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| A Player's View After ACL Surgery |
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| By: Taylor Fallon |
Posted: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 9:44 am
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The Slammers FC's Taylor Fallon, who plays soccer for Indiana University, tells what it's like recovering from ACL surgery and trying to get back into playing shape before returning to college for her junior year in a few weeks. Follow Taylor's blog throughout the college season as she fills in XK readers on the peaks and valleys of rehab and trying to help the Hoosiers improve on their top-25 finish in the NCAA last season.
One of the most feared injuries in the soccer world today is a torn ACL. It seems that you hear about more and more athletes, especially females, who have suffered from this debilitating injury. A recent study has shown that one out of 10 female college athletes have an ACL tear at some point during their playing career.
In my 13 years of soccer I have endured only minor ankle problems and a few concussions. I took pride in the fact that I never had to miss a game or practice due to injury. Little did I know that the first real injury I would have would be one of the worst. I tore my ACL during an offseason practice in my sophomore year of college at Indiana University. We were playing keep-away in practice when I took a weird fall as I was going to win a 50/50 ball. I rolled around on the grass for a couple minutes but walked off the field with no pain. Since I did not hear a ‘popping’ sound I did not think I had anything more than a bruise or sprained knee. I sat out the rest of practice with Jessica B and Jessica K, two of my teammates who also tore their ACLs earlier in the season. Coach asked me how I felt and I told him it was nothing. Unfortunately, the next day the MRI results did show a slight tear in my right knee ligament.
When our trainer, Wendy, told me my surgery was scheduled in two weeks, the seriousness of the situation hit me. I was still a little clueless as to exactly what happens when you tear your ACL, but I knew surgery meant I really messed up my knee. The weird part for me about this injury was that for the two weeks prior to surgery my knee felt fine. My Tri Delt sorority sisters would see me icing my knee in the TV room and when I told them I tore my ACL, they didn’t understand how I was able to walk normally. Apparently, lots of people can endure an ACL tear without ever having surgery. Being an athlete, that wasn’t an option.
After seeing the video of the surgery— there was a camera inserted in my knee so the surgeon could see exactly what he was doing—it was obvious why they call it a ‘tear’. This summer I watched it with my parents and my two sisters, and they walked out of the room after five seconds of close-ups of blood and torn muscle (no one in my family is going to be doctor).
I am now approaching month four of rehab and things are finally starting to get moving. My trainer says the most important thing is to focus on strengthening my quad muscles so my knee has less work to do. The exercises for strengthening that muscle are endless.
I finally am able to run and it feels like I am operating on a new leg. Luckily I have no pain while running, just soreness the day after. My fitness level has a long way to go before I get back into the shape I used to be in. During the third month I used the stair master and elliptical machine, but running is a different kind of cardio that is more demanding. I can’t even imagine running the mile and half at 9 minutes and 30 seconds, which by the way is my school’s fitness test. I go back to school in less than three weeks and I know when I get there I have to show Wendy that I didn’t spend my whole summer at the beach— even though my bronze skin might look suspicious.
According to most trainers, athletes are normally back around six months. Although, it is different for everyone. The other day I felt pretty lame when I saw article written about a Miami Dolphins player who returned to football less than three months after ACL surgery. That is great for him but I have decided to take the full six months and make sure I am 100 percent when I return to soccer. I will keep you guys posted on my progress.
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