August 4, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR MARTY CHINTALA IN RI
: Allie, I am not in sports medicine, but I can speak for myself. I
have had 4 knee surgeries, 2 that were arthroscopic and 2 that were
ligament repairs (all on the same knee). I tore the anterior cruciate
ligament (ACL) in both of my knees, but only had it repaired in one (the
other one I didn't know it happened, and it wasn't bad enough to require
surgery). There are a number of ways that people can injure ligaments.
What happened to me was different for both knees. For my left knee, I
was playing soccer and was tackled from the side, which caused a
hyperextension of the knee at an odd angle. My right knee was injured
when I was playing basketball, and I was bumped by an opposing player
while going up for a rebound. As a result, I landed off-balance on a
straight leg (we heard that one snap). Both cases involved my weight
causing the upper leg and body to move in a direction it normally
doesn't, making my knee bend in a way that it normally doesn't, thereby
tearing the ligaments because of the strain. Athletics is one of the
few times when this can frequently happen because of the nature of the
contact in sports as well as the nature of the game. Women tend to be
prone to knee injuries for a variety of reasons. Check out the
following website that talks about women and knee injuries:
http://www.caaws.ca/Health/kneeinj_jun25.htm