So you may have torn your ACL. What now?

At the ER, I was diagnosed with a right knee injury and a mild concussion. My right knee's differential included an ACL tear, but x-ray results would not have been able to confirm that diagnosis. 

On Day 3, I started meeting with orthopedic surgeons. I also received a prescription to get an MRI, which would confirm my diagnosis two days later. 

ACL Tears appear to be so common, but I still felt very much alone.

We have amazing friends who referred us to their orthopedic surgeons, who also shared what they could remember about their experiences with their own ACL injuries. 

But I still couldn't help feeling very alone, perhaps even more alone as I began to meet with orthopedic surgeons and experienced certain levels of desensitization during my care. I guess I should know better: my background is in healthcare, and I'm just as desensitized about certain pathological cases due to the nature of my work. But that's a debate for another day...

If you're at this stage of your ACL injury, please know that you are not alone. Read on for my day-to-day entries during my diagnosis and pre-surgery work-up.

A few days ago, I asked our community to see if they can solve this problem...

1. Why is there a difference between my side stretch kick and isometric side kick hold?

2. How do I fix the difference?

Initially, many were quick to provide an all-encompassing solution. Some of them included

Solution #1: Rotating my pelvis more, and thereby changing my torso angle
Solution #2: Changing my hand position
Solution #3: Extensively stretching, and training splits
Solution #4: Increasing isometric load (i.e. duration of time) while holding the side kick
Solution #5: Using a different set of muscles
Solution #6: More ballistic kicks, with increasing heights

And then I posted a follow-up, with more information. I provided angular measurements using the same pictures, and then I added my not-so-perfect splits.

OOPS - I broke the internet...

Significant drop in engagement. Radio-silence.
And I expected it...

Our bodies are so smart, and so good at creating compensations just to achieve that final, picture-perfect shape that
​we think we know exactly what and how to move.

And I was right there with you, too. I've been there and done that. Remember, I was never flexible as a child, and only gained flexibility as an adult when I started training in martial arts. I was the student right there with you participating in countless of warm-ups with static stretches, ballistic stretches, partner stretches, and split work, and while my results were certainly more than I expected in my life,

I suffered a grade 2/grade 3 ankle sprain, and tore my ACL
within the first 5 years of my martial arts training
all on the same, right leg.

Something was wrong. Something wasn't working, and I needed to find out why...

My low back pain was triggered by the following:
- Sitting for too long (computer work)
- Excessive hinge movements with load (i.e. squats)
- High kicks

I have gained improvements in my spinal mobility and low back pain with basic CARs from Functional Range Conditioning®.
Now I can program something more individualized with findings from my Functional Range Assessment®.