What does it mean if your doctor tells you you have a chronic acl tear?

Acute versus chronic: An acute tear means that the acl tear recently occurred. In noncontact acl tears, this is typically associated with a bone bruise and a lateral meniscus tear (outside meniscus). After recovering from the tear, many people get back to a baseline state with a "chronic" (old) tear. It does not function like the original, but many patients can get by. A physical exam and/or MRI often shows this.

Depends: If the ligaments are lax, a combination of prolotherapy and stem cell treatments can help to get them strong again. Obviously, you will need to do your part in physical therapy and exercise in order to get the best results. Look into Regenexx, they have the best system for treating these things with stem cells and have different options. They even discuss optimal medicines and foods for healing