It’s the same knee she suffered from injury in december, tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscal tear. When she first suffered that injury in a game against Notre Dame, there were her initial but unfounded fears that she might have torn that ACL, which has now come true. what’s next?
“God gave my heart a dream,” Buckers wrote Instagram “Even if I have to go through nightmares to get it, I’m going to keep believing,” he said Wednesday.
The good news, doctors say, is that surgery is usually quite successful for this type of injury.
What is a torn ACL?
If you play sports, you’re almost guaranteed to hear these three letters together anytime soon. The anterior cruciate ligament is one of the knee’s most important ligaments, connecting the thigh to the shin and the femur to the tibia. They are also often injured in sports where players plant and pivot.
Dr. Dante Brittis, orthopedic surgeon and team doctor at Sacred Heart University and Bridgeport Islanders, said:
“Specifically, it prevents the knee from bending. People who do pivot sports need ACLs.”
ACL injuries are often non-contact injuries, says Dr. Michael Kuhn, an orthopedic surgeon at MidState Medical Center’s Connecticut Orthopedic Institute. Female athletes are more likely to suffer from ACL injuries and are more likely to relapse.
for high-level athletes like Bookersin most cases, surgery is next.
“Most level athletes, but especially at her level of athleticism, it’s pretty unlikely she’ll be back to a high level without rebuilding,” Kuhn said.
Surgeons use tissue elsewhere in the body, sometimes reconstructing ligaments from cadavers, but for high-level athletes it is almost always from the athlete’s own body and often , is from the tendon of the patella (patella).
The procedure is usually arthroscopic (performed through a small incision using a small camera) and outpatient-based (patients are sent home on the same day).
What is a typical recovery schedule?
Kuhn says rehabilitation begins the day after surgery and is “pretty aggressive at first.”
Clearance to return to activity can take 6-9 months, depending on several variables (and possibly the surgeon).
Brittis says athletes use crutches for one to six weeks, and the weight gradually increases on the repaired joint. She will be able to jog straight forward about three months after surgery, and she will be able to transition to more intense pivoting activities after two months.
The good news, Brittis said, is that athletes have a 95% chance of returning to their previous level.
“If you look at the current athlete population, injuries are not uncommon,” he said.
Will last season’s injuries complicate this?
Bookers lost about half of the 2021-22 season to injuries and surgery last December. She returned in the second half of the regular season and helped the Huskies to a national championship game.
In early 2021, she underwent offseason surgery on her right ankle. She injured her shin in high school. Can you sum it all up?
Kuhn didn’t think it would have much of an impact unless the surgery revealed other damage that didn’t show up on the MRI. Aside from that, Buckers knows how to rehabilitate a knee from a previous injury.
“This is an unfortunate turn of events,” Kuhn said, but if he spoke to Bookers, he would tell her that he hoped things would work out.
What kind of psychological impact could this have?
Dr. Brett Denkin, a sports psychologist in Fairfield County, saw Bookers’ Instagram post on Wednesday and said her apparent faith and fan support would help her on this rehab journey. .
But mentally, there’s no denying that injuries have an impact. For athletes in similar situations, Denkin advises to stay ahead of the curve.
“It’s about teaching someone not to project and learning how to get back in the moment,” says Denkin. “A year from now, will I be okay?
No wonder athletes worry about another injury.
“It’s about training your mind to go right back into the moment, without going backwards,” Denkin said. “It’s a difficult process, but it will make you a better person.”
Kuhn noted that Bueckers spoke about being a role model for young athletes undergoing the same injuries and other surgeries.
“When they have this injury, the question from them and their parents is, ‘Can I get back?'” Kuhn said.
The answer is generally positive, especially for young athletes.
mfornabaio@ctpost.com; @fornabaioctp
