Tears to the anterior cruciate ligament typically require surgical reconstruction
But the operation can cause muscle weakness
and doesn’t always restore proprioception or joint kinematics
A new biologic augmentation technique may overcome these limitations
The technique employs intra-ligamentous and intra-articular infiltration of bone marrow aspirate and platelet-rich plasma
to regenerate ACL tears
When used in athletes with symptomatic partial ACL injuries
the treatment restored both the structure and function of the ligament
with fewer complications and a faster recovery than traditional surgery
Although a larger cohort must still be tested
the results show the potential of biologic augmentation for ACL repair
Dallo, et al. Treatment of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Partial Tears Using the Technique of Biologic Augmentation with Bone Marrow Concentrate and Platelet-rich Plasma Under Arthroscopic Visualization: Preliminary Outcomes with 2 year follow-up. (2018)