What is the ACL injury that made Gu Ailing cry for 30 minutes? How important is it to athletes?

A few days ago, Gu Ailing posted on her personal social media platform that she was injured during training. After being sent to the hospital for examination, the doctor began to worry that it was an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury of the knee joint, which made Gu Ailing cry for 30 minutes during the examination. Fortunately, the knee joint was not seriously injured, only the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee joint was strained, and the medial collateral ligament (MCL) of the knee joint was sprained. So what are anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury of the knee joint? What is the impact on the athlete's function? How to avoid knee ligament injury during exercise? How to deal with it scientifically when the knee joint is injured during exercise? How to carry out rehabilitation treatment? This article briefly explains.

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What is an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury?

What impact does it have on athletes?

ACL is the abbreviation of anterior cruciate ligament of the knee. It is an intracapsular ligament of the knee joint and one of the important structures for maintaining the stability of the knee joint.

Simply put, the anterior cruciate ligament is located inside the knee joint. It is an elastic fan-shaped tissue with one end connected to the tibia (ie, tibia) and the other end connected to the thigh bone (ie, femur). Whether in daily leisure or competitive sports, the main function of the anterior cruciate ligament is to limit the anterior displacement of the tibia and hyperextension of the knee joint, which plays a very important role in maintaining the stability of the knee joint.

Anterior cruciate ligament injury is a common injury during sports. Acute anterior cruciate ligament injury usually causes severe pain, joint instability, swelling, and limited knee movement. Some patients can even hear a tearing sound. Severe anterior cruciate ligament injury can affect daily life such as balance and going up and down stairs. For athletes, anterior cruciate ligament injury can affect the stability of the knee joint, which in turn affects athletic performance.

This type of injury can be caused by a variety of factors. In addition to injuries caused by violent impacts (such as severe trauma, etc.), this injury may also occur during intense exercise or when completing some difficult technical movements. For example, rapid turns, jumping, or excessive flexion and extension of the knee joint may all lead to ACL injuries.

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What is a Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) Injury?

The knee joint is an important joint that bears weight for the human body and needs the protection of many ligaments. In leisure or competitive sports injuries, in addition to anterior cruciate ligament injuries, there is another more common type of injury, that is, medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury. MCL is the abbreviation of medial collateral ligament of knee joint. As the name suggests, the medial collateral ligament is located on the inside of the knee joint. The medial collateral ligament mainly limits the excessive valgus of the knee joint. It is very important to maintain the stability of the inside of the knee joint.

Injury to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) of the knee often has a clear history of injury due to sudden valgus or external rotation of the knee. Injury to the medial collateral ligament of the knee can also cause pain, swelling, and even limited mobility, as well as a positive side plank test. It is more common in sports such as football and skiing, and is accompanied by tenderness on the medial side of the knee. In severe cases, subcutaneous ecchymosis or cyanosis may occur.

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Five points to note to avoid knee ligament injury during exercise

For medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury of the knee, due to the rich blood supply around the medial collateral ligament, its recovery is relatively easier than anterior cruciate ligament injury of the knee, and the prognosis is also better.

However, whether it is anterior cruciate ligament injury or medial collateral ligament injury, it will inevitably affect knee joint stability and sports performance.

In order to effectively prevent knee ligament injuries during exercise, special attention should be paid to the following aspects of training:

First, focus on strength training of the lower limbs, including ankle strength, knee strength, and scientific training of the muscles around the hip joint, especially the strength around the knee joint.

Second, during training, we should focus on the balance of lower limb strength, including the balance of strength on both sides of the limbs and the balance of strength inside and outside the knee joint;

Third, we should focus on the training of lower limb proprioception function;

Fourth, scientific warm-up before exercise can effectively activate the muscles of the whole body, especially those around the knee joints, so as to better play a protective role during exercise;

Fifth, when engaging in certain dangerous sports, it is recommended to wear protective gear to better protect the knee joints.

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How to deal scientifically with knee injuries during exercise?

If an acute closed injury to the ligaments around the knee joint occurs accidentally (within 24-48 hours), there are five words to deal with it, namely protection, braking, ice application, pressure bandage, and limb elevation.

In simple terms, when an acute closed sports injury occurs, the injured part should be protected immediately, the movement of the injured part should be limited, secondary injury should be avoided, and ice should be applied to the injured part in time, which can effectively reduce bleeding and relieve pain. If conditions permit, pressure bandage can be applied to the injured part or the injured limb can be raised above the level of the heart to reduce swelling and relieve pain. Of course, the above treatment also applies to acute closed sports injuries in other parts of the body.

However, it is important to note that in the event of an acute sports injury, some injuries may not be obvious at first. Do not be careless and seek medical attention in a timely manner. The specific injury can be diagnosed through a doctor's physical examination and combined with imaging (such as MRI) to obtain the most timely treatment.

In order to maximize recovery, rehabilitation treatment after knee ligament injury is essential. Due to the different degrees and manifestations of ligament injury, through functional assessment, under the guidance of the rehabilitation team, a personalized progressive rehabilitation training plan (such as early static quadriceps contraction training, ankle pump training, joint range of motion training, core muscle strength training, balance reaction training, etc.) can be developed to accelerate the recovery process after knee ligament injury and better improve the functional level.