Knees are the largest joint in the human body and go through a lot of wear and tear over a lifetime. They cushion the impact from activities such as walking, running, and jumping and knee injuries are some of the most common lower limb issues.
The knee is a complex structure made up of many different parts. Bone, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage all work together to help the knee function. An injury to any one of these parts can result in an acute or chronic knee condition that takes time and medical intervention to heal. Some common knee injuries include ACL tears, meniscus tears, and patellar fractures.
Certain factors increase the risk of a person suffering an untimely knee injury. Many of these can be mitigated to strengthen your knees, reduce the impact on your joints, and lower the chance of getting injured. Read on to find out more about knee injuries and ACL surgery in Singapore.
1. Sports Participation
While being active is generally a positive trait, certain sports put you at a higher risk of injuring your knees. Football, rugby, basketball, and tennis are all examples of sports which have sudden stops, twists, and turns that can put a large amount of strain on your knees. To lower your risk of getting a serious knee injury, it can be beneficial for you to switch to different exercises or sports which don’t have the same impact on your joints.
Learn More: 5 Useful Tips To Avoid Orthopaedic Injuries As We Age
2. Poor Conditioning
When starting a new sport or when going back to an activity you haven’t done in a while, you should ramp up your activity level gradually to ensure that your body is conditioned to the new stresses you are placing on it.
Take some time off to do knee and leg strengthening exercises to ensure that you are protected from knee injuries. The muscles around the knees like the quads, calves, and hamstrings all play a part in supporting your knee and strengthening them can lower your risk of injury.
3. Incorrect Movement Patterns
There is a reason why good form is so heavily emphasised by orthopaedic doctors for anyone doing heavy lifts at the gym. Improper form such as moving knees inwards during a squat puts undue pressure on the knee joint. When combined with heavy weights, it can lead to long term issues with your knees.
4. Poor Fitting Footwear
Wearing the wrong size or type of footwear for an activity can also increase the risk of knee injury in the long term. Shoes help support the feet and cushion any impacts with the ground. They can also help stop you from slipping and injuring yourself. However wearing inappropriate size shoes can leave your joints more vulnerable to changes in direction and tension leading to more injuries.
5. Playing On Artificial Turfs
Artificial turfs are a cheaper alternative to natural grass fields. They are also easier to set up and maintain. However artificial turfs have also been linked to higher incidences of ACL injuries and ACL surgeries. This is likely due to the fact that artificial turfs have higher friction between your shoes and the surface. This causes your feet to get planted onto the ground when your body is twisting leading to higher chances of tearing your knee ligaments.
6. Being Female
The rate of ACL injuries is triple in females as compared to males. The exact reasons for this are under study but it is generally thought to be linked to differences in body anatomy, muscle strength, conditioning, and control.
When it comes to knee strains, there are three different grades to help orthopaedic doctors in Singapore define the severity of your injury. Grade 1 strains are minor with the ligaments either overstretched or very slightly torn. Pain, swelling, and bruising might be minimal and you should still be able to bear weight on the knee and bend the joint.
Grade 2 strains are more severe and involve a partial ligament tear. Recovery time is around 2-6 weeks and you should experience some bruising, swelling, pain, and difficulty bearing weight or bending the knee.
Grade 3 strains indicate a complete tear or rupture of one or more knee ligaments. You will experience severe bruising, swelling, and pain and may not be able to bear weight at all on the affected leg.
For patients who have partial tears and no instability in the knees nonsurgical interventions such as progressive physical therapy and rehabilitation might be recommended. However for complete tears or for high-performance athletes, surgery might be the best option for them to recover from their knee injury.
For ACL tears, the ligament is not repaired using stitches as there is a tendency for the repaired ACL to fail over time. Instead the torn ACL is generally replaced with a substitute graft made of tendon.
At the Specialist Orthopaedic Centre, our aim is to help patients with high-quality, effective, orthopaedic care. With years of experience, our patient-centric approach to specialist care provides our patients with the medical expertise and treatment they need to recover and carry on with their lives. Contact us today to find out more about our services and set up an appointment with us.
