ACL Injury Treatment: Exploring the Cross Bracing Method for Recovery (Part 1 of 3)
By Adam Walker, Gold Coast Knee Group
Hi there!
At Gold Coast Knee Group, we’re passionate about helping you find the best ACL injury treatment to get back to doing what you love. An ACL injury happens when a strong ligament inside your knee, called the ACL, gets hurt. This can make your knee feel wobbly, sore, or swollen. If you’re dealing with an ACL injury, you might feel scared or unsure about what to do next. That’s okay! We’re here to explain knee injury treatment options in a simple way, starting with a new approach called the Cross Bracing Method.
I’ve spent years studying ACL recovery and helping people heal. I even completed a PhD on how to optimise rehab for ACL injuries! Over the next few posts, I’ll share three paths for ACL injury treatment. This edition we’re focusing on the Cross Bracing Method, an exciting way to help your knee heal without surgery. Let’s get started!
Three Ways to Heal Your ACL
An ACL injury often happens during sports, like when you jump or turn quickly. Your knee might swell, hurt, or feel unsteady. Don’t worry—Gold Coast Knee Group is here to guide you through ACL recovery. There are three main options for knee injury treatment:
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- The Cross Bracing Method (we’ll talk about this one today).
- Rehabilitation without surgery, with surgery later if needed.
- Getting surgery right away to fix the ACL.
Each option for ACL injury treatment has its own pros and cons. We’ll help you choose the one that’s best for your ACL recovery goals.
What Is the Cross Bracing Method?
The Cross Bracing Method is a new way to help your ACL heal without surgery. It was created by two Australian doctors, Dr. Mervyn Cross and Dr. Tom Cross. They discovered that holding your knee in a brace at 90 degrees can help the ACL mend on its own. Think of it like putting a cast on a broken arm to let it heal. This method is changing how we think about ACL healing without surgery.
Here’s how the Cross Bracing Method works:
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- You wear a brace that keeps your knee bent at a 90-degree angle for about 4 weeks (sometimes shorter, depending on the severity of the injury).
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- After that, the brace allows more movement each week.
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- At 12 weeks (or shorter depending on the protocol), doctors take an MRI to check if the ACL is healing.
This ACL injury treatment has helped many people—over 90% of them saw their ACL heal in early studies! That’s exciting because doctors used to think ACL recovery without surgery wasn’t possible.
The Cross Bracing Team has just released an excellent website – healacl.com – which has a lot of information on each of the protocols and how it works.
Who Can Try This Method?
Not everyone can use the Cross Bracing Method for ACL injury treatment. A specialist doctor, called a Sports and Exercise Medicine Physician, looks at your knee’s MRI to see if it’s a good fit. They check things like:
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- Where the tear is in your ACL.
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- How big the tear is.
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- The distance between the torn ends of your ACL
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- How long it’s been since your knee injury (it’s best to start within 7-10 days).
If your injury is right for the Cross Bracing Method, the doctor will explain everything clearly. At Gold Coast Knee Group, we work with great doctors like Dr. Cross himself to ensure you get the best advice for ACL recovery.
What’s Good and Not So Good About Bracing?
Before choosing the Cross Bracing Method, it’s important to understand its benefits and challenges for ACL injury treatment.
Pros:
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- Your ACL might heal naturally, like it was never injured!
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- You avoid surgery, which means no cuts, scars, or extra pain.
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- It’s usually less painful in the first few weeks of ACL recovery.
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- If it doesn’t work, you can still get surgery later.
Cons:
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- Wearing a brace for 12 weeks can be tough.
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- If it’s your right knee, you can’t drive for a while.
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- Your leg might feel stiff or weak from not moving much.
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- There’s a small chance the ACL won’t heal perfectly.
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- We’re still learning how well it works over many years.
At Gold Coast Knee Group, we support you through every step of ACL healing without surgery. We’ll give you exercises and tips to make bracing easier and keep your knee strong.
What Happens After Bracing?
With the Cross Bracing Method, your knee can get strong enough to play sports again in about 9-12 months
—similar to surgery. The MRI at 12 weeks shows if your ACL looks healthy. I’ve helped people like skateboarders, soccer players, and surfers return to their favorite activities after ACL recovery with bracing, and they were thrilled!
The chance of hurting your knee again is about the same as with surgery. You’ll need to do exercises during and after bracing to support your ACL injury treatment.
What to Do If You Think You Hurt Your ACL
If your knee hurts and you suspect an ACL injury, act quickly for the best ACL injury treatment options:
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- Don’t straighten your knee. Keep it bent a little to protect it.
- See a doctor fast (within 7-10 days) to get an X-ray and MRI. This helps us know if the Cross Bracing Method could work.
- Get Assessed by a doctor trained in the Cross Bracing Method. This is a crucial step to ensure you don’t do the Cross Bracing if your ACL isn’t in a position to heal.
- Rest and use ice to reduce pain and swelling. A physiotherapist at Gold Coast Knee Group can help.
- Use crutches to avoid putting weight on your knee.
- Get a brace that limits knee movement to 30-90 degrees until the doctor checks it.
These steps don’t mean you have to choose bracing—they just keep ACL healing without surgery as an option for your ACL recovery.
Why We Like the Cross Bracing Method
At Gold Coast Knee Group, we’re excited about new ways to improve ACL injury treatment. The Cross Bracing Method is promising because it might let your knee heal naturally. If I had an ACL injury and my knee was a good fit, I’d try it! But we always focus on what’s best for you, not just what’s new.
Next post, we’ll explore another ACL injury treatment option: strengthening your knee with exercises, with surgery as a backup. Stay tuned for more on ACL recovery!
Have questions about ACL injury treatment? Contact Gold Coast Knee Group. We’re here to help you get back to your active life.
Yours in knee health,
Adam Walker
Gold Coast Knee Group
adam@gckneegroup.com.au
0408 051 943
p.s. Our Sports Knee Program is a speciality program for ACL injuries and may be the best thing you ever do for your knee.
FAQ
Common Questions About ACL Injury Treatment
An ACL injury happens when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a band inside your knee, tears or stretches. It often occurs during sports or sudden movements, causing pain, swelling, or a wobbly knee.
The Cross Bracing Method uses a special brace to hold your knee in a bent position, helping the ACL heal naturally. It’s a non-surgical knee injury treatment that has helped over 90% of people in early studies achieve ACL healing without surgery.
Not everyone is a good fit. A doctor checks your MRI to see if your ACL tear can heal with bracing. Factors like the tear’s location and how soon you start matter.
With the Cross Bracing Method, you wear a brace for about 12 weeks, and full ACL recovery to return to sports takes around 9-12 months, similar to surgery. Exercises are key to strengthening your knee.
If you suspect an ACL injury, don’t straighten your knee, use ice, and see a doctor within 7-10 days for an MRI.
It depends on your injury and goals. The Cross Bracing Method offers ACL healing without surgery, avoiding surgical risks, but it requires wearing a brace for weeks. Surgery might be better for some.
