ACL Tear in Under 3 Minutes: NPTE Cheat Sheet

ACL Tear — NPTE Cheat Sheet What it is: ACL failure from excessive anterior tibial translation — basically the tibia tries to run off and the ACL can’t hold the line. Classic signs: Pop Immediate swelling (1–2 hours) Pivot / cutting mechanism Instability Difficulty weight-bearing Rule-in test: Lachman test — NPTE’s #1. Rule-out clues: Slow swelling → Meniscus Posterior sag → PCL Medial pain → MCL NPTE trap: Delayed swelling means NOT ACL. Best treatment: Early ROM, quads, swelling control, gait normalized. Mock question included: Yes — test yourself before you move on. Lock down ACLs in under 3 minutes. Hit follow for more NPTE wins.

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