Conservative Rehabilitation of Partial Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear For Better Functional Outcome

Gayatri Kaple, Ragini Dadgal1*, Sakshi P. Arora, Waqar M. Naqvi

Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, Maharashtra, India

ABSTRACT

To stabilize the knee joint, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the important ligaments. For normal movement and mechanics of the knee joint, ACL is important. If the ACL is torn, people notice problems in stability function of knee joint and there the feeling of ‘giving away’ while weight bearing. The function of anterior cruciate ligament is to restrain translation of the tibia on the femur. However, this role is divided by either anteromedial or the posterolateral bundle, depending on the knee flexion angle. The posterolateral bundle is stretched when the knee is close to full extension; as the knee flexes, the posterolateral bundle loosens and the anteromedial bundle becomes tight. In this report, a 32-year-old male who had a history of twisting of the leg while jogging, started by him since 40 days, lead to partial thickness tear of ACL, minimal joint effusion along the periarticular surface of the right knee and was diagnosed by radiological findings and MRI. As patient was not ready for surgery, he decided to opt for physiotherapy management. The aim of this study is to study effects on functional outcomes after physiotherapy rehabilitation of ACL injury without any invasive procedure.

Keywords:

Partial Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear, Joint Effusion, Periarticular Surface, Twisting, Conservative Management