ACL Injuries | Q&A with Dr. Jay Lee

Questions answered:
1. What is the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)? 0:03
2. How does an ACL injury occur? 0:25
3. What age group accounts for most ACL injuries? 0:42
4. Are ACL injuries more common in female athletes? 1:05
5. What are the signs and symptoms of a possible ACL tear? 1:21
6. What should I do if I think I have injured my ACL? 1:42
7. How will my doctor diagnose an ACL tear? 2:15
8. What are my treatment options if I have an ACL tear? 2:45
9. What is an ACL reconstruction? 3:15
10. Can I have a reconstruction if I am still growing? 3:29
11. Are there risks to delaying my ACL reconstruction? 3:43
12. Should I have my own tissue used for my ACL reconstruction? 4:08
13. What are some techniques to reduce ACL injury risk? 4:35
14. What is recovery like after an ACL tear? 5:07

[theapostate]

Thank you Dr. Jay Lee for sharing the information. God bless

[omaimaali]

I am 56 year old female but very active. I injured my left knee 6 months ago and the result was complete tear in my left knee ACL and injury to the meniscus too. I tried physical therapy, but I am still unable to function as I used to. I really wanted to do the surgery, but my insurance Kaiser Permanente refused. I will change insurance in January and will see another doctor outside of corrupt Kaiser.

[hassanjimale]

Thank you Dr. Jay Lee for sharing the information

[shoutingraven]

Oh my god its painful, I tore my knee ligament while skiing and it happened really slow. Trust me, I was laying there on the ground for a good 10 minutes just groaning and moaning. Oh and do take tylenol cause it's amazing how well it works. Also, I had a very minor tear but let me tell you, it hurts.

[michelleatmassagestudentpr]

Thank you for this! This is super helpful and gives me useful information to offer my massage students about ACL tears.

[satyadev]

Tore my acl completely and mcl partially while skiing. I'm going the traditional way without surgery, physiotherapy and strengthening exercises.
Will soon get custom fit don joy braces.

[gagedriscoll]

I have a torn acl. I tore it 2/3 of the way in 2014. In 2014 after my MRI my first doctor told me that I had pulled it bad and needed no major brace. Throughout the years I always had pain and went in about 4 years later to figure out once and for all what is wrong. My doctor in 2018 looked at my MRI from 2014 and told me that I have been playing on a torn ACL and by how loose or wobbly it is he assumes that it is completely torn now and I play sports on it with a brace with no surgery.

[mathdaddy]

All these questions but no recovery time? How long does it take to recover after surgery?

[jackjefferson]

Hi,


The current climate on COVID-19 has meant my ACL and Meniscus tear rehab have both been delayed/postponed or as it seems completely forgotten about by the NHS, which is understandable due to the pandemic. However my Surgeon/physician told me (when i FIRST had my MRI to confirm the tears), that i may be able to return to playing football without surgery due to having strong surrounding muscles and many other soccer/football players have done so (i thought he was just telling me this so that i stayed positive but the pain i felt at the time was telling me different and in no way did i think i would be able to do the things i am doing now without surgery).


As I have no physio or anyone helping me due to social distancing etc, i have kind of taken it upon my self to see what my knee is capable of... now almost 4 months post tear with no physio or any external rehab, I am able to barbell squat 120kg+KG for reps (was squatting 180KG prior) and run in a straight line without pain or sometimes both exercises cause maybe a 2/10 pain (sometimes) (i have been running 5 KM in around 22-23 minutes - so a decent pace). When i speak to others that have had the injury or at the same point in there recovery (4 months post trauma), they are unable to believe how much i can do with no physio/surgery/rehab. which is really leaving me in the dark as i just want to play football again... but also i dont want to cause anymore stress to the knee. I would'nt say my knee feels normal at all, but pain is low and stability is nowhere near perfect but its ok.


Now because I have no physio due to the current situation in the UK, I have no support or help as to what i should be doing next or what i should actually be doing... Being a student i also don't have the funds to pay extortionate amounts of money to go private. I am also worried that if i tell them this info they will tell me i don't need certain surgeries etc to save money and because i have told them i am ok and i am back running. but in order to play football at the level or intensity as i did i want to do whats best for my knee.


I am worried to try any multi directional work or even kick a ball. Is anyone on here able to advise or help me what i should do next? As if i can go back to playing football without having ACL reconstruction it would be a dream. If this is not the place could anyone point me in the right direction? Just to confirm I have had an MRI scan to confirm both a tear in my ACL and medial meniscus. just to note, I am a 20 year old male.


I hope everyones recovery is going well and thanks for taking the time to read!

[frankbush]

Doctor thought I didn't need to have surgery because i'm 34. I'm just as active, if not more active than I was when I was 20 years old. I definitely need a fully functional acl. He was in his mid thirties too, and said that if he tore his acl he would just rehab and adjust. How are so many people comfortable with a sedentary lifestyle? I plan on killing it with all my activities into my 60's hopefully.

[ManjuJain]

I am a psycho -oncologist and am working in palliative care since last 10 years .My poster presentation was in Psysho Oncology world congress APOS 2015 in Washington DC on Effect of mantra chanting on terminally ill cancer patients which showed improvement in Quality of Life by 13.47 and on visual analogous scale of pain it decteased by 5 points without morphine drug. Dr. Shakun Gupta MD Internal medicine was my Guide and Dr. RICHARD took my proposal for review at Howard County Hospital

[childrenofshanghai]

What about LARS artificial ligament technique? I just had this procedure; and and I had almost no pain (mostly discomfort but that's it), my doc and PT in Shanghai told me my recovery will be a lot faster than if I had taken other grafts. I find it strange almost no youtube video about it.... seems the only downside is the cost since the price of the ligament is high. As I had harmstring ACL surgery 20 years ago and remembering how painful it was; I think it s really worth it to pay more if no pain at all!!

[lorenaandreea]

Hello!

This is a very helpful video. I would like to raise a question hence sports is one of y biggest passions. After my acl surgery i was told that i need to do recovery exercises 6 months 3 times a day. I had days when i was not doing them and i think i also had 2 entire weeks where i haven t done the exercises. I had gone to my doctor and he said the the knee is recovered, but i am still concerned regarding the muscles around the knee and the replacement itself. After almost 2 years from my surgery, how can i improve my knee to avoid any other injuries?

Thank you!

[jacks]

I partially tore it but it’s right on the line between full tear and partial. That also means I may or may not need surgery. I’m doing well and may not need surgery but I’m hoping I can play sports at the same level

[kariemessa]

I am 15 years old and I just tore my ACL for the second time now. My parents won’t allow me to play my favorite sport anymore which is basketball 😔 do you have any tips for the future so that my knee will become stabil again ? And do you think it’s possible that I will play basketball again? Thank you🙏

[sainitish]

I have done my acl surgery just 3 mounths before, but still i was not propore walk.

[indian]

Sir I have low grade partial tear as well as prepatteler bursitis along with joint effusion.. n my age is 25..it's been a month since I got Injured.. I did MRI last week and my leg is swollen..I feel pain to keep it straight or sit for more than an hour ..even walking properly is difficult..I drag my leg for convenience.. one doc suggested surgery as knee is unstable..whereas other says to wait for another month..I feel pain hurt and confused as what can help.. it's going to be 2month on 12:Feb.. I feel really bad confused and in pain..pls help me

[srizwan]

I have high grade partial ACL tear... Grade 2 signal in the body and posterior horn of medial meniscus... Do I need surgery?

[bhabanisankar]

Sir there are about 4 weaks but i cant walk properly there are tightness in leg what can i do?

[tekendrabohora]

Hello Dr. i tore my bilateral acl. and i had done right knee acl surgery 8 months ago from now. i am doing exercises for strengthing my right knee. can exercises harm for further injury in left knee such as other ligament meniscus injury?? want to know the best time for next surgery?