ACL tears are common injuries, especially in active people. Usually, treating ACL injuries means having surgery early on, followed by physical therapy. But is this always the best way to go? Do people get the best results this way?
In this blog, we’ll talk about the latest research on treating ACL tears without surgery, the idea of ACL healing, and how important it is to make decisions together with your doctor.
Try Physio First
The idea of trying physiotherapy before surgery isn’t new. In a study from 1994, it was found that many patients did well without surgery. In the 1980s, studies showed that some patients needed surgery while others did fine without it. This brings up the question: Can we tell who will do well without surgery?
It turns out we can, but it takes time. If patients wait long enough, about 6-12 months, most of them can do well without surgery. However, we can’t predict early on who will do well. Luckily, there are some tests we can do to see who will do well. Patients who have less than one episode of their knee giving out, do well on certain tests and rate their knee function highly tend to do well without surgery.
Surgery vs. No Surgery
One big study compared people who had surgery right away with those who tried exercise therapy first and then had surgery later if needed. They found that the first option wasn’t better than the second. In fact, some people who had surgery right away had worse outcomes. However, many people in the exercise therapy group ended up having surgery because they believed they needed it.
Today, many people still think surgery is necessary to get back to normal activities and have a good outcome. This shows how important our mindset is during recovery and why education during rehab is so valuable. While both surgery and non-surgery have risks and don’t guarantee a return to sports, since there’s no strong evidence that surgery is better, trying physiotherapy first to see who does well is worth a try.
Can ACLs Heal?
Another reason to try non-surgical treatment is that ACLs can sometimes heal on their own. It was believed that a torn ACL couldn’t heal because it doesn’t have a blood supply. But recent evidence shows that it does have a small blood supply.
Conclusion
There’s still a lot we don’t know about treating ACL tears, but based on what we know now, trying non-surgical treatment should be the first choice since outcomes are just as good or even better than surgery. We can’t predict who will need surgery, but we do know that there’s a big psychological aspect to recovery, and we need time to figure out who will do well without surgery. So, instead of rushing into surgery, it’s worth giving physiotherapy a chance. Physiocare provide best treatment for ACL injuries in malta.