ACL Injury

[Benoit]

Hi,
4 years ago in the last tennis match I played, a "pop" came up at the top right of my calves. 3 osteopath sessions later, a bit of "rest", seemed like it was ok.
Kept lifting, kb and bb, so far so good I thought...

Last year I did some sprints with Arthur, the young tennis pro I coach. Bing: leg swollen. Osteo. Rest. Hmm...

2 month ago, I was coaching (tennis), barely moving, and it happened again.

Saw a chiropractor in Colombia (not such a good one), then a physio in Portugal (seemed more knowledgeable, and not to the point of making big change).
This time, the pain has't gone away. Stubborn as I am, I ve kept working around it, bicycling instead of lower body strength, and kept upper body work. Still, not very satisfying! And swollen for apparently no reason.

Last Sunday, under the recommendations of another coach, I saw a great physio in Belgrade who looked carefully and tested my leg, then said it s typical ACL injury grade 1. And the best is plasma injection. Which I did the day after.
So, one week later, he told me that I should not lift, even upper body, and based on his body (which corresponds to Pavel principle "you should have a chiropractor that lifts more than you", 193kg in bench press definitely qualifies) I have chosen, for once, to listen. Bravo Benoit.

My question while I m back to yoga and do breathing exercises while you think:
- does anyone of you has specific recommendation(s) for this kind of injury rehab (besides listen to your physio Benoit!)?
Or, alternatively, things I definitely need to avoid...

Thanks in advance,
Benoit

 

[offwidth]

Not medical advice but…

I would definitely avoid any activities that involve twisting or rapid directional changes whilst you are healing. So things like tennis, sports like rugby, and most martial arts are probably not a good idea for the time being if you want to avoid moving to a grade 3 tear.

And yes Benoit… listen to your physiotherapist…

 

[Tony Gracia]

It's great to hear you found a good PT to help. That should be your primary resource.

When your PT feels like you are ready to resume some strength training and other activities, maybe ask about open chain vs. closed chain movements.

I trained a woman for years who had a full ACL rupture and elected not to get surgery. We had a great PT who saw patients out of the gym and he was able to offer some helpful advice. Generally speaking "closed chain" movements such as deadlifts, swings, and squats were considered pretty safe and given the green light. "Open chain" movements (where the one foot or both feet leave the ground) were not advised. Examples of the latter would be sprinting, martial arts kicks, and box jumps.

Again, the PT you see in person will be your best resource for this, but hopefully this gives you a talking point that you can bring up as you progress in your recovery.

 

[Benoit]

Not medical advice but…

I would definitely avoid any activities that involve twisting or rapid directional changes whilst you are healing. So things like tennis, sports like rugby, and most martial arts are probably not a good idea for the time being if you want to avoid moving to a grade 3 tear.

And yes Benoit… listen to your physiotherapist…

Thank you, good to know

 

[Benoit]

It's great to hear you found a good PT to help. That should be your primary resource.

When your PT feels like you are ready to resume some strength training and other activities, maybe ask about open chain vs. closed chain movements.

I trained a woman for years who had a full ACL rupture and elected not to get surgery. We had a great PT who saw patients out of the gym and he was able to offer some helpful advice. Generally speaking "closed chain" movements such as deadlifts, swings, and squats were considered pretty safe and given the green light. "Open chain" movements (where the one foot or both feet leave the ground) were not advised. Examples of the latter would be sprinting, martial arts kicks, and box jumps.

Again, the PT you see in person will be your best resource for this, but hopefully this gives you a talking point that you can bring up as you progress in your recovery.

Thank you Tony, makes sense. Having said this, for me the challenge seems to be squats and lunges, while swings and deadlift I believe are much easier and never create the swollen response. I could also do skipping rope without any pain.
The following question will be when is it going to be ok to sprint/ jump/ tennis. As you can see, patience is my forte

Alright, I m waiting for the PT to give me the first green light...