Tearing an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is among the most painful sports injuries anyone can experience. Just ask the countless great professional athletes whose careers were ruined when they tore the one ligament that stabilises their knees. Most of the time, this type of injury requires extensive surgery and post-recovery. Still, the body’s ability to heal itself to a certain extent raises the question: can a torn ACL heal itself in the long run?

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Can a Torn ACL
Heal Itself?

2. Tearing an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is among the most painful sports injuries
anyone can experience. Just ask the countless great professional athletes whose careers
were ruined when they tore the one ligament that stabilises their knees. Most of the time,
this type of injury requires extensive surgery and post-recovery. Still, the body’s ability to
heal itself to a certain extent raises the question: can a torn ACL heal itself in the long
run?
A Not-So-Good Pedigree
Torn ACLs are notorious for not healing as
well as other injuries. It’s also worth noting
that women are at greater risk of tearing
their ACL than men — they are five times
likelier to suffer the injury. Tearing an ACL is
also pretty commonplace in a great number
of sports, particularly those that involve
jumping and pivoting (i.e., basketball or
football). In these kinds of sports, the
continuous rapid movements put great stress
on the knee. Here’s where the ACL comes in.
Its job is to keep the knee from bending
sideways when a player plants a foot and
pivots instantaneously.
The Possibility of Good Healing
In order to test whether a surgery is always needed to heal an ACL tear, a study was
conducted by researchers from Sweden’s Lund University. 121 young, active adults active
in competitive, non-professional athletics to two varying treatments. The two groups were
subjected to a rehabilitation program which worked on improving their balance and
coordination, as well as strengthening their knees.

3. ACL reconstruction was the recourse for one group within 10 weeks of injury, while the other
had surgery delayed until it is really needed. Two years later, there was no disparity
between the results from each group, proving that neither treatment option was better.
There is one catch, though, as 60 percent of those who delayed surgery found out that they
never needed surgical intervention in the first place.
A Few Key Points to Remember
Understanding why a torn ACL is not really good at healing on its own rests on several basic
anatomy concepts. The ACL is considered an intra-articular ligament, which means that it
lies inside the knee joint. MCL, ACL’s mirror image in terms of placement, heals quite well
due to certain circumstances. When an MCL gets torn, a blood clot forms at the affected
area, which serves as a ‘bridge’ for the body to regenerate collagen tissue. This process does
not happen when an ACL is torn.
The injury’s extent also dictates the next events. If the ACL is only partly torn, the possibility
of self-healing is high. It’s due to the remaining intact portion of the ligament — it serves as
the ‘bridge’ to build new collagen tissue in place of the blood clot. Should the ligament fully
torn, there’s little chance that the injury will heal on its own.

4. Tearing an ACL can be devastating for any person, athlete or not. Treating the injury
requires thorough medical attention to facilitate appropriate action. Should there be a
noticeable ‘pop’ and a sudden burst of pain in the knee while engaging in sports, consult a
specialist immediately. Maybe there’s hope that surgery wouldn’t be needed at all.
Sources:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-03/chb-gat032706.php
http://www.sydneyphysiotherapist.com.au/general-physiotherapy
http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/knee-pain/news/20100721/torn-acl-may-heal-
without-surgery