Question: How do I know if I have injured my ACL?
Answer: Although an ACL injury can present in many ways, from very subtle to severe, here are some of the common signs and symptoms of an acute ACL injury.
"Pop" - Patients can complain that they heard or felt a "pop" in their knee during a strain or twist type injury surrounding the knee. Although this is a common presentation, this is definitely not experienced by all patients.
Immediate swelling after the injury occurs - This typically indicates there is some form of bleeding in the knee joint which suggests either injury to the ligaments, cartilage, or both, in the knee joint. However, not all patients experience swelling.
Pain - Knee pain is a very non specific sign, and can represent many different conditions. However, the majority of patients who have injured their ACL will experience a substantial amount of pain.
Instability - Many patients will describe having the feeling of "buckling" or "giving way" sensations in their knee.
