Can an ACL heal on it’s own?

When the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is torn, it does not repair itself unlike many other injuries. However, it is possible to recover and play sport without an ACL through specific exercises.

The ACL is one of the main structures stabilizing the knee. It is a robust piece of tissue, however many patients still tear the ligament.

Current surgical guidelines recommend up to a year of specific exercise prior to returning to certain sport. This, for a lot of non-elite athletes, can be overwhelming and a conservative approach may be more wise.

Many factors come into play when choosing non-operative treatment. The most important factor being the level of sport you wish to play at in the future.  Other factors include extent of damage to the knee joint, age, time, finance and effort.

Non-surgical treatment has several phases of which are criterion based. This means you cannot just start running and hope for the best. You must build up certain muscles and pass specific tests prior to returning to training and sport.

At Sydney Physiotherapy we have rehabilitated many people back to sport non-surgically and have become preffered rehabilitators for some of the world’s leading surgeons.