ACL injuries are a growing problem

AS THE COVID-19ACLACLACLACL pandemic abates and athletes everywhere prepare to return to the arena, new light is being shed on a serious risk they face. The anterior cruciate ligament () is one of four that hold the knee together. Tearing it, as at least 2m people do every year, is among the most immobilising injuries someone can sustain. tears are usually a consequence of an awkward movement in a fast-paced game such as football. The surgery and rehabilitation needed cost billions of dollars a year. It is becoming increasingly clear just how devastating—and possibly preventable—this injury really is.Doctors have always recognised tears as serious, but used to think that returning to the fray was possible six months after surgery. Elizabeth Gardner, head orthopaedic surgeon at Yale University Athletics, reckons, however, that nine months to a year is more realistic. That is a significant chunk of an athlete’s career. Even then, surgery alone is no guarantee of recovery. Re-tear rates are as high as 20%, “a lot higher than you would expect for a surgery that we think we do really well and is so ridiculously well studied”, Dr Gardner says. On top of this, recent investigations suggest that as many as three-quarters of those who suffer an tear go on to develop arthritis of the knee 15-20 years later.