What does the body need to function?
This is Franco one of our recent patients at Revitalize who around 2-3 months ago ruptured his ACL (1 of 2 internal knee ligaments), and suffered a high grade strain to his MCL (ligament on the inside of his knee) whilst playing football.
At the time the body responded in a typical way that was expected, pain, inflammation & swelling, restricted movement, a reduction in function including instability, with the body/brain trying to understand the new circumstances in his knee.
The body went ahead and did what it does best, and began the repair & rebuilding process. A lot of this happens naturally but there were things Franco did that helped the process along, he moved as much as he could, he tested his ability a couple times a week to see how far he’d improved (putting greater movement through his knee, weight bearing a greater load, climbing the stairs more ‘normally’), used some TENS to stimulate the muscles in the leg that was injured whilst not being able to use the injured leg as much, and came to seek advice, treatment and rehabilitation from us at Revitalize on how he could improve even further.
At first there was a need to do the simple things, slowly sitting & standing, balancing on one leg, testing strength, regaining range of movemet all markers that allowed us to progress at the right pace.
And where are we now?
Take a look for yourself…
Can you tell which of these knees doesn’t have an ACL?
There may be some subtleties, but on the whole, strength & function is returning. Yes there is work to do on balance, power generation, landing, running, turning/changing direction, introducing a ball, and Franco’s confidence in his own knee.
But compared to where he was after the injury this change is a great sign of improvement, the hard work he has put in, and the continuing adaptations his body is making to the forces he applies to it day in day out.
If you think you could benefit from less pain, better function, more freedom in doing things you can no longer do physically, then don’t hesitate to contact us at The Revitalize Clinic and book yourself in for a free consultation today.