Forums General ACL rupture and squat mechanics

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    • #71035
      AvatarGio Fitzgerald

        A friend of mine has ruptured his right ACL and is awaiting a reconstruction. He’s still active and working out. However, when he squats, his ankle/arch on his affected side collapses quite noticeably. I do think this is partly a mobility issue in the ankle and hip(which I’m trying to help him with) but I was just wondering if,by losing his ACL, the fundamental lack of stability will make it impossible to correct until it’s been reattached?
        Cheers

      • #74971
        AvatarMichelle Lyons
        Participant

          I’ve had an ACL reconstruction and in the time I was waiting between the injury and surgery I had no problems squatting (other than my normal poor ankle/hip range.) Also Mark Rippetoe doesn’t have an ACL and obviously it hasn’t affected him. It’ll probably depend on how strong his surrounding muscles are already as he’ll be relying on his quads/hamstrings/glutes more than usual to stabilise his knee.

          Not a professional diagnosis by any means, just my own experience.
        • #74972
          AvatarGio Fitzgerald

            Thanks Ryan. I didn’t know that about Rippetoe. Hopefully if he hammers his hip/ankle mobility he’ll see some improvements then

            Cheers

          • #74982
            AvatarDavid Farley
            Participant

              I work in sports medicine for a Division I football program. I work with several ACL rehabilitations a year. The pre-habilitation you’re helping your friend with is crucial to his post-op recovery. I instruct my athletes pre and post surgery on Kelly”s cues bracing sequence (pg 29 Supple Leopard) and chapter 4 regarding laws of torque. Even without an ACL the gluteus and external rotation torque stabilizes the knee and helps stabilize the foot/arch. We then pattern the air squat mad deadlift patterns or category 1 movements.

              As the patients ROM improves and strength increases we can increase load.

              In short the lack of the ACL shouldn’t affect the stability of the knee in the squat if the person stabilizes from the hip.

              From my experience and thanks to KStarr’s concepts this is what we’ve found in our ACL rehabs

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