Naomi tore her ACL playing volleyball - a full rupture. It was a devastating setback. On crutches and barely able to bend her knee, she faced a tough choice: take the surgeon’s advice and get ACL reconstruction… or attempt a non-surgical approach to healing her ACL naturally. Six month's later, here's what resulted from her decision.

SOURCES

VIDEOS

ABC News (Australia):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_4DAn2eglY&ab_channel=ABCNews%28Australia%29

Newscaster’s Voice: NewsNation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMHu3vJyYTU&t=4s&ab_channel=NewsNation

RESEARCH PAPERS

A randomized trial of treatment for acute anterior cruciate ligament tears (KANON trial)

https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa0907797?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Spontaneous healing in complete ACL ruptures: a clinical and MRI study

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3293953/

MRI of anterior cruciate ligament healing

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8606246/

Evidence of ACL healing on MRI following ACL rupture treated with rehabilitation alone may be associated with better patient-reported outcomes: a secondary analysis from the KANON trial

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/57/2/91

Acute tears of the anterior cruciate ligament. Surgical versus conservative treatment.

https://journals.lww.com/jbjsjournal/abstract/1988/70100/acute_tears_of_the_anterior_cruciate_ligament_.7.aspx

Acute torn meniscus combined with acute cruciate ligament injury. Second look arthroscopy after 3-month conservative treatment

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7924027/

Influence of age on healing capacity of acute tears of the anterior cruciate ligament based on magnetic resonance imaging assessment

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5359784/

Spontaneous healing in complete ACL ruptures: results at eight-year mean follow-up

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2325967118S00188

Effect of changing the joint kinematics of knees with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament on the molecular biological responses and spontaneous healing in a rat model

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0363546516654687

Surgical versus conservative interventions for treating anterior cruciate ligament injuries

https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD011166.pub2/full

Comparison of anterior cruciate ligament tears treated nonoperatively versus with reconstruction: risk of subsequent surgery

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34994581/

Walking in the absence of anterior cruciate ligament: the role of the quadriceps and hamstrings

https://consensus.app/papers/walking-in-the-absence-of-anterior-cruciate-ligament-the-galluzzo-sansone/00457900d31a5f839b75a181607dd555/

Healing of the acutely injured anterior cruciate ligament: functional treatment with the ACL-Jack, a dynamic posterior drawer brace

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5174171/