torn acl?

[redneck]

I hurt my knee about a month ago when I severely hyperextended it on a tumbling pass. I got an MRI and the only thing that came up was a very small tear at the bottom of my acl...but it was just diagnosed as a strain. I started physical therapy, but I jarred my knee at practice. I never heard anything pop, though it did pull a little. My physical therapist thought my acl was a little loose, but the trainer at my school thought it was fine. After they both checked it out, I jarred my knee again...again nothing popped. But when I stood up and walked my knee would move really jerky...it hyperextends and then pops back to normal when I walk. And sometimes I can feel something popping. It's a little swollen, but not bad. Do you think I've torn my acl? or is it something else?

Please help!
~Redneck

[Heather M.]

You've got to see an orthopedic surgeon who treats lots of athletes--especially gymnasts (I'm assuming, here, from your talk of a tumbling pass).  There's a great doctor who takes care of the US Olympic team in Alabama....

Anyway, PT's are very useful, and most athletes couldn't get by without their trainers....but they cannot definitively diagnose your knee injury.  For that you have to see a knee specialist orthopedic surgeon--fast.  

In the meantime, if it were my knee I would be on crutches with a brace on.  PT's should have access to it.  Or at the very least an Ace bandage to help reduce swelling.  RICE it like crazy.  If my knee felt that wobbly and unstable, I wouldn't be bearing my full weight on it.  I wouldn't be walking without crutches to take some weight off the injured joint.  It could be a sprain, but no one can say unless they are a specially trained medical professional with access to diagnostic testing services.

Just my two cents' worth.

Heather