Injured Friend D:

[Iridescence]

So yesterday I was going to have my best friend stay the night, and since it's Labor Day weekend, we could hang out by the pool and have a fun night. Well my mom has made so friends at the new apartment complex.
So at about 6pm-7pm we were done swimming and we went over to one of her friends house and they have the XBOX Kinect game and me and her were playing Joy Ride and we were jumped every where and having a good time and then all of a sudden she just falls out of no where.
She said it felt like her knee popped out of place and then popped back in, and that it was a sharp pain. So we put a bag of ice out on her knee and lay her down and after about 10 minutes she said it feels horrible. We go back to the my house and we get her changed and my mom goes to take her back home. They decided to take her to the hospital where she is checked out and xrayed. The doctors said that she tore her ACL ligament in her left knee and might need to see an orthopedic surgeon.
I looked up more information on the ACL ligament because I had NO CLUE what that was.

The anterior cruciate ligament or ACL, is a ligament that connects the tibia to the femur. In other words, it's a ligament in your knee! Tearing an ACL is an injury common to athletes who participate in sports like basketball, soccer, football and skiing. Many times this injury occurs without any contact with another athlete. A sudden change in direction is usually the cause of an ACL tear. Most tears are completely random, happening at a time when you're doing a move you've done 100 times before.
When an athlete tears their ACL, their knee swells up almost immediately and they feel a sharp pain. Other times an athlete will hear a "pop". Female athletes are six times more likely to tear their ACL than their male counterparts

So in other words, she just made a quick change in her movement, causing her to tear her ACL I feel so bad though because
1.) She was going to do Track this season at her school
2.) All of the rehabilitation that is going to take to repair her knee
3.) The money that is going to take to rehabilitate it!
-sigh-
So if anyone has anymore information on this kind of injury, please let me know. I hope for the best for her.

[Heartlines.]

I went ahead and moved this to the General Health forum.
Hope your friend feels better soon

[PutYourHeartsUp]

I have a friend that tore her ALC, but she tore it playing soccer so the damage might have been a lot more extensive. She had to have at least one surgery, and she had to wear a knee brace for quite a long time. It only took her around a year to be playing soccer again (at a competitive level) but she was also extremely determined to get back in the game as soon as possible.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

X-raying the knee is useless in this case, a MRI is necessary as it will reveal the ligaments in much more detail. Surgery for ACL tears often uses grafts, which inherently take longer to heal. As a result, your friend should expect to not do sports, track and similar activities at least half a year post-surgery. Even after, early onset of degenerative diseases and injury to the knee are more likely, so it's quite a nasty tear to have. If grafts are NOT used, then it will take less time to heal. Of course, the severity of the tear is key to consider.

ACL tears are common in athletes who engage in contact sports because they are more likely to do certain movements that can damage the ACL. For example, when a runner suddenly slows down/stops and does a sharp turn. Or, when a martial artist jumps back to avoid an on-coming kick but slips and sharply turns.

Think of the knee as a flexible bar. The various outer ligaments (their names aren't important for this) regulate the degree of bending in various directions. The ACL is in the middle of the knee, so it limits the degree of rotation of the femur (the part of the leg above the knee and below the hip) and provides some structural support. When it's torn, the knee is weakened and treatment is vital because other injuries are more likely to occur.

The last line of your quote I'm not going to go in as much detail since you have very little biology knowledge, "female athletes are six times more likely to tear their ACL than their male counterparts". Part of this is due to differences in hormone levels. Also, the skeleton of females and males are distinctly different, one of which causes less flexion.

[Iridescence]

Well I talked to her today and she doesn't have to have surgery and her leg isn't broken like we thought it could have been but it will still take quiet some time for her to recover.
but thank you The Man And xx The Master and I knew that she needed an MRI to take a closer look at the ligaments but since she was at the hospital, I don't think an MRI was available at the time.
and sorry Keena about your friend but I'm glad to hear that she's better

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Originally Posted by NeonxNinjas

Well I talked to her today and she doesn't have to have surgery and her leg isn't broken like we thought it could have been but it will still take quiet some time for her to recover.

ACL tears don't involve breaking any legs. Is the ACL intact? If so, what is the injury?

Originally Posted by NeonxNinjas

but thank you The Man And xx The Master and I knew that she needed an MRI to take a closer look at the ligaments but since she was at the hospital, I don't think an MRI was available at the time.

What dumpy hospital was she at? Most equipped hospitals have MRI machines.

[LittleMiss]

Originally Posted by The Man And XX Master

What dumpy hospital was she at? Most equipped hospitals have MRI machines.

A lot of hospitals don't have MRIs. It's very lucky for some country hospitals to even have X-rays or a functioning Accident and Emergency department.
It's unfortunate but majority of hospitals are not like the big, fully equipped ones you see on TV and in the city.

I'm studying ACL at the moment.
It depends on the grade of the tear, if it's a partial tear it will be less severe than a complete tear.
Also, if it's an avulsion fracture of the ACL, it will show on an x-ray as the ligament tears away and takes a fragment of bone with it.

[PutYourHeartsUp]

Originally Posted by LittleMiss

A lot of hospitals don't have MRIs. It's very lucky for some country hospitals to even have X-rays or a functioning Accident and Emergency department.
It's unfortunate but majority of hospitals are not like the big, fully equipped ones you see on TV and in the city.

I'm studying ACL at the moment.
It depends on the grade of the tear, if it's a partial tear it will be less severe than a complete tear.
Also, if it's an avulsion fracture of the ACL, it will show on an x-ray as the ligament tears away and takes a fragment of bone with it.

In the US I'm pretty sure almost all hospitals have at least one MRI and one X-RAY. However, this does not mean you'll always be able to use the one at the hospital. Sometimes you may have to wait because of people with more serious injuries.

[Iridescence]

It's very lucky for some country hospitals to even have X-rays or a functioning Accident and Emergency department.
It's unfortunate but majority of hospitals are not like the big, fully equipped ones you see on TV and in the city.

haha I don't live in the country :P I happen to live in I think the 2nd biggest city in Kansas.
But I think they took her to Riverside Hospital , I'm not sure how well equipped that hospital is because I only go to Galicia Hospital.
The Man And xx Master, I know that tearing the ACL doesn't involve braking any bones but we thought there was a slight chance that she did. But I don't know anything thing further then what I have updated.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Originally Posted by LittleMiss

A lot of hospitals don't have MRIs. It's very lucky for some country hospitals to even have X-rays or a functioning Accident and Emergency department.
It's unfortunate but majority of hospitals are not like the big, fully equipped ones you see on TV and in the city.

I noticed you're in a different country, so for Australia that may very well be the case, however, in North America, it's quite the opposite. I'm well aware of how the departments are in hospitals, I've worked in a hospital for a bit over a year. Although I wasn't working in the emergency department, I took a few shifts for people who worked there and couldn't make it. Usually there's a wait for X-rays and MRIs, somewhat based on priority. However, the OP admitted to not living in a small county area.