Anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when your ankle twists and the ligament is forced to stretch beyond its limits. This injury affects the ligaments above the ankle joint and between the tibia and fibula i e lower leg bones. If the injury is severe enough, surgery may be required.is when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, a popping sound during injury, instability of the knee, and joint swelling.

Symptoms

• At the time of injury you might hear a “popping” noise and you may feel your knee “give out” from under you.
• Pain with swelling within a day
• Loss of full range of motion
• Tenderness along the joint line
• If taken care, swelling and pain may resolve on its own. However, if you attempt to return to sports, your knee will probably be unstable and you risk causing further damage to the cushioning cartilage(meniscus) of your knee.
• Discomfort while walking

Diagnosis and Treatment:

A diagnosis is done by the physiotherapist on the basis of symptoms and Investigations are done by Imaging Tests, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, CT Scan.
Stress x-rays help to show whether the ankle is moving abnormally because of injured ligaments. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Your doctor may order an MRI if he or she suspects a very severe injury to the ligaments, damage to the cartilage or bone of the joint surface, a small bone chip, or another problem.

Treatment Goals

• Reduce pain
• Restore the level of function you had before the knee injury.
• Restore normal or almost normal stability in the knee.
• Limit loss of function in the knee.
• Prevent injury or more damage to other knee structures.
• Prevent complications like osteoarthritis