Saquon Barkley exited with a knee injury from the Week 2 game between the New York Football Giants Chicago Bears. Pending tomorrow's MRI, the news broke out that it is likely an ACL tear.

Many in the Twitterverse are quick to suggest that the lack of the routine preseason activities led to the players not being in optimal condition to play in such demanding conditions. So far, Saquon Barkley and Nick Bosa are the likely-ACL-tears from this year's Week 2, but that live-running injury tracker just keeps on growing...

​I think the NFL's coaches and athletic trainers have a lot of self-reflecting and investigating to do...

Yes, he did. He exited Week 3 in 2019 with a high ankle sprain injury.

Here's the scary part: He's had the same on-and-off ankle sprain injury since his years at Penn State on his right ankle. 

Which knee did he injure today that is suspected with an ACL tear? His right knee.

How did he injure his knee today? Non-contact, with a defensive player applying external force that caused him to push on the right leg with knee valgus forces.

Ankle plantar flexion (to push off the ground).
Right tibia external rotation.
Right femur internal rotation.

A Google search on "ACL tears" show a lot of results that are, at best, intimidating to read through. It's been a while since I dove into the latest knee injury research, but I find myself going back into it again recently. 

ACL tears have a stigma to be "career-ending". In the case of martial artists, this can range from retirement from competition, or a complete discontinuation of practice. I'll share my personal feelings about this toward the end, but I realize that life happens, and it's perfectly OK to want a change unapologetically.

Here are some ACL tear statistics in hope of providing educational value and a quick reference. I hope you find this helpful, either for yourself or in supporting your student through the rehab process.

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.