ARE THEY READY TO RETURN?

ARE THEY READY TO RETURN?

Adrian D'Costa

RTS from an ACLR has always been (and will be) a hot topic. Years of research are still showing us that on a whole we just aren’t getting it right. BUT we’re getting there.

Recent publications have started to question both the physiological and psychological considerations for returning to sport.

If you want to learn more about ACL rehab, you can subscribe and watch the lectures of ACL experts Kieran Richardson, Bart Dingenen, Lee Herrington here: Click here

 

1️⃣Physiologically, there is a good amount of evidence demonstrating the lack of readiness for sport. Many athletes are not meeting the requirements of the test batteries. And subsequently, we are seeing re-ruptures and revisions.

The answer is not just about being strict, although that is something we should all be with respect to returning and educating our patients about the possible risks. There also needs to be various forms of pre-testing such as normative data, pre-season testing and pre-operative testing (for both limbs). We discuss this in more detail in our video so it out.

 


2️⃣Psychologically, we are seeing the same things. Many athletes are not feeling confident and reassured in their knees' ability to perform during sport. Why is this?

This will vary for every individual, however testing pre and post operatives will allow us to screen for these individuals and delve deeper into WHY it is they feel a certain type of way.

This brings me to my next point which is, ARE WE RUSHING ATHLETES BACK TOO SOON⁉️

 


Some of the studies in these systematic reviews show athletes returned from 6 months onwards and a larger majority before 9 months!

While early return is impressive. A safe Return with the least likelihood of re-injury is BEST. This may result-open the question of longer return to sport times as proposed by Nagelli and Hewett (2017). There a many factors that will influence this, our Facebook video digs deeper into these issues.

It’s clear that even though we know a lot about ACLs and Return to Sport. There is still a lot in the grey and better questioning of the current body of evidence will lead to better research.

On a final thought, if a player doesn’t pass these physiological and psychological tests, should they return? What’s best for the athlete?
 

Easter discount!
Get 20% off for the yearly membership with the discount code: EASTER2022

If you want to learn more about ACL rehab, you can subscribe and watch the lectures of ACL experts Kieran Richardson, Bart Dingenen, Lee Herrington here: Click here

If you want to stay up to date and keep learning high quality information as a therapist, then a subscription to TrustMe - Ed, "The online education platform for therapists" would be great for you!
You can watch a new lecture every two weeks, made by experts in our field. You can sign up today and join the growing community of therapists who strive to be better here:

Did you know that we have a lot of free lectures?

Yes, you heard right! We give away a lot of totally FREE lectures. Feel free to have a look yourself.

Want us to email you occasionally with TrustMe - Ed news?