What is Grade I II III ACL injury? Is treatment same? | Dr. Manit Arora

There are three grades of ACL injury.

 

Grade I ACL – this is a stretch or internal tear of the ACL fibers. These injuries are typically treated conservatively with a brace and some medicines followed by a good physiotherapy protocol. If patients have ongoing symptoms a PRP or stem cell injection is sufficient. 

 

Grade II ACL – this is a partial tear or a tear of one of the bundles of the ACL. A low grade partial tear means only one bundle is involved whereas a high grade partial tear means both the bundles or more than 50% of the ligament is involved. Low grade partial tears are treated similar to grade 1 injuries but we usually inject PRP or stem cells early to help healing. High grade partial tears in the past used to be treated the same but many patients had progression on injury. Now we aggressively deal with these injuries through a new technique known as ACL repair. 

 

Grade III ACL – This is a complete tear of the ACL and needs surgery. There is no chance for healing on its own. No medicine can heal this injury. ACL repair (in certain cases) or ACL reconstruction (in most cases) is the answer.