The treatment of the ACL injury should be determined by:
- Age of the patient - the older patient may be more likely to modify his lifestyle, and accept a conservative treatment program.
- Activity level and intensity - the competitive football or soccer player will likely require a reconstruction to continue at the same level. Studies in the past (Noyes) have shown that only 10% of non-operative athletes go back to the same level of sporting activities.
- Degree of instability - In the Dale Daniels study, outcome was related to degree of instability. If the KT-1000 side to side difference was greater than 7 mm, the chance of a better outcome was with surgical reconstruction.
- Size of athlete - The forces that a 300 lb. lineman exert with pivoting on his knee are much more that the 150 lb. tennis player.