Phil’s Knee Journey
Oh the irony.
I spend so much time working on injury prevention for both myself and for my Premier PT clients. About 25% of the people I work with here are working exclusively on injury prevention. Statistics say that the better your strength, range of motion, balance, and proprioceptive awareness, among other variables, the less likely you are to suffer from a major injury, such as an ACL tear.
To be clear, these programs REDUCE your injury risk; they don’t ELIMINATE it.
On Father’s Day, June 15th, 2025, I became a statistic.
I didn’t know it at the time but I had torn my right ACL and lateral meniscus; damaged my posterolateral corner near the LCL; and sprained my MCL. My knee hyperextended, buckled, and pivoted while toe-poking the soccer ball into the net at a full sprint. It’s a benign move I’ve done thousands of times previously. Maybe the grass field had something to do with it, maybe not, but I’m left with a lot of questions.
So what comes next? Surgery likely in August. This will include a right ACL reconstruction (different from a repair. ACL repairs don’t work), right lateral meniscus repair (repairs here typically DO work!), and a repair to my posterolateral corner + LCL. The MCL sprain is likely to improve with conservative management. It means I’ll be on crutches for a while which is tough in the short-term but better for long-term health (reduced osteoarthritis risk, reduced future risk of injury, better prognosis for return to play at a reasonably high level, better quality of life, etc).
Let my injury be a lesson to you! In this case, to my knowledge, I didn’t “do anything wrong.” I wasn’t reckless, I didn’t do anything stupid, I wasn’t exhausted; I just got unlucky. This could happen to you, too. Of course I hope this isn’t the case, but whatever we can do to reduce your risk of injury, let’s do it!
That means, as mentioned above, it’s important to work on your balance, proprioceptive awareness, range of motion, strength, power, cardiovascular fitness, motor control, and flexibility. If your strength and balance are good but your flexibility is poor, let’s do some stretching and yoga this summer! If your balance is poor when you’re tired, go for a run, get yourself tired, then work on your balance. I’d highly recommend you try this last suggestion. Maybe your balance is pretty good when you’re healthy and fresh, but I bet it deteriorates when muscle fatigue sets in! If so, work on it.
Hard work pays off. I’m sure my upcoming 12 months of post-operative hard work will pay off, too. Keep your head down. Keep working hard. Focus on the fundamentals and reduce your risk of injury. And of course, be positive; a positive mindset makes an enormous difference. 🙂