ACL PROTOCOLS: Why You Should Love 'em and Why to Hate 'em!

[Guest Prosoft Admin]

Have you ever gone to a professional or college sports game?   

When you walk up to the gate who are you?JUST ANOTHER TICKETHOLDER, RIGHT? 

Is there anything special about you that matters to the person at the  gate?  Does where you're going to sit matter to that first ticket taker?   

 

YOU'RE JUST A NUMBER!  

 

When you walk into the game you're just another body, a paying fan who has a ticket.  You're not really different than any other person walking in with a ticket.  Every one of you is allowed in and it's basically your job to go find your seat and watch the game.  It doesn't matter if you took a bus or a car.  It doesn't matter if you're wearing sneakers or shoes.  You can buy snacks or not.  You can root for either team.  All sorts of things that make you unique just don't  truly  matter to that ticket taker. YOU'RE JUST A NUMBER!

 

That's pretty much how I felt when we went to the Bills vs. Ravens game last month. We almost helplessly existed in the mass of humanity slowly following each momentary path of least resistance making our way to the seven or eight lines of ticket takers, who weren't really bothered at all with who we were personally but would just keep saying "Next!" It's easy to get lulled to sleep. Just follow the crowd.  Don't think for yourself. 

 

Is that how you want to feel when you go see a Physical Therapist, or a Doctor? Just another knee? Just another ACL?  Is that how you want your Physical Therapist or Doctor to feel about you?

 

It's probably not a leap of faith on my part to assume I've got pretty much 100% of you pegged as a big,  huge "NO!"  Who wants to be just another number?  Just another body part. Maybe at the ticket gate .   

 

"But not when it's my knee!"

"Not when that's my child's knee!"

 

Now before we let the pendulum swing too far in one direction, let's stop for a moment to appreciate the great value protocols DO HAVE. 

 

Remember, you've just had an incredibly knowledgeable, well-trained, and skilled surgeon take a scalpel and a host of nearly Sci-fi human carpentry tools to your body to amazingly replace what was just torn and gone a little while ago. Each surgeon has their preferences for which graft to use. They have personal preferences for the brand of supplies they use to perform the surgery.  Heck, they even each have different types of music going while they do their thing in the Operating Room. 

 

Certainly it's a key step in the recovery to know and respect exactly what guidelines and limitations they want followed as this reconstruction they toiled over has a chance to heal. 

 

You mean PROTOCOLS actually are valuable?  Even though it's sort of treating me a bit like just another  ticket holder who came to the game  that week?  YEP, that's what I'm saying. 

 

For some parts of the recovery, there are just plain and simple human biologic healing rules that need to be respected.  Protocols offer a template, a sort of foundation to start from...most often based on those biology of healing constraints that cross the unique factors that make you and I different from one another and in a general sense bond  this group as a "forest" of ACL Reconstructions, rather than worrying about what makes each "tree" in the forest special or unique. 

And don't forget, there's some great value in making sure everyone's on the same page right?  I mean, if you're holding  a ticket for next week's game they aren't going to let you in today, right? Being "just another number" is sometimes necessary if you've gotta make sure you get into the stadium on the right day, at the right time, maybe even enter the easiest gate, and then go find that seat for the start of the game.  So protocols aren't all bad.

But if it all ended right there it wouldn't be very exciting. And remember, ¦we don't want to get lulled to sleep. There's still a game to play!  And while you're still "just a number," and following orders to stay in your assigned seat and you can only watch the game live at the assigned time, ¦there's all sorts of things that can make your experience unique.

For young athletes who undergo an ACL Reconstruction, a PROTOCOL might be part of what your Orthopedic Surgeon wants a Physical Therapist to follow.  But if you're smart you'll make sure that you're not left to become just another sheet of paper with the words "ACL Reconstruction Protocol" on it.  

In  that early post-op recovery there can be great variations in how our bodies handle surgery's assault on your body.  So even in those first days and weeks, you cannot be relegated to merely "another ACL Reconstruction patient." But the real value in making sure the concept of relying on a protocol doesn't backfire on you is once you're back on your feet walking and beginning to live life again. 

 

The word "protocol," even implies boredom doesn't it? Sameness. Familiarity. Even Mindlessness sometimes. 

 

There's a ton of unique and incredibly important physical abilities to monitor and even measure, not just at the actual surgically reconstructed knee itself, but maybe even MORE importantly at the REST OF YOUR BODY!  You got it! I am saying that having your Physical Therapist really understand your hip and foot, and even especially the opposite foot, and big toe and hip and trunk are ALL important if that ACL is to be fully and optimally and safely rehabbed. 

 

Protocols can vary in terms of how general or extensive they get.  Most at least give some minimal time frames before "Activity X" is allowed to start. Biology of healing, right?  We get that.  Minimal times required to try to allow tissues to mature and strengthen so they can handle increasing tension and stress.  But your recovery is so very much more than just how strong that ACL graft becomes. 

 

And that's where all your uniqueness can really come into play. And most protocols don't go nearly far enough to force Physical Therapists to dive into the details of your biomechanics so that potentially contributing shortcomings can be found. Having someone treat you like an individual and not a number is the first step in finding those areas that you might need addressed that are different than that other ACL patient on the table next to you. 

 

For the Physical Therapists at PEAK PERFORMANCE, it's part of our mission to become detectives who analyze your specific case and biomechanics.  We're dedicated to catching those contributing factors that can otherwise get overlooked.  We refuse to  become overly reliant on the "protocol" and always know that this is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime, never-before-seen, one-of-a-kind YOU. that's in front of us. 

 

You're not a number.  You're more than just a protocol. 

 

Why you came to the game DOES matter to us.  We care what shoes you wore to the game.  We want to know which team you're rooting for. 

 

Yes, you do have a ticket in your hand, but you and your recovery are way, way more than just another number to us!