This article is a compendium of essential information for ACL tear patients, such as - What is an ACL tear? Do you really need surgical intervention as the only treatment for ACL tear? Is ACL repair in Tijuana, Mexico, a good option for American patients who’re considering medical tourism to save bucks? And a lot more…
A Zoom-in on ACL
Anterior cruciate ligament is one of four ligaments that connect tibia or the shin bone with the femur or the thigh bone. A ligament connects a bone with a bone while a tendon connects a muscle with bone. As the word anterior suggests, it is placed on the front, right behind the knee cap, and prevents the shin bone from jutting ahead of the thigh bone.
What Causes ACL to Tear?
70% of the ACL cases are non-contact, for example, a wrong landing from a jump may cause ACL to tear. The rest 30% result from a collision with an external object. The incidence of ACL injuries is higher in women with active lifestyles. Mostly a sports injury, ACL is pretty common in basketball and football. Here’s a list of some NBA players whose careers were threatened by ACL tear:
1. Al Harrington – Orlando Magic
2. Al Jefferson – Utah Jazz
3. David West – Indiana Pacers
4. Kyle Lowry – Toronto Raptors
5. Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls
Why are ACL injuries so common among sportsmen? Because leaping, sidestepping, and cutting weren’t our evolutionary learnings. Leaping, cutting, and sidestepping are as new to us as the game of basketball itself.
Who might need ACL Surgery?
Not all ACL tear cases require ACL repair surgery. Rehabilitation, as Swedish researchers have found out, may do away the need for a surgery. In a study involving 121 patients divided into two groups—with one group undergoing rehabilitation followed shortly by surgery and the other group undergoing the rehabilitation alone—researchers found that only 40% of the patients in the “rehab only” group needed ACL surgery after 2 years.
“There are almost 10,000 scientific publications addressing the ACL and 50 per cent of these are about surgical treatment. However, none of these studies have shown that surgical reconstruction produces better results than rehabilitation alone,” said Stefan Lohmander, professor at Lund University and Skåne University Hospital.
Sportsmen and sportswomen, however, cannot rely on rehab alone and almost always undergo surgical intervention in order to save their careers.
Which is Better: Allograft or Autograft?
Autograft or use of own tissue for reconstruction of the torn ligament has been found out to perform better in the long run. This fact was reported by the Fox News in a story “Study: Autograft ACL Repair Better in Young Athletes,” published on May, 2012.
Allograft, on the other hand, employs a donated tissue from a cadaver for ACL repair. While, absence of discomfort of removing one’s own tissue is an advantage, an allograft is fraught with risks, such as, HIV or bacterial infections or the graft losing its tension over a period of time. Failure rates of allografts fall in the range of 23% to 34%.
Medical Travel – Does it Make Sense?
A lot of people wait a lot longer before ACL repair through surgery becomes an absolute necessity. Waiting longer translates into cost of alternative treatments. If you wish to maintain an active lifestyle, ACL repair surgery is better done sooner. But for majority of Americans cost of ACL repair remains off limits.
This high cost is prompting them to travel overseas to India, Mexico, or Costa Rica. Medical tourism is a win-win for both the medical tourist and the local economy. While the former saves a fortune and satisfies his wanderlust, the latter generates a lot more jobs.
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