Researchers: Knee injury affects the brain

Anyone who's had a leg injury can probably relate.

Researchers at Ohio State University say a knee injury, such as an ACL tear, not only affects the leg but also the brain.

They noticed after an injury, and recovery, athletes perform differently.

To find out why, they put volunteers in MRI machines and asked them to move their legs.

There was a big difference between those who hurt their knee in the past and those who didn't suffer an injury.

"We found that a very simple knee movement that wasn't very complex at all, the brain changed immensely, if you've had the anterior cruciate ligament, ACL tear," Dustin Grooms, Ph.D. said.

Experts say after an injury, our brains rely more on vision than instinct for movement.

It can be distracting and for athletes can raise the risk of getting hurt again.

To change that, trainers are testing special glasses to pre-occupy a patient's eyes, in hopes of making movement more instinctive again.