surgery is generally recommended for full-thickness, complete ACL tears, where the ligament is completely torn through. Dr. Nickson specializes in minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery techniques that use very tiny incisions to access and repair ACL injuries.

The right treatment for your ACL tear

Some mild, partial ACL tears can heal on their own, while other tears require surgery. The only way to know if surgery is the right choice for your ACL injury is to have Dr. Nickson evaluate your injury using advanced diagnostic techniques.

To learn more about ACL injury treatment, call 972-217-7181 or book an appointment online at Next Step Orthopedics today.

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