ACL: What Should I Do If I Injure This? - Dr. Mullen

Dr. Mullen:
If you suspect that you may have torn your ACL there’s a number of things you can do right away.

The first would be not to pivot, shift or take long, unnecessary walks. This is typically common sense because the knee is going to be hurting pretty bad.

Compression with an ace bandage or a tight knee sleeve can help. Ice, right on top of the knee, relative rest and then elevating the knee above the heart – all of these can help minimize swelling.

Anti-inflammatory medicines, over-the-counter analgesics, these can all be very helpful until you get to be seen by a sports medicine specialist.

Let me tell you about my experience in treating ACLs. I have been a doctor now for 14 years and I have been taking care of recreational athletes, high school athletes, collegiate athletes, scholarship athletes and even professional athletes in baseball, football, basketball.

This is an injury that can happen to anybody. If you suspect you have an ACL tear I’d recommend that you be evaluated by a fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine.

A sports medicine specialist would be the right person to check out your knee because often times the diagnosis can be missed in less-trained hands.

It’s notorious for escaping X-ray diagnoses and potentially other radiographic parameters, it can miss it as well.

The best exam for an ACL or the best way to diagnose an ACL tear is to be examined by a sports medicine specialist.

About Dr. Daniel J. Mullen, M.D.:
Dr. Daniel J. Mullen, M.D., specializes in reconstructive procedures of both the knee and shoulder. He did his undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame. He went to medical school at Temple University in Philadelphia and did his orthopaedic training in Baltimore centered out of Union Memorial Hospital. He also worked at Johns Hopkins University Hospital and the Shock Trauma Center. He did a fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio where he was assistant team doctor for the Cleveland Browns, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the spring training division of the Cleveland Indians. He has authored numerous articles and textbook chapters and delivered many research and teaching presentations on surgery of the knee and the shoulder on both a national and international level. He volunteers his time and resources to help the local high school athletes during their sporting seasons. He lives in Gilbert, AZ, with his wife and two boys.

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• Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury