Dr. Cunningham Case Review ACL Injury

The anterior cruciate ligament, more commonly known as the ACL, is a large ligament that connects the upper leg (femur) to the lower leg (tibia). The ACL helps to provide stability with motions such as cutting, pivoting, and changing direction.

Fast Facts

Females are 4 to 8 times more likely to tear their ACL compared to males
Up to 70% of ACL injuries are actually NON-contact (the athlete plants their foot, pivots to change direction, etc… and as a result of this motion the ACL tears away from both bones)
Recovery time for a torn ACL is typically over a year when taking into account surgery, physical therapy and rehabilitation
After an ACL injury, most athletes are required to wear a brace when they return to their sport
ACL tears are commonly seen in sports where there is frequent cutting and jumping, such as soccer and lacrosse

Preventing ACL Injuries

Knee injuries are a hot topic; there has been a large focus on how to shorten the recovery period after an ACL injury and on how to improve the success of ACL surgeries. However, it is critical to emphasize the prevention of injuries so they don’t occur in the first place.

Strengthen the lower body to lower the risk of tearing the ACL
- Adequate hip strength can prevent the collapsing of the knee
- Retraining balance will teach the athlete to land correctly
Diminish the twisting force of the ACL to possibly reduce injury rates

Dr. Kelly Cunningham reviews video of a ACL case:

"As pictured, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears can be complete or partial, the latter demonstrated in this video.
Note how the continuity of the ligament remains. The ligament can be strengthened by injection of stem cell and growth factors, either combined with surgery, or often avoiding surgery entirely. This is a novel, cutting- edge way of treating sports injuries of the knee." says Dr. Cunningham.

Dr. Kelly Cunningham

Sports can be rough on joints and cartilage, especially shoulders, knees, and hips. Kelly Cunningham, MD, has cared for many young and mature athletes whose joints take a beating day in and day out. He welcomes patients from Austin, Texas, and its surrounding communities to experience the cutting-edge technology and skill offered by his team at Austin Ortho + Biologics.

Dr. Cunningham works with each athlete to develop an individual treatment plan that emphasizes the least invasive treatments possible with a goal of minimal recuperation and downtime. He combines rigorous standards and quality of care with experience and insight, integrating the best new techniques into the care of each patient.

His patients have included skilled athletes in football, basketball, baseball, and hockey, including members of the Dallas Cowboys at their Austin training camp, Austin Ice Bats hockey players, Southwestern University athletes, and many other college and high school athletes. He served for 15 years as a traveling team physician for the men’s alpine downhill US Olympic Ski Team, providing on-the-hill medical race coverage in North America and Europe, including qualifying races for the Winter Olympics.

As a sports medicine specialist, Dr. Cunningham also treats many seasoned weekend warriors such as runners, skiers (downhill, snowboard, and water), and tennis and golf enthusiasts.

After medical school and residency training in Dallas, he completed a sports medicine/knee fellowship with renowned orthopedic specialist Dr. Richard Steadman in Vail, Colorado, and underwent further shoulder training in England and Canada.

While with Dr. Steadman, the originator of the popular microfracture cartilage treatment technique, he developed a strong interest in the care of cartilage injuries and now has more than 20 years of experience with surgical microfracture and related procedures. In recent years, he has closely monitored cutting-edge techniques as they’re developed for use in these acute and chronic problems.

*Dr. Cunningham is no longer associated with Austin Sports Medicine LLP

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