The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a dense fibrous band which connects the femur with the tibia. At the same time, it avoids the tibia displacement from the femur.
It is the young who usually suffer from this kind of lesion. The fracture of the ACL happens more often after an accident that causes a knee twisting, as a result of a sport or labour activity. Football players, skiers or basketball players suffer from it as well.
The injured usually perceives a cracking on his knees accompanied by pain and often associated with a joint haemorrhage called hemarthros that normally drains on the following days. After this cracking, the patient must stop his physical activity.
The diagnosis is carried out through the examination and the medical history, where many tests are taken in order to demonstrate the instability, pivot shift and lachmann. After the suspicion of a lesion of the ACL, a resonance will confirm the diagnosis.
The treatment of the active patient usually consists on having cruciate ligament surgery using different techniques depending on each patient.
