Knee Brace Composition – Tests Involved In Diagnosing An ACL Tear
Have you ever torn your ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament)?
Curious to know how a doctor knows it is torn?
Read on for some useful information…
The Lachman Test
An examiner who is skilled can often times detect an injury in your knee before ordering other tests like an MRI or an x-ray. The Lachman test is a manual procedure that can be performed to test the ACL to determine if it is intact, or not. – This test was named after a physician by the name of John Lachman.
To correctly perform the Lachman test, the patient should be laying down in a supine (on their back) position. Their knee should also be in approximately 20-30 degrees of flexion. Another important point is that the leg being tested should also be externally rotated. The individual conducting the maneuver needs to place one hand on the patient’s thigh, while the other hand needs to be placed behind the tibia, with one thumb placed on the tibial tuberosity. Next the person performing the test will pull anteriorly (forward) on the tibia to determine forward translation of the tibia on the femur. (The tibia is the larger of the two bones in the leg (below your knee), while the femur is the thigh bone.) When pulling anteriorly on the tibia, an intact ACL should prevent forward translation movement of the tibia on the femur. This is known as a “firm endpoint”. Conversely, if the end point is “soft”, and the tibia can move forward on the femur, then this suggests that the ACL is torn.
The Anterior Drawer Test
A second commonly used test, to determine the stability of your ACL is the Anterior Drawer Test. In this test, the patientis lying supine (on their back) with their hips flexed to 45 degrees and their knee to 90 degrees. The individual performing the test then grasps the tibia just below the knee, with their thumbs on either side of the patellar tendon. It is important to note that the hamstring muscle group must remain relaxed to help ensure a proper test. (The index fingers can be used, by the examiner, to test the hamstrings). Once the examiner is in position, the tibia is then drawn forward anteriorly. When the examiner notes that one side has increased amount of anterior tibial translation compared to the opposite limb, this will help indicate whether an ACL injury has occured.
If these tests are positive and the ACL is sprained, or can be torn. Depending on the severity of the injury, a knee brace can help provide meaningful stability, and can help reduce pain as well. These knee braces are widely used among sporting professionals with previous ACL injuries, and can aid individuals to help get moving again with confidence.
If a person is searching to protect their knees from an an ACL injury, or to help promote healing to their current ACL injury, they will refer to their brace by the sport in which they play. This is an honest mistake. Basically, a person should search for an ACL knee brace, not specifically a football knee brace, basketball knee brace, or a running knee brace. A sports knee brace like the ones mentioned above should address the underlying condition, and not strictly be named after the sport in which someone plays. This will help you find the right brace for your knees needs.
For more free information just like this, then you can visit us online. Education and affordably priced knee braces are our specialty. Visit us online at http://www.drbraceco.com/ . We can help you get the best knee brace for you. Check us out now, by clicking the link above. – And remember if you are looking for these sports knee braces, look in our “most popular” section.
Knee Braces | drbraceco | 
December 15, 2008 2:10 pm | 
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