Injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is arguably the most devastating injury that an athlete can encounter during their sporting career, influencing not only the player but often their parents, teammates, managers and coaches as well. Having an ACL injury unavoidably triggers questions, such as “when will I be able to compete again?”

Rehabilitation starts even before the surgery to ensure that the athlete’s strength and range of motion are restored, preparing the knee optimally for surgery and giving the best chance of a positive start to the rehabilitation process post surgery.

After ACL reconstruction, the Aspetar rehabilitation team is integral to helping you to return to your pre-injury levels of sports and performance. Our multidisciplinary team, using an evidence-based approach, develop individualised and personalised programs for our athletes at every step along their ACL journey. This will include hydrotherapy, strength and power development, running and change of direction re-education and comprehensive testing in our 3D Biomechanics Human Performance Assessment Unit.

Not every patient will require ACL reconstruction or will be returning to high demand activities and sports. At Aspetar our rehabilitation and our orthopaedic decision making is tailored to each individual patient, their presentation and their goals for their future.

Aspetar is world leading in the embedding research in our clinical pathways to constantly evolve the management and rehabilitation of our athletes and the dissemination of our knowledge and expertise world wide. Our ACL Research objectives are: 

1. To assist the rehabilitation team in delivering individualized athlete management and rehabilitation programs by providing comprehensive progress reports for all ACL patients at multiple time points post operatively.
2. Seek ways of improving the ACL rehabilitation service by reflecting on clinical outcomes through data collected within the assessment unit.
3. Develop innovative ideas for improving ACL rehabilitation through the implementation of research projects within the assessment unit.

The expertise and experience across the multidisciplinary team at Aspetar coupled with our high performance rehabilitation centre ensure that each athlete will get the best individualised care specific to their presentation and goals and will achieved their desired outcomes in the most efficient timeline possible.