Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injury definition: Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injury Key Features • An injury involving an audible pop when the knee buckles • Acute swelling immediately (or within 4 hours) • Instability occurs with lateral movement activities and going down stairs • ACL tears are common with sporting injuries • Can result from both contact (valgus blow to the knee) and non-contact (jumping, pivoting, and deceleration) activities Clinical Findings • Acute swelling of the knee, causing difficulty with motion • After the swelling has resolved, the patient can walk with a ‘stiff-knee’ gait or quadriceps avoidance gait because of the instability • Patients describe symptoms of instability while performing side-to-side maneuvers or descending stairs Diagnosis • Stability tests assess the amount of laxity of the knee while performing side-to-side maneuvers or descending stairs • The Lachman test is performed wit...
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