Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear is one of the most common, if not the most common, type of injury suffered by athletes in different sports. A damage incurred in the ACL might end the career of an athlete or might not let them get back to playing at their full potential. This type of injury is common to athletes as these ligaments are found in the knee and a lot of sports involve movements that put stress on the knee. Undergoing ACL physical therapy is the most effective way to help the ACL recuperate from a tear. There are many ways to do ACL physical therapy depending on the preference of a physical therapist.
If the ACL tear that is suffered by an athlete or any individual is considered severe, the most likely procedure to be done is surgery. ACL reconstruction surgery is the most common procedure done to help the fix the ACL. After surgery, it is most likely that the surgeon will recommend undergoing ACL physical therapy to help the knees restore its strength and normal movement. Especially for professional athletes, they are immediately provided with a personal therapist to help the knee recover as soon as possible.
Doing exercise routines are the usual start of ACL physical therapy after surgery. It is highly recommended that the exercise routines start slow and gradually increases over time. These exercises are most likely to be done at least thrice per week to ensure that the recovery process will progress. Physical therapists will provide a program that will serve as a guide for patients. Different types of exercises on different occasions to help in the recovery of different areas of the knee and to practice different movements. Since the movement of the knees would surely be restricted after an injury, these exercise routines will help the knee slowly get back its normal feel and function.
While on the recovery phase, patients are commonly advised to use a certain type of support in the knee. Knee braces are worn by patients as the knees are still not able to tolerate certain movements and they are not stable yet. After doing the initial exercises for a weeks or months, depending on the program, patients will undergo more intense workouts to further hasten the recovery until the knee gets back to normal.
After the ACL physical therapy program is accomplished, patients may still be feeling some pain or discomfort in the knee and it is just normal. For athletes, they are most likely not to play longer minutes in their first few games after recovering from an ACL injury. Even if this type of injury is severe, a patient could still fully recover as long as they are dedicated in performing exercise routines during the rehabilitation process and as long as they have good surgeons and physical therapists.
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