Common Knee Problems

Complete Tears of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament The ACL can be completely torn resulting in a totally unstable knee joint. Frequently ACL tears may be combined with damage to the knee joint’s meniscus, or other structures of the knee. Your sports medicine physician will be able to evaluate the condition of your knee, and discuss the potential treatment options with each patient. A small percentage of complete ACL tears may be treated conservatively. However, the vast majority of these injuries do require a surgical procedure to reconstruct the ACL. Visit our web section describing ACL Reconstruction.

This illustration depicts a patient's knee that has sustained a complete tear or rupture of the ACL. The Medical Collateral Ligament, or MCL, has been completely torn as well, further adding to the knee joint instability.

The ACL may be only partially torn in some instances. For a description of this incomplete tear visit our section entitled Incomplete ACL Tears.