Assessment #7

ACL Reconstructions

Vedika Bakre

ISM I

Mr. Walters

November 26, 2018

Bliss, James. "Anterior cruciate ligament injury, reconstruction, and the optimization of outcome." ​Indian

Journal of Orthopaedics​, vol. 51, no. 5, 2017, p. 606. ​Academic OneFile​,

go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=j043905010&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA5040276

41&asid=76606dea4f82493e2e2806a165591709. Accessed 28 Sept. 2017.

Athletes are one of the main reasons there is an increasing demand for orthopedic surgeons. They

are more likely to injure bones and muscles because of the physical toll sports have on them. Athletes are

constantly moving which could be healthy but moving too much could strain or pull muscles. One of the

most common sport injuries today are ACL or anterior cruciate ligament tears. After a surgery like this,

patients can be stuck in a brace doing constant physical therapy for at least 6 months. Although it is a

common procedure, ACL reconstructions remains a highly complex and technical surgical intervention

because of the vast amount of techniques and grafts. Whether it is the knee or the hip, orthopedic

surgeries are very safe and do not have high mortality rates during the surgery. Instead orthopedic

surgeries such as ACL tears have high chances of reinjury.

In the article, it compares the demographics of who or what type of group of people commonly

injure their ACL tears. After extensive research they found women are more likely to tear their ACL.

While the cause of this is unknown, many researchers believe that this is due to the fact that there is
gender differences in knee anatomy and hip rotational profile. The aim of an ACL reconstruction is to

enable a patient to return to preinjury levels whether they relate to occupation or to return to normal sports

participation levels. However, if patients do not abide by the post op instructions given by a surgeon, they

can also increase their own chances of reinjuring their tears. Some patients go straight back into the same

sport they injured their knee, and try to use the same strength they had previously. This is not

recommended because the knee does not physically have the same strength, and it can take months before

regaining that strength again.

Orthopedics has various subspecialties which is why this week I decided to research one of the

most common, sports medicine. By researching ACL tears and their impact from sports, I was able to

fully understand what sports medicine entails. Using prior knowledge, I was aware that ACL tears

consisted of using the patient's own muscle as a graft or a cadaver graft. After reading the article, I

learned there are tons of types while some are not prefered because they have low acceptance rates since

the body rejects the foreign material. I also learned that orthopedics is not just the elderly. It is a wide

range of adults and teens. After surgery, many have to wear this metal full leg braces which are very

uncomfortable to wear. By using this information, I can create braces for my original work which can

make the patient feel comfortable without losing the purpose of the metal one. Since this is a very

common surgery, these braces can be implemented in hospitals and private practices for the comfort of

the patient.

My main goal for ISM is to figure out what I want to do. I truly believe this article helped me

solidify sports medicine as a possible subspecialty because I love interacting with people of all ages no

matter how nerve wracking it may be.