Swelling, Instability, and More: The Common Symptoms of an ACL Injury

If you've recently injured your ACL, you may have experienced a pop or snap at the time of the injury, or you may have felt pain immediately.

Some people don't feel any pain initially but notice that their knee feels "off."

In the hours and days following the injury, it is common to experience swelling around the knee, instability, and difficulty controlling the movement of the knee.

It is also possible to have additional injuries to the meniscus or cartilage in the knee.

If you have injured your ACL, it is important to seek medical attention to properly diagnose and treat the injury.

STRENGTH TRAINING FOR DECREASING INJURY RISK - FLOW KNOWS

Craig from Flow Physio Co Sutherland talks to us about a recent study that looked at the effects of strength training on injury risk. Read on for more.

Strength training programs as a whole reduced the likelihood of injury by 66% (Lauersen et al 2018)

A recent meta-analysis of 6 studies with a combined total of 7739 participants aged from 12-40 published in the BJSM looked at strengthening intervention on injury risk.

It was found that strength training programs as a whole reduced the likelihood of injury by 66% with 95% certainty!

It was also found that the longer programs provided the most favourable results.

The programs had an average of 8 months with zero adverse effects reported.

Strength training appears to have a direct preventative effect for injuries of the hamstrings, ACL and anterior knee pain.

Take Home Messages:

• This study obviously indicates the benefits of implementing a strengthening program for all athletes and weekend warriors regardless of age or sport

• Consistency over time provides the greatest benefits

• Strength training is safe

• Appropriate dosage and progression is important

Reference: Lauersen JB, Andersen TE, Andersen LB. Strength training as superior, dose-dependent and safe prevention of acute and overuse sports injuries: a systematic review, qualitative analysis and meta-analysis Br J Sports Med 2018;52:1557-1563.

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Returning to sport after ACL surgery - When are you ready?

What is guiding your return to sport after your Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) surgery?

What makes you confident in your decision to return to sport?

We too often see clients who have no clear pathway to return to sport. Here is a brief snapshot of what we assess to make sure we are helping our clients decrease their risk of re-injury when returning to sport:

1. >90% on lower limb strength testing comparative to uninjured side

2. >90% on hop testing comparative to uninjured side (single leg hop, single leg triple hop, single leg crossover hop, timed 6m hop, lateral hop)

3. >9 months post surgery

4. Implementation of an ongoing prevention program

5. Confidence to return to sport as assessed through questionnaires

We know that returning to cutting sports like AFL, soccer, rugby, netball after an ACL surgery means around a 4 times greater risk of re-injury. Making sure you meet these criteria before return to sport has been shown to reduce injury rates by up to 84%.

What guiding your decision to return to sport after ACL reconstruction? We’d love to know!

ACL INJURY - RETURNING TO SPORT WITHOUT SURGERY

A subset of people who suffer an ACL rupture can successfully return to sport without surgery.

We refer to them as copers or responders.

How do we identify them and have a successful return to sport?

1. Screen for suitability - this isn't for everyone
2. Systematically rehab - progression is key
3. Test against objective criteria with minimum standards