As a Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer, Jim Morici has represented many clients who suffered torn ACL knee injuries. In our continuing series of educational videos we describe for our personal injury clients, tears to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) which can result from various knee injuries. Injuries like these occur in Chicago auto accidents as well as injuries on construction sites and resulting from slips, trips and falls. A common mechanism of injury that can lead to a tear of the ACL often includes a twisting motion of the knee. To learn more about the mechanism of injury and treatments for a torn ACL please click here to watch the video for an explanation by a Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer.
We describe the anatomy of the knee, the function of the ACL as well as treatments that your Chicago orthopedic surgeon, including those at Illinois Bone & Joint, may decide to employ. Included within these surgeries is reconstruction surgery of the ACL, ACL graft surgery, and the use of cadaver tissue to replace the torn ligament. In many of these surgeries the orthopedic surgeon will either stich the remaining fibers of the torn ligament together or the loose end may be screwed into the end of the bone.
Surgery is usually followed with a period of 6-8 weeks of physical therapy. Various modalities of physical therapy are employed by centers like ATI Physical Therapy, Athletico Physical Therapy and Accelerated Rehabilitation Centers. These include passive range of motion where the therapist manipulates the limb in order to regain the knees ability to bend, strengthening exercises to the quadriceps muscles as well as ice massage and other treatments.
During the recovery period your physician will continue to prescribe anti-inflammatory and pain medication. Weekly visits immediately after surgery will begin to become less frequent as the patients' recovery continues. Some individuals, depending upon their age and occupation may be unable to return to their prior occupation. Others will have had damage to the internal cartilages of the knee that companied the torn ACL. That cartilage will further deteriorate over time leading to increasing pain and increasing disability. Ultimately in many cases the patient will require a total knee replacement surgery in which the head of the femur and the top of the tibia are replaced with prosthetic devices.
Our Chicago personal injury attorneys at Morici, Longo & Associates have over 30 years of experience representing victims of Chicago automobile accidents, work related injuries, and other traumatic events. For further questions or to seek compensation for ACL knee injury or other injuries caused by the negligence of others, please do not hesitate to contact us at 312-372-9600.