In the past, tears of the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, almost always signaled the end of a career for the college or professional athlete, especially one engaged in contact and collision sports, such as football and basketball. However, recent surgical and rehabilitation techniques have given hope to athletes with this injury. The knee joint is primarily held together with four ligaments. The ACL is the most important of the four ligaments for knee stability. The ACL almost always ruptures suddenly.
Some tears occur during a collision or from a direct blow.
The pain may be so severe that the player will feel nauseated and vomit. Sometimes players may have mild pain and swelling. Recent advances in surgical techniques used to repair the torn ligament have now made it possible for many NBA and NFL stars to return to a high level of play. Bernard King was the first NBA player to tear his ACL and return to near the same performance level after his 1995 surgery. Since then, scores of basketball players, including Manning and Harper, and professional football players, such as Barry Sanders and Ty Detmer, have returned to a high level of play after having surgery to repair torn ACLs.