Tom Brady is a professional football player who is currently the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots. Brady was the NFL's Most Valuable Player of 2007 and was twice named Super Bowl MVP. But, in the first game of the 2008 NFL season, Brady was injured when he was knocked down by Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Bernard Pollard. Brady collapsed to the ground in obvious pain and was carried off the field by athletic trainers. Brady was then examined by doctors and had an MRI performed on his knee. Tom Brady has been diagnosed with a season-ending knee injury. Brady had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear and a medial collateral ligament (MCL) tear. Brady then had to make a decision. Did he want surgery or did he want to rehab the knee and have a slow recovery and have the possibility of sitting out more than a season? The ACL does not heal on its own when it is completely torn and therefore surgical reconstruction of the ligament is the usual treatment. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the most important of the four major ligaments of the knee. The function of the ACL is to provide stability to the knee and minimize stress on the knee joint. It limits excessive forward movement of the leg bone (the tibia) relative to the femur (the femur). It also limits rotational movements of the knee. “Increased external knee valgus and internal rotation moments have been shown to increase loading on the ACL in vitro and are thought to be associated with increased risk of non-contact ACL injury” (Effects 2011). An anterior cruciate ligament injury is the result of overstretching of this ligament on the inside of the knee. It is usually due to a sudden stop and twisting motion of the knee, or a “…… middle of paper … if you are elderly, surgery is optional. If you are an active athletic person like Tom Brady, surgery is necessary to return to your normal active lifestyle. Works CitedMillett, Peter J. Rehabilitation Protocol for ACL Reconstruction. Vail, CO: The Steadman Clinic.McKeon, Brian P. “Patient Information Sheet: Anterior Cruciate Ligament.” Boston Sports & Shoulder Center (n.d.): 5.Tsai, Liang-Ching, Susan M. Sigward, and Christine D. Pollard. “Effects of Fatigue and Recovery on Knee Mechanics During Lateral Step Cutting.” Medicine and science in sport and exercise 41.10 (2009): 1952-7. Select OmniFile full text. Network. December 5, 2011.Vonderfecht, Sean. ACL Rehabilitation Kaitlin Kumke. 7 11 2011. "What is the anterior cruciate ligament?". ehealthMD. November 22. 2011..