INERTIA: A Therapist's Thoughts

INERTIA - Archive

2/14/2012

Getting Back to Play

One of the more common injuries we see in the Sports Medicine Center is ACL tears of the knee. A lot of interesting research has been done on the topic, and there are plenty of continuing education courses dedicated to rehab following the reconstructive surgery. Many physical therapists will also debate when it is best to allow someone to return to sports.

I just came across an interesting article published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that looked at how many people following ACL surgery return to playing his or her sport. The reason this caught my eye was that it discussed other factors we don't always address in PT. Ninety percent of the participants showed good functional outcomes, but many of those cited other reasons for why they didn't return to playing sports. Those included psychosocial issues like fear of reinjury, unable to take leave from work if reinjured, changes in living situations, etc. It is great we have improved the post operative rehab to have 90% returning to normal, but surprising so many choose not to return to competitive sports.

These non-biomechanical factors seem to be appearing more in research for all areas. Previously it was more often discussed relating to low back pain. Perhaps there is something more that needs to be included in the rehab process to make sure our patients have the confidence to return to their activities as desired.

Share on Facebook

Posted 2:49 PM

Feedback - Permalink

Create Edit

Time to get the upper extremities involved in the "Exercises I Love" series. We treat a lot of shoulder injuries in the Sports Medicine Center, so I want to make sure to include some of the exercises that I use a lot for these injuries also.

Prone Scapular Strengthening

Some call these “Y,” “I” and “T” exercises, and I understand that I am kind of cheating adding three exercises into one here, but they go together well and I usually give them out all at once. Most people do not address the posterior shoulder stabilizers with workouts, and combining that with poor posture, leads to weakness around the shoulder blade. I hate to say all, but I’m pretty sure that all of my patients with shoulder issues get these exercises (or some variation) as part of their home program.

Prone Extension

Lie on stomach with involved arm hanging off the table. Set shoulder blades back and hold position. In a thumb-up position, slowly raise your arm behind you to table height keeping your elbow straight.

Prone Shoulder Abduction

Lie on stomach with the involved arm hanging off the table. Keeping the elbow straight, pull the shoulder blades back and hold. In a thumb-out position, slowly lift arm sideways to table height and maintain the retracted position as you return to the starting position.

Prone Shoulder Flexion

Lie on stomach with the involved arm hanging off the table. Keeping the elbow straight, pull the shoulder blades backward and hold. Slowly lift arm forward to table height and maintain the retracted position as you return to the starting position.