Don't tell that to
Dennis Dixon from Oregon. He played with a torn ACL at Arizona on a Thursday night in November, granted he ended up leaving the game. If it's only a partial ACL tear, Rivers would likely take the risk and play on it.
The Register-Guard
Eugene, Oregon
November 20, 2007
DIXON’S ACL INJURY COMMON AMONG ATHLETES
By Tim Christie
"But few athletes attempt to do what Dixon did Thursday against Arizona — play quarterback for a high-powered college offense just 12 days after suffering a torn ACL.
Dixon is no ordinary athlete, as anyone who has watched him play hide-the-football or juke a linebacker out of his Under Armour can attest.
But his knee lasted less than a quarter before he crumpled to the turf while trying to evade a tackler.
Several orthopedic surgeons said Monday that it’s doubtful any athlete with a torn ACL could withstand the torques, twists and tackles of football, much less a running quarterback as athletic as Dixon. And by choosing to play so soon after tearing his ACL, Dixon risked injuring other parts of his knee, doctors say.
“If you want to do twisting, turning, stopping sports, that dog’s not going to hunt,” said Dr. Tom Vangsness,, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. “You’re going to stop or pivot, and get rotational instability on that knee, and you’re going to go down.”
By playing with a torn ACL, Dixon was in danger of hurting other parts of his knee, particularly the meniscus tissue and articular cartilage, the surgeons said.
Torn meniscus tissues can sometimes be repaired, and sometimes not, said Dr. Christopher Wahl, assistant professor in the University of Washington’s Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. Irreparable tears of the meniscus can increase the risk of arthritis in the knee down the road, he said.
