ACL: What to do between diagnosis & surgery

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❗️Should I be doing anything before surgery⁉️ I get this question from patients & parents all the time…YES💯 ✴️✴️✴️ In Part 1 of this simple 🏡 program the focus is on maintaining ROM, decreasing swelling & keeping your muscles activated. ✴️✴️✴️ All of these exercises can be progressed and loaded heavier but you might as well get on your feet (Part 2) unless you have other damaged structures that prevent you from full WB. ✴️✴️✴️ In this video my athlete is 2 weeks post injury and a few days post MRI diagnosis. ✴️✴️✴️ For full explanation and longer videos check out the blog post💻 "ACL: What to do between diagnosis and surgery" chrisbutlersportspt.com 🔗link in bio for now ❤️ it? TAG someone who would be helped by this👍

A post shared by Chris Butler, MPT, CSCS (@cbutlersportspt) on Jun 26, 2017 at 8:44pm PDT

Tearing your ACL is typically a traumatic event, most of my ACL patients report knowing they did something serious to their knee.  This will usually land you in the office of an orthopedic specialist within a week of the incident.  Once there is confirmation and diagnosis of an ACL tear it can often take up to 2 months to schedule a surgical date, it may be due to personal schedules, surgeon schedule, or researching graft choices. 

Little Leaguer’s Elbow

This is a guest post from Kevin Wentz, PT, CSCS.  Kevin is the Founder and Co-Owner of Catz Physical Therapy Institute and Sports Performance Center in Pasadena, CA.  He has been a leader in the sports medicine field since 1994 and has rehabbed the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, David Beckham, and Adrian Beltre.  I have had the good fortune of working with him at Catz since 2007.

Elbow Injuries in Young Baseball Pitchers

 by Kevin Wentz

Strength Training for Runners and Endurance Athletes

 

Running is a big deal here in Pasadena, we have numerous running  &  tri clubs nearby, and a niche running store that specializes in finding the right shoe for your foot, running style and terrain choice.  The Arroyo Seco provides some nature and uneven trail surfaces while the Rose Bowl gives you a nice 5K loop that is traveled daily by runners, walkers and cyclists.  Annually, Pasadena hosts its own Marathon and being only a few miles north of Downtown, the LA Marathon is a common training goal for many runners to work towards.  When working with an endurance athlete, it’s important to remember that it’s always good to work towards strength.  Strength helps everything.  However, the opposite is true with power athletes, you don’t want power-lifters, weight-lifters, sprinters or in my opinion, baseball pitchers going on long endurance runs, but everybody benefits from getting stronger.  Often times it will take some convincing to get your endurance specialist to buy into getting stronger because many runners believe building strength will add bulk.  Here are just a few fairly recent studies to support strength for improved endurance performance.  I will add to this list as I come across pertinent studies and articles. 

Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports 2013 Aug

Optimizing strength training for running and cycling endurance performance: A review.
B R Rønnestad, I Mujika

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 2014 Mar

Mixed maximal and explosive strength training in recreational endurance runners.
Ritva S Taipale, Jussi Mikkola, Tiina Salo, Laura Hokka, Ville Vesterinen, William J Kraemer, Ari Nummela, Keijo Häkkinen

Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 2008 Jun

Maximal strength training improves running economy in distance runners.
Oyvind Støren, Jan Helgerud, Eva Maria Støa, Jan Hoff

Running Injury Management

This is a guest post from Kevin Wentz, PT, CSCS.  Kevin is the Founder and Co-Owner of Catz Physical Therapy Institute and Sports Performance Center in Pasadena, CA.  He has been a leader in the sports medicine field since 1994 and has rehabbed the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, David Beckham, and Adrian Beltre.  I have had the good fortune of working with him at Catz since 2007.

Physical Therapy Management of Running Injuries

 by Kevin Wentz

Is Early Sport Specialization a Risk Factor for Anterior Knee Pain in Female Athletes?

Youth sport specialization has become a hot topic in the sports medicine world recently.  Baseball seems to be getting much of the attention, with the record setting pace of Tommy John surgeries in the MLB and studies reporting pitching participation on consecutive days and in some cases multiple games per day.  

Lateral Cutting Faults in ACL Rehab and Prevention

Recently some of my high level female soccer players have undergone biomechanical analysis in their 5th month post-op ACL reconstruction.  Despite demonstrating good control and depth on box drops, squats (double, split and single leg stances) step downs, deceleration, running gait and jumping mechanics (double, split and single leg), there was one common fault. 

Choosing an ACL graft

ACL reconstruction is one of the most common arthroscopic surgeries performed in the United States, and there are many factors to consider when it comes to graft choice.  Usually it starts with the surgeon you select, many surgeons have a specialty and may recommend that as the best option.  Currently there are several options for graft selection and all but the synthetic grafts have shown good results.

Baseball: The effect of balance on elbow health, is there a relationship?

Baseball Players Diagnosed with Ulnar Collateral Ligament Tears Demonstrate Decreased Balance Compared to Healthy Controls. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy 10-2013.  J. Craig Garrison, Amanda Arnold, Michael J. Macko, John E. Conway

The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) is commonly injured in many baseball players, and is the ligament repaired during Tommy John surgery.  Sadly, many of the ballplayers receiving the surgery are under the age of 20.  There are many myths regarding the effects of Tommy John surgery,