Recovery After ACL Injury

“He’s done his ACL”. The dreaded injury of AFL players and skiers alike is also an injury experienced by everyday people, doing their everyday social sport and activity.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament is a ligament deep inside the knee joint. It stops the lower leg from moving too far forward, at the knee. The ACL, along with other knee ligaments, gives our knees the stability they need for all our movements.

Recovery from ACL injury and reconstructive surgery is an ongoing and important process.

Recent research, published in the Journal of Physiotherapy found that lifestyle modifications, activity preferences and fear of re-injury had a real impact on peoples enjoyment of life, even 20 years after surgery.

Researcher, Stephanie Filbay, suggests that physiotherapists have an ongoing role in working with people after their surgery, to improve quality of life. She suggests, after the surgery and initial intensive rehabilitation, an annual or bi-annual Physiotherapy ACL check up to encourage maintenance of a physically active lifestyle and to prevent prolonged periods of quality of life impairment.