ACL Information – Knee Braces For Support
Contributing Factors to ACL Dislocation
The anterior cruciate ligament (otherwise known as the “ACL”) is one of the four major ligaments found in your knee. You will often times hear about the ACL being torn during high demand sports activities. It can also easily happen during activities of daily living when the knee is twisted or hyperextended.
1.) Sports & Activities of Daily Living
When doing any sports activity that requires jumping, pivoting, twisting, rough play, making a sudden landing from a long jump and doing a tackle in football you put your body more at risk for injury. Another example would be vehicular accidents, falling of the stairs and other dangerous activities that are related to work. Once the ACL is torn the knee can easily feel like it will give out from underneath you. Many times you will know if you torn your ACL because its possible to hear a popping sound at the time of the accident followed by swelling.
2.) Do Hormones Play a Role?
Next factor is hormonal. Studies have shown that increased levels of certain hormones in the body may increase an individual’s possibility of having a ruptured ACL. One of these hormones is estrogen that is why it has been said that women are eight times more likely to have a ruptured ACL than men.
3.) How To Protect Your Knee Before & After An ACL Injury
To help prevent ACL injuries related to sports activity it is important for men and women to have a fifteen minute warm-up like flexibility exercises. If you have an ACL injury it does not follow all the time that you will require surgery. Generally surgery is only required in severe circumstances. If a surgical procedure is advised then after the surgery your physician will probably request that you use a knee brace.
4.) What Do Knee Braces Really Do? – Let’s Be Honest!
A knee brace can be refered to as durable medical equipment (dme) that helps to protect your knee from accidental movements that will cause you pain or reinjury to the ligament. Excessive movements from side to side and front to back can be more readily maintained and this can contribute the health of your knee recovery. – Often times people will tell us that their pain reduces and they feel much more stable at their knee joint after any kind of knee injury. This in turn helps to promote healing and can help keep you from reinjuring yourself. – (Remember this is health information and you should speak to your doctor about medical advice for your particular situation, because everyone is unique).
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