Role of Magnetic resonance imaging in the Evaluating Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) plays a crucial role in maintaining knee stability. ACL injury can lead to functional disability in the patient and long-term complications like post traumatic arthritis so the diagnosis of ACL injuries with imaging is pivotal for the accurate management of the patient. MRI has emerged as the study of choice to correctly grade the ACL injury.

Objective: This study is aimed to assess the grading and evaluation of ACL injuries using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted over a twelve-month period from August 2024 to August 2025 in the Department of Radiodiagnosis, GCS Medical College and Hospital, Ahmedabad. A total of 50 patients with clinical suspicion of ACL injury were included in the study and MRI examinations were performed using a 1.5-Tesla scanner using the standard MRI knee protocol sequences. Imaging findings were analysed to determine the presence of ACL injury and grade the degree of injury.

Results: The mean age of patients was 35.76 ± 16.11 years, indicating a predominance of young to middle-aged individuals. Of the 50 patients, 26 (52%) were males and 24 (48%) were females, showing near equal gender distribution Grade - I injury - Sprain was the most common MRI finding (44%). Grade - ii injury - Partial tears accounted for 22%. Grade - iii injury - Complete tears constituted 28%. A small percentage (6%) fell under other injury descriptions.

Conclusion: MRI is a non-invasive and radiation-free imaging modality that plays a critical role in the accurate diagnosis of ACL injury, particularly in grading the injury from sprain to complete tear. MRI can significantly enhance diagnostic accuracy and guide therapeutic decision-making.