ACL Injuries

ACL injuries are in the news more these days. The latest famous victim, Tiger Woods who announced that his season is over due to a torn ACL which he has been trying to play though. Also, some interesting stats also come out today from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons:

• About 200,000 ACL injuries occur annually in the United States, often in conjunction with damage to other knee ligaments and cartilage. (wow!)
  
• Doctors perform roughly 100,000 ACL reconstructive surgeries nationwide each year, mostly on an outpatient basis.
  
• ACL surgeries have a long-term success rate of 82 percent to 95 percent, depending on numerous factors.
  
• Rehabilitation takes about half a year, or longer for certain athletic activities.Post-surgical limitations can include stiffness, some loss of motion and less stability for the knee than before the injury.
  
• Sports commonly associated with ACL tears and ruptures include football, tennis, basketball, soccer and collision with dogs! (just kidding)
  
• Women have a higher rate of ACL injuries than men, for reasons ranging from estrogen's effects on ligaments to gender differences in the alignment of the pelvis and legs

A great website for ACL realted injuries is http://www.aclsolutions.com/default.php

You can actually watch the ACL surgery on youtube!