SportSci Summit 2024: ACL Injury – What’s the way back for athletes?
There was a buzz among the delegates and also the speakers when the panel discussion on ACL injury was announced at the SportSci Summit 2024. The organizers saved the best topic for the last, as the audience woke up from slumber to hear what was in store. Some real heavyweights were lined up as experts for the discussion. Meet the Panelists It was a 4-panel discussion to go along with Dr. Vijay Bathina as the moderator. Everything about the ACL was discussed. Right from the cause, the symptoms, the healing, the recovery, and even the treatment. The experts shared their knowledge with the delegates, much to the delight of the audience inside the auditorium. ACL Injury: What are the common causes? The experts, Dr Poornima in particular shed light on the common causes and mechanisms of ACL injuries in athletes. Anterior Cruciate Ligament or ACL in general in athletes is caused due to sudden pivoting, landing, or overextending of the joint due to sporting activity. While the ACL injury is common in soccer, Dr Poornima also gave suitable examples of other sports where this injury is quite prevalent, like basketball and football. Gender Bias in ACL? Do male athletes take more time to recover? Are female athletes susceptible to the ACL? According to Dr. Aditya Sood, a female athlete might take more time to recover. This is because a woman has a thinner ACL tissue, making it easier to tear. An ACL injury can occur due to many reasons but three common reasons are anatomy, biomechanics, and hormones in females. ACL Recovery – The Phases In ACL injury, the recovery happens in a total of five phases. As per Dr. Poornima, it takes a minimum of six to nine months for an athlete to return to the field. However, the final timeline depends on the extent of the injury. The recovery can be an extremely frustrating period for the athlete. Also, preoperative rehabilitation (prehab) massively influences the postoperative outcomes for ACL injuries. Key Indicators – the ACL surgery Yuvraj Salvi, the strength and conditioning coach with the DDCA, BCCI has seen enough cricketers breaking down due to ACL injuries. This includes fast bowlers in particular. He explained to the audience, the pre-indicators depicting when an athlete is ready for ACL surgery. Some of the indicators are demographics, pain, effusion, knee extension, muscle strength, and more. As per Salvi, any change in the athlete’s plan is just to check whether everything is going smoothly. Current Advancements and Rehab Protocols According to Dr. Aditya Sood, sports are played physically but won mentally. And for sports athletes to win the battle against ACL surgery, they need to follow the right protocols to get back to the field, after regaining full fitness. While he agreed that there is a potential risk with every ACL injury, there are several performance tests in place to assess whether the player is fit enough to play again. He also shed light on strategies that are involved in preventing secondary ACL injuries. Lack of proper nutrition in young athletes is also a major reason behind the rise in the number of ACL injuries. However, the one effective way to prevent reinjury post-ACL reconstruction is effective load management. The increase in several matches, tight scheduling, poor health, and training from a young age, are prime reasons behind athletes picking up ACL injuries. With proper guidance, precaution, and knowledge transfer, an athlete can go on to avoid career-threatening ACL injuries. Also Read: Enhance Athletic Performance – experts show the way
