ACL Reconstruction: A patients journey

ACL Reconstruction: A patients journey

Guy was a keen sportsman competing in high level hockey and loved to ski. So when rupturing his ACL playing touch rugby with friends he was unsure what to do. 

He was able to get a diagnosis and booked in for his surgery privately but wanted his rehab journey to be sport specific and work around his studies.

Luckily Guy was recommended to Balance Sports Rehabilitation & Performance through a friend and this is where Guy's Rehab journey started. 

ACL Reconstruction Pre Op

After getting in contact with Tom at Balance, Guy booked in for a consultation to have a look at his knee and see if there was any rehab he could do pre-op to decrease recovery time after the operation. 

During the initial consultation Tom started with the aims of the patient (getting back to high level hockey), went through a full medical history and physical examination of the knee. 

Guy was already doing some useful exercises but Tom added some more specific rehab, had a look at Guy’s technique, went through some treatment techniques and made sure Guy’s knee was in a good place for the operation. 

All the exercises we uploaded to an online app (TrueCoach) with video demonstrations of the exercises, reps, sets and what days to complete. The app allowed Guy to tick the rehab once complete, report any issue directly to Tom, allow Tom to monitor progress and give accountability of rehab completed. 

ACL Reconstruction Post Op

Tom then saw Guy 1-week post ACL op to get him started with his rehab and make sure his scars were healing well. This is a really important stage looking to decrease swelling, increase range of motion, maintain muscle activation and normalise walking.

After seeing Guy for nearly a month with continued rehab progressions he had to return to University to continue his studies. This meant going online with his rehab via the app and onto Balances’ monthly subscription with regular Zoom catch ups to monitor progress. Guy was able to come back in the holidays to continue in person appointments. 

After finishing University 4-months post ACL op Guy’s goals changed as he set his sights on completing a marathon and a ski season. This changed the rehab prescribed and therefore adapted the rehab to meet these new demands. During this period Guy was able to visit the clinic regularly where we went through the rehab in the clinic and provided any maintenance treatment needed. 

Once back running we were able to prescribe gradual increased running loads for the marathon, while keeping a level of strength in the gym and focus on ski specific exercises.

During this time we also collected objective markers using the VALD force plates, gym lifting scores, bulk measures and running load. These were collected to make sure the injured leg was equal to the non injured side and gave Guy confidence to return to high running loads for the marathon and confidence in his knee strength and control for skiing. 

After ACL Reconstruction Rehab

Guy was able to successfully complete his marathon 10-months post ACL reconstruction which is no mean feat and testament to his commitment to the rehab process and hard graft in the gym. 

Now, currently undertaking a ski season in Japan Guy does not have access to gym facilities so we gave him a series of body weight exercises to maintain his lower body strength as the longer he can stay injury free the more skiing he can complete. 

Testimonial:

“Since my ACL reconstruction surgery last December, I have worked consistently with Tom. We balanced in-person and hybrid rehab sessions to accommodate my final year studies, both while I was at university and during holidays at home.

I can confidently say that without Tom's expertise and guidance I would not be in the position I am today. His attention to detail is flawless and has meant I have returned to sport fitter and stronger than pre-surgery. His meticulous attention to detail enabled me to complete my first marathon just 10 months after surgery.

I couldn’t recommend Tom more highly and I would gladly work with him again.”