My plan was to upload my body composition stats at the start of the year… log my weekly training sessions and then recheck my body comp numbers and amaze you all with my ability to get “shredded” for the summer… HOWEVER… as I’m officially made of glass and can’t seem to get through a whole winter without picking up some kind of injury, I’ve managed to tear my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament - grade 2 tear). Fortunately my ACL did not completely rupture so no operation is necessary. But still, nightmare… Even more annoyingly; I’m not 100% sure when I did it, so I’ve been playing with half a ligament - adding to the tear!
What is your ACL?
The cruciate ligaments lie inside the centre of the knee, behind the knee cap and form an X. They control the backwards and forwards motion of the knee. Your anterior cruciate ligament is one of 4 main ligaments in your knee. Commonly injured in sports such as football and rugby, it’s often caused by a twisting motion at the knee with a kind of “buckling” motion noticed - quite commonly through landing or with impact.
Each of the four knee ligaments essentially prevent excessive knee movements in each direction; outside (laterally), inside (medially), backwards (posteriorly) and forwards (anteriorly). Your ACL prevents your Tibia (shin bone) from moving forwards, out of line with your Femur (thigh bone) as well and maintaining rotational stability. It is arguable your most important knee ligament.
Signs and symptoms
Usually joint laxity is noticed, where the knee joint is a bit more “wobbly” than normal. Think of your shoe with the laces tied up. If one comes loose, your foot moves around a lot more inside your shoe. Its a similar kind of principle (yes, there’s probably a lot better analogies out there!). The video below isn’t my knee, but shows a clear ACL rupture where the Tibia moves significantly away from the Femur with minimal force.
I noticed pain during tibial external rotation - specifically when a football could catch my toe and twist my foot outwards. Hyperextension was painful and any kind of twisting at the knee.
Rehabilitation
Rehab for an ACL injury massively depends on the grade of the injury. A complete tear (grade 3) would require surgery to reattach the ligament. This obviously takes longer to recover and footballers are often out for 8-12 months following ACL surgery. I'm hoping my injury isn't too badd (MRI scan images to come) so should be back after around 2 months.
The first phase of rehabilitation aims to maintain the strength of muscles around my knee as much as possible while my training is reduced. To strengthen the ligaments, proprioception has been found to be the best kind of exercise. So this will be completely daily as full weight baring is possible.
Phase 1: (3x12)
Squats
Forward step ups
Lateral step ups
Bridges to bench/chair
S/L calf raises
RDL with 4 cone pick up
Hip extension
Glute band side steps
Body Composition Stats
As of 20th February 2017:
Weight: 178lbs
Body fat %: 17.8%
Bone mass: 7.2lbs
Body water %: 56%
Muscle mass: 139lbs
Physique type: 5
Basal metabolic rate: 1955kcals
Metabolic age: 25 years
Viceral fat: 4%