Potential breakthrough: Bridge-Enhanced ACL Repair

this year brought with it a big potential breakthrough for ACL reconstructions, it could offer a much faster recovery and return to play as it avoids the graft method and instead offers a way for the body to heal itself naturally which is previously unseen.  Bridge-Enhanced ACL Repair is the name of the method and is completed by  placing a sponge soaked in blood and specific proteins in between the torn ACL ligament tissue, after a couple of weeks the ACL tissue begins to grow into the sponge eventually growing together and removing the sponge as it disintegrates over time.


 Boston Children's Hospital began their trial recently and the split 20 subjects with ACL tears, the results so far seem to suggest that the repairs were just as successful as the traditional methods of treatment, but the important part of it is that the recovery through physio therapy was far quicker in the Bridge-enhanced patients.

The research has been received really well but the hospital strongly maintain that more research is needed before they're comfortable making this a common practice and revolutionising ACL surgeries.

sport and the risk of injury

ACL tears have become common in all sports but possibly they're best known about in contact sports such as rugby and American football. But when you look closer at the statistics sports such as soccer, hockey and basketball all have massive injury lists, but why?

ACL tears are caused when the hip rotates in, tibia rotates out and foot turns in results in an immense pressure being put on the knee that it simply cannot withhold and results in the knee buckling. This motion can happen in any situation but is generally related to a stud catching in the grass and getting stuck. This can be done due to a fast turn, halt or through a big collision.

Original findings would conclude that the sport with the most tears is female soccer in the United States in particular, studies conclude this is as a result of the broader hips that make the knee alignment slightly off and therefore put more weight through the knee while turning, landing and jumping which also leads to the majority of ACL tears occurring in women rather than men. However in % rates the NFL lead the way, the likelihood of injury has spiked massively due to the massive weight and height increases that have become such a big part of the game in the 21^st century.

Graft: hamstring v patellar tendon

The debate of which graft is the more effective has been around for years, generally it's down to the surgeons preference however there's a perceived weaknesses' with both methods of treatment. the patellar tendon is frowned upon by a lot of surgeons and professional's now as this graft weakens the opposite knee from the one that sustained the injury. the hamstring graft on the other hand has the potential to further weaken the already injured leg if recovery is not done right. these two types of grafts were around from the beginning of ACL reconstructions in 1918 but due to the old methods of surgery (open knee surgery) the patellar tendon was preferred as it was easier to get right but recently the hamstring graft has grown in popularity due to it's cleaner, less invasive procedure.

stats that have come from Denmark seem to contradict the more popular graft however. it found hamstring grafts to have a 4x greater risk of re rupturing their ACL in the first year after returning to play and are 1.5x more likely to up to 5 years following ACL reconstruction.

in conclusion for me the hamstring graft is still the better option, it's a far less invasive procedure and when you take into account the fact that now both knee's are vulnerable after a patellar tendon reconstruction I feel that overall the risk of another serious injury is reduced significantly.

my experience and when it came around

In my blogs I'm going to be writing about a topic that has affected a lot of people I know and personally I have experienced too. It's hard injury to sustain but despite this it's become a common injury. ACL tears and reconstructions usually lead to 9-12 months post surgery high intensity and extremely technical physio before return to play but one thing the patient never tends to be told is the life long issues that come with it are never mentioned, the inevitable knee replacement; the painful reality of arthritis and to some the worst issue, the fact that your playing days may be over.


I'm currently sitting at about 8 weeks post op and I feel that this blog is the perfect opportunity to research what my body has undertaken and what it's about to undertake. I'll be viewing the methods, where they were developed, the percentage increase in ACL tears and the chances of a full recovery.
they completed the surgery through arthroscopy with a hamstring graft and I'm intrigued to see if this method is in fact the most effective. arthroscopy surgery was originally developed in America, in LA. it's not the location however that surprises the reader but the date of the first arthroscopic surgery. it took place in 1918 yet the method on really became popular towards the late 90's and 2000's. and is popular as its far less invasive and just as effective.

 I've set this blog up as a part of my environmental studies class. It's going to be about knee injuries, ACL tears in particular and the orthopaedic methods used around the world and where they were developed. I hope you enjoy my blog.