|What is an anterior cruciate ligament?|
|Around the Academy:
Middlesbrough's Gaizka Mendieta is the latest high profile sports star to suffer from a cruciate knee injury.
It results in a lengthy period on the sidelines, but why is it so serious?
The Academy finds out exactly what the ACL does.
There are four main ligaments in the knee - one on either side and two across the middle.
The ACL is behind the kneecap (patella) and is in front of the PCL.
The ACL and PCL limit the overstraightening, overbending and rotation of the knee.
The average length of the ACL is around 35mm, weighing around 20g.
Operate or not?
But in the case of a young sportsman looking to return to sport as soon as possible, it will be.
A middle aged or older person could recover without going under the surgeon's knife.
However, it is believed that repairing the ligament can reduce the risk of getting arthritis in the joint later in life.
Surgeon's will usually graft tissue from either the patella or hamstring tendons to repair the ACL.
Basically it is like transplanting that tissue into the ACL.
The success rate for such operations is high and while the injured person can soon be up and walking, running and twisting are some months further down the line.