Sports Medicine

ACL Tear

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Signs and Symptoms

The anterior cruciate ligament is one of the two cross-shaped (cruciate) ligaments located within the knee joint and which cross over each other as they run diagonally between the thigh and leg bones, providing additional support, preventing overbending and overstraightening of the knee, and limiting sliding movement between the bones.

Symptoms include:

• An audible pop at a moment of injury.
• Knee tends to slip out of joint, feels unstable, and swelling and pain hinder movement.
• Knee often feels as though it will give way or is unstable.

ACL Injuries and Women — The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the most commonly injured ligaments of the knee. Hear a Patient Power interview with Dr. Christina Allen, who talks about ACL injuries in women.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated July 11, 2008