Latest / The ACL Athlete Podcast / 188 | DIY ACL Rehab: The Risks and Realities

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188 | DIY ACL Rehab: The Risks and Realities · The ACL Athlete Podcast

• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome everyone to the ACL Athlete Podcast.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: This is the podcast where we talk about everything related to the ACL, whether that's the injury itself, the rehab process, return to sport, and more.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Dr.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Ravi Patel, performance physical therapist and coach.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Between myself and fellow guests and experts, you'll learn through the lens of the patient, the healthcare professional, and the coach.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: The goal of this podcast is to equip you, the athlete, with the education to make the best informed decision about your care and your ACL journey.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's dive into today's episode.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: What is up, team, and welcome back to another episode on the ACL Athlete Podcast.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: So today is a story for you guys.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: So a little different than usual episodes, but I'll try to keep it as brief as I can.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: But I really feel like this is a very good example of what ACL rehab really entails and just the overall experience.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I just had to connect this particular life lesson or experience with this.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope that this helps hit home for you guys.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: For those of you who might be needing this at this current time, and yeah, let's get into it.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: So our garage door broke recently.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: We heard a huge pop noise when we were sitting on the couch.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: My wife and I were like, what the heck was that?
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then come to realize went to go look at it, and the garage door was broken.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: But I actually didn't realize that that was the thing that broke.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Wasn't sure because in our house we were like, maybe it could have been something that fell in the closet.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when to go check.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: And eventually, when you keep looking, you're just like, I don't know what it was, but it'll figure itself out.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then uh we actually go to get in our car to go leave, and I go to press the garage door, and it will not lift up.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: And that is how we figured out our garage door was broken.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so that was the huge pop that we had heard sitting on the couch, and come to find out the spring that is above the garage door split into two.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: So, what you can basically imagine is that there is a two-car garage door, so there's no like separator in the middle, so it's basically this big garage door for two cars.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: This thing lifts up by a mechanical pulley, and a core function of this is that there is a massively long black spring for this door to open.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I always thought this thing was always just easy to pull up.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's this thing you can pull up to manually open the garage door.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Little did I realize that these garage doors are so freaking heavy and I couldn't lift it up.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: And the spring actually plays a very big role in order to lift it up.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: So basically, the car was trapped, so where we were going did not happen.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: So, with that said, we had this garage door that the spring was split in two, and I found that this split can kind of happen over a period of time, it could just kind of wear down, just like certain things in like cars or whatnot.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: But, anyways, it just broke and it popped, and so then therefore, we were faced with this problem, and so I was trying to figure out how we can fix this problem, and I'm a very problem solution-oriented person.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Given my background and my dad, like growing up in a motel, you know, we would do all the handiwork around the motel.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: So anything that went wrong, unless it was something super major, um, my dad would do the work, I would help him with it.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I learned a lot of things from him in order to repair anything, and also just taking pride in being a guy in the house.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I'm gonna fix this thing, right?
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: So uh there are a lot of things around the house that I have been able to do in terms of my handiness I learned from my dad.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, dad.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: But I thought, you know what, let me see if I can fix this spring myself.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: I started watching YouTube videos, I started looking for parts online once I was like listening to these YouTube videos and researching the door and the different parts.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, I got really lost because there's just different gears and different springs and stuff like that that can uh impact the way that the door operates and the strength of it and the torque that it needs.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: And there are also like two wire anchors on both sides of the door that popped off.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I was gonna have to like rewire those um and fit those into their groove to allow for the door to lift.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was watching YouTube video after YouTube video and even checked out some Reddit threads and was getting the confidence I could do it, right?
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: I was starting to put the pieces together.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, all right, I gotta do step one, step two, step three.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then I started like hearing some on some of the YouTube videos and in some of the threads, you know, people who are experienced with this, they were like, just be careful because this thing has a lot of torque on it.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: And if it's not done right, then the door can still collapse, or you can get hit in the head while you undo it, because you have to use these like metal steel bars to manually torque it and turn it.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: So think about basically these long metal bars that insert into holes on this spring, and you have to torque it yourself, and so you're manually doing this repeatedly, and if you don't do it appropriately, of course, with anything with torque, if it's very, very strong, a very strong spring that is going to lift a really freaking heavy door, is gonna have a lot of torque to it.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so then, therefore, here I am thinking twice about this, and then I started to think about how much I would trust that I did this right, and trust this really freaking heavy door from snapping and falling down one day randomly.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I am no expert at this stuff, right?
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I also had to think about now because we have a five and a half month old.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think about him getting a little bit older with the garage door open, and we work out in there and we're always in and out, and I think about our cars coming through there, and I was just kind of thinking about this, and you do this, especially when you have a kid now, you just think about like the uh consequences or the risk of something even more.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: But I was just thinking about this, and I was like, Yeah, I don't know if I could trust this garage door, even if I did it myself.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: I need some help because I feel like I am not going to feel 100%, and I don't want to worry about if I did the right thing.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: So now if we're talking about replacing a light, remodeling a bathroom, fixing a toilet, you know, I'm your guy.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: I got it.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like I've learned some of this stuff, like it's very straightforward.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Also, the downside of this thing not working is pretty low.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm not worried about what is the cost of it if I can't get this light replaced, or you know, trying to like fix some pieces in the bathroom, or just whatever it might be.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's like changing out a tire, right?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: So these are things that are a little bit more basic, and you know, the the risk is not as high as maybe a heavy garage door falling on someone or something that is going to have way more of a cost associated with it.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: So a mechanical garage door with a spring and torque, I am not your guy.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: I needed help.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so I started to research, I started to look up people who do this kind of work.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I started to look at a lot of garage door experts.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, all right, let me just find someone who's highly reviewed.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: This is what we all do these days, right?
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: If we go on Amazon to buy something, we're gonna look at something with uh, you know, four to five stars, we're gonna look to see how much volume or number of reviews there are.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Same thing with restaurants, right?
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: If we're gonna visit a city, we're gonna go look and see what their reviews are, what are people saying?
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: So, social proof is so important for businesses and especially for something that we are going to try and do because we want to make sure people have experienced this.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so, if we're trying to work with an expert or it's an experience or some sort of maybe uh some sort of entertainment or technology, whatever it might be, we're gonna do some research typically with today's society to make sure it's an expert or it is well vetted.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: So then, therefore, we're not signing up for something that we're gonna get ripped off for, or something that is gonna be a very poor experience, or something you're gonna buy, right?
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: So, this garage door expert, Hanny, was his name, awesome, awesome guy.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Literally came out on Saturday at like 5 p.m.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I showed him the issue just to be sure, and he diagnosed it.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: He was like, Yep, it's the spring.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: He's like, you know, this can kind of wear down over time.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so, guess how long it took him to replace this thing?
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Literally 20 to 30 minutes.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: I watched him do it, I talked to him during it, I was telling him I was gonna do it, and he was just talking to me about all the different stuff with it, and you know, it was very interesting to watch this whole process because he literally knew it like the back of his hand.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, I'm talking about fixing something very mechanical.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so, take this for what it's worth.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's like you know, replacing something in a machine, and so then, therefore, with this said, you know, I watched him do it and he tested it afterwards multiple times.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: He pulled it up manually, you know, he showed me a few things, but it was actually really cool because he kind of talked me through it to understand what were the purposes of you know these certain features, like why is it done this way?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so I actually learned a lot about it.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so this was something that I just started thinking about a little bit more.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, you know what?
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: I could have done this myself, but I wouldn't have trusted myself to do it, as I mentioned earlier, and it would have taken me so much longer to do this.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: It would have taken me at least, I would bet, at least six hours.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, it's one of those things where you're just like, yeah, it'll take me like 30 minutes or an hour to do, and then you do it and you're just like, wow, this is taking 5x the amount of time it would take.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that's usually something like this, where you're like, I gotta follow it step by step.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so, anyways, with this said, it would have taken me so long to do it.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: And even if I say, like, let's say five hours, right?
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: That is going to be 10x return on my time.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so then I paid 250 bucks for this service and for an expert to come out and help me with this, and it was worth all of it, to be honest.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: I would have paid more for it, and sure, I could have done it myself and saved a lot more, but this is where we kind of start connecting this down to the ACL side of things.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to kind of bring this around to help really shape this for you guys because I talked to a lot of ACLers, and this is something that I really think is something that hopefully can hit home for you in terms of navigating the situation.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you're just kind of going along and you're early, then just keep rolling.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Just something to consider with this process, and because everyone will come to this at some point in their ACL rehab process.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: I would say five to ten percent of you will not ever have to deal with this because you just have the most amazing process or system or insurance, whatever it might be.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: But 90% of people will have to deal with this, even in socialized medicine.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: I literally just talked to someone the other day and he's meeting with his physio every six weeks, and he's early post op.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's what basically his plan is.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: He just gets updated exercises every six weeks, and it's the same protocol stuff.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm like, that's wild.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so, anyways, with that said, it will apply to many of you.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: And as I'm going back to the story, yes, invested in this, could have done it myself and saved a lot more, but I had to come back to the opportunity cost and do a little bit of a cost-benefit analysis.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so, why did I have to do that, right?
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like, why do I need to evaluate this?
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: So, one is that he was a trusted expert who knew his stuff, diagnosed it, and came up with a game plan.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: He had a solution and fixed it.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: He did it in 10% of the time it would have taken me to do it.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Literally, such a short amount of time.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: I was almost like bummed a little bit because I was like, man, I just like invested a lot for this, but I'm like, this doesn't even make sense.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: Should I have asked him to stay two hours to make it feel more worth it?
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's so silly.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's like a locksmith coming to your door and opening the door in like five seconds, and you pay him you know 200 bucks, and you're just like, Well, was that 200 bucks worth it?
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you associate it with time, probably not.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, you're like, wow, this was a five second solution.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: So it's weird people's perception with finances and investment and time associated, because I think we think you know, an hour's worth of time will be equated to the value that we get, but really it's the outcome and the solution that you're investing in.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't matter the time at the end of the day as long as it is the outcome that you are getting at.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so the other piece I want to mention here is that he gave me the confidence that he tested it out, he talked me through it, and I don't have to worry about this collapsing due to my inexperienced self trying to figure it out.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Now, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things in life where we don't need help, we don't need to just like you know, go call on somebody to help us because we could probably figure it out.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like cooking a meal at home, we can kind of read some directions, we can kind of watch some videos and figure it out, replacing a tire, same thing.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, even just basic finances, right?
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like you can get online and figure out a few things and be able to get some basic finance information in order to do that.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Even disputing an issue, there are some sort of bylaws where you can be able to just like learn how to dispute an issue, whether it's in your city or in your neighborhood, or you know, whether it's at school, whatever that might be, you can kind of figure out the steps to do that on a surface level.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe it's even a short onset of knee pain.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: Majority of people aren't gonna go to their doc or to their PT and be like, hey, like I've got knee pain.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's more so whenever it's starting to get in the way of the things they're doing and also disrupting their daily life.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: And it's been going on for way too long.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's like getting sick.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: No one's gonna run to the doctor because they got sick, because they've had experience getting sick.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: Usually most of the time you get better, it's just when it's prolonged or it's something that makes you worry, then therefore you are gonna go get it checked out.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: But then there are things where we might need some help with that, more complicated stuff.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe when there's more on the line, whenever we talk about the cost benefit or the risk reward, like there is a lot more risk associated with not getting this solution or this fixed.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about taxes.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, you need help with complicated taxes.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: You're not gonna just try and figure it out on your own.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: Taxes are a nightmare, and so you're gonna need an accountant.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: And so I have an accountant and they are going to help me with my taxes because I don't want to deal with it.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: There are so many different rules and regulations around it with a family and business and all the things that I don't want to deal with it.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's someone else who is trained up to do that.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: What about if someone took advantage of a situation but you're not sure how to protect yourself or you need some help?
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like a lawyer, an attorney is going to be the person who is going to be by your side to be able to help you, right?
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: But replacing your car's brake pads, for example, like sure you can look that up.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: But do you really want to trust yourself who's never done something like this or knows cars to try and replace your brake pads or to fix a problem within them?
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: No, we're gonna take it to a mechanic, we're gonna invest in someone who's gonna do that for you.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: Fixing a spring on a garage door, guess what?
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna do it myself.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna hire somebody like a garage door expert, someone who knows garage doors who can do it.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: ACL rehab, same thing here.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: A physical therapist, yes, you need a guide, you need someone you trust and someone who is an expert in this.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: But key thing here is that it is going to be an expert.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: It can't just be a physical therapist.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to go to your primary care physician for some sort of neurological issue.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: If you have a cardiac issue, you don't want to go to your primary care.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you go there first, but then they should be referring you to a specialist.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately, with our physiotherapy and physical therapy degrees, we were trained to treat everything.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: And when you treat everything, you know very little about one particular thing, but you can treat all kinds of things and keep people alive, and that's basically what PT School did for us.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so then, therefore, you need to go further down the route of being able to get specialized or just more understanding in different realms that you are working in.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so then, therefore, this is a really important thing to hone in on.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: So making sure you have an expert is really key.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so coming back to these examples and these problems, you're gonna want to make sure you review to make sure they do good work and have been trusted by others.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: So, social proof, even for physical therapy, we are going to make sure that we are picking the right person.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: Just like everyone does their research for the most part for their surgeons, a lot of people will go out of their way to find the best surgeon.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: The thing that really needs to happen is yes, find a good surgeon, but find a really good physical therapist to help you.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I know a lot of times what ends up happening is that you won't meet them until after the surgery or until this process starts going.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: But just know you can always pivot.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: Even if you get into it, we're all gonna be nice, but you got to make sure that they're good.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's where if your gut is telling you you don't have a good one, then make the switch sooner rather than later.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: But this is where being able to look at reviews, being able to talk to people, look at the social proof that they have, maybe they have testimonials, like anything like that is going to be really important to make sure these people are vetted and they have the experience and the outcomes that a lot of people have experienced themselves, right?
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: So here's some thoughts and some takeaways for you.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, the insurance system has been built to make us feel inclined to free or some type of low-cost healthcare.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: And even in other countries, even with it being free or socialized medicine, like there's this thing where you know the everyone feels like the insurance system or their healthcare system owes them, right?
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what we've been kind of like accustomed to, and that's how it has been over the years.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: But as it has trended, we have to come back to like, well, what is their number one goal?
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's not to protect our individuals, it's to make money, it's a profit-based system.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so then, therefore, they're going to be making moves based on what is going to benefit the company and put more money in their pocket.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately, that is just the way it is.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: And so then, therefore, coming back to this point of the insurance system and the healthcare system, it has over time made us feel like we do need a discounted health care or we don't need to pay for this, but we do in different ways from premiums to deductibles to out-of-pocket maxes, and even in other countries, it might be even pursuing private insurance.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: Usually most people will deal with delayed services.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I know ACLers who take three months, six months, even a year, two years to get their surgery because you know they don't have to pay for it or maybe pay little, but that's the consequence of being able to have little pay, but then you don't have as much control of the time.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: Here in the US, we have a little bit more control of the time and getting things done a little bit faster, but you pay for it.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so then this is one of the things I do want to share and think about is that you know, the system has made us feel this way, but we do pay into it.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so then, therefore, I just know that it's it's one of those things where you will end up getting to a point where it won't get you all the way there.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: And once this does run out, or we've been told we've been even graduated, maybe you've ran out of visits, or your PT's like, my services are done here, it's been three months, four months.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: Go do the thing and you're not ready, but they're like, you know, just build up, or they tell you something very general.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you're just like, what do I do with this information?
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's not helpful, but that's what they tell you.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so you feel like you need to take matters into your own hands, right?
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: You've already exhausted your healthcare experience.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: So then therefore, you are like, all right, cool, I'll take matters into my own hands.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I hate that this is the typical misleading narrative here because there's no one who should do ACL rehab on their own without an expert.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: I tell people all the time if I tore my ACL right now, knock on wood, I would not do my rehab myself.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: Even though I walk hundreds of athletes through this, I would not do my rehab myself.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: I would have a coach who would help me who Is an expert in this in order to help guide me.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it's because we have to get out of our own way in order to go through this process, because we cannot objectively observe ourselves as human beings.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: We can try to do the things we want to do or think we need to do, but at the end of the day, there needs to be someone else who's helping to guide and navigate this because we just don't need to be doing it on our own.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a complex journey, even for physical therapists who have graduated PT school, but even majority of PTs are still really stumped with ACL rehab because we just didn't get educated much on it.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: So then, therefore, again, having to pursue more education on this, but for someone who isn't even trained in physical therapy or performance or rehab, man, it's tough.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's really, really tough.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so this is the thing that can be misleading because you shouldn't be doing it without an expert.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: And because it's human movement, for some reason, just like nutrition and diets, everyone kind of feels entitled to their own opinion and they know the right answer.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: I promise that the registered dietitian who has taken tons of courses, done research on this, has master's degrees on this, a license, they're probably gonna know a little bit more about nutrition and the way that that stuff influences our body and performance compared to the keto diet influencer on Instagram who has 200,000 followers.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: And the same thing can be said about exercising and especially rehab, right?
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: And we see this so much in the rehab space with Instagram and with professionals who are knee experts and everything.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, I'm not saying that these high following accounts, you know, there are so many people who have those who do amazing work and I'm good friends with.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: But the thing is, is that it's just very difficult whenever everyone feels like human movement they own.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: And the same thing with nutrition, it's just a bit challenging in the performance and health realm because then therefore people feel like they want to take matters in their own hands.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's a little different than like, all right, I'm gonna go do my taxes.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, well, not everyone is like inclined to do their taxes, or um, you know, someone's going to fix their car.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, well, yeah, we didn't really learn that.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's the there's a lot more to it than that.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: For some reason, movement and nutrition is something that people, it's just hard for people to get around because especially whenever the healthcare system has been like, all right, we're done, you feel a little bit more like, all right, now it's my job to do it.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: But in reality, it was the system's failure of not setting you up for success.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to make that clear here.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's huge for my ACLers to find an expert.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: And all of you who are listening, I want you to hear me out.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: While sure you can try and navigate it on your own, I want you to think about what the cost of that is.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: And before I even get into that, I understand that everyone is in different situations.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: Socioeconomic status, life status, like seasons that you're in, the time, work, all school, all these different things that factor in.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: I get it.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: Trust me.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so this is something that I'm not saying everyone can just go off and hire an expert, but I think it is worth your while to figure this out and pursue it and evaluate those options and especially have that available when you need it, but especially trying to jump on it, especially if there's nothing that is preventing you from doing it.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: Because the earlier you do it, the better off you are going to be.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: I promise you that.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so coming back to the cost of navigating it on your own, let's first talk about time, not only daily, but also the long term.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: We have ACLers.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: I've literally had calls over the past couple weeks where people have said they've been in the gym for three hours, in the gym for three hours at a session, you know, multiple times a week.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, what is going on?
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like, who is programming this?
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: What are you doing?
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: And they're like, Well, I'm picking Instagram exercises, YouTube exercises, um, I'm using these protocols, or I'm at PT and you know, I have 30 exercises to do.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, this is so inefficient that I'm like, you're probably not getting anywhere.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: And it's because you're just literally doing so little for each that we could cut out, you know, 75% of this, and you would make so much more progress and feel so much better.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: But that's the daily cost of time.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: But then also these same people might be out from ACL surgery six months, nine months, eighteen months, two years, like five years.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like they've kind of given up on it at that point.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: So, what is the cost of time?
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it could just kind of add up over time versus it feeling like, all right, well, I'm early, like, yeah, what's a day or a week or a month?
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: But then that stuff starts to add up and time starts to pass.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: Another point is the possible setbacks that can occur in this process and navigating those.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: The lack of progress, this is so frustrating because people make so much progress early on, typically, because of the way the ACL rehab process is.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's, you know, you're making range of motion gains, you notice life changes, you're off your crutches, you take stairs, you can walk, you can drive, you're starting to squat, you're getting back into the gym.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: So the early honeymoon period is what I call it of ACL rehab, is very deceiving because in the mid and late stages, you start to notice less of those milestones you hit because your day-to-day life doesn't change as much.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: And you notice less of that progress.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: But especially if your plan isn't dialed in and custom to you, then therefore it makes it very challenging.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: The mental side of this, the fear, the anxiety, feeling lost, whether we want to admit it or not, like there is something about this that's probably the number one thing that people come to us.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: They're like, I feel lost.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have structure, I feel like I'm not aiming towards anything.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like I'm kind of spinning my wheels.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: I feel lost.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: Probably the number one thing I would say most of our ACLers who come in from somewhere else, and it's because they don't really have direction, and it's the thing that they're probably feeling sometimes that they haven't even really come to terms with.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: What about getting back to what you love most?
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: What if someone said that they can cut this time in half for you?
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: They can cut it in half for you.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, while it's not an accelerated process, it's better than what it would have been solo, especially if you're that 18-month person or two-year person.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: What if you could get back a year of that?
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: What if you could get back more than a year of that?
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: Or, you know, maybe it's you know, a year and a half of that, that it didn't necessarily need to take that long, but it did because we had to take it on our own hands and our own matters.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_00: So the last thing I want to mention here is what about the re-injury piece?
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: One that a lot of folks avoid talking about.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the fear of that is there, but really taking that head on and just kind of assuming it'll work out, right?
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: What is the cost of that?
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing is, is like that thing of it just kind of working out, like just like your gate will work out as soon as you kind of keep working on it, or just like over time, it doesn't.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's the same thing with this re-injury piece.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's not like just because you play more of your sport or whatever, you're gonna not get injured again.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually dialing in this process, testing, having a dialed-in program, making sure that you have proper guidance, you know, and those pieces are gonna really play into more so of that re-injury piece than it is just with time passing.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: And it's also this thing where, you know, one in three to four athletes going to get injured again.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: People think that saving money by doing it on their own, sure in the short term, but what about the long term?
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: And especially if it drags on for months and years and more so, what about the cost of another reinjury?
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is something that is very important to put out there.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I know it's going into negative land here, but the thing is, is that like what if this could be changed by like the plan and the guidance that you're given and the routes that you take?
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now I want to flip this on the other side and thinking about finding and investing in an expert.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_00: You have someone who knows this stuff, they can spot the issues and even the potential roadblocks ahead that you can't even see yet.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's a solution, a plan to get you to your goals.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's not something that's generic.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's not what Bertha, who is 77 years old in the corner, the PT clinic is also doing.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's one that's built for you specifically, is structured.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of feeling fear, anxiety, feeling lost, you feel you have a GPS.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: You're getting in your car and you're like, I know how to get to this destination and I know what that route looks like, even with detours on the way.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: You feel assured, you feel that you have confidence in where you're going and to make any adjustments that's needed.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: Most importantly, you feel heard and that you don't have to wonder what if, right?
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: Anymore.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: So you've got a guide that is going to help you through this process.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_00: The experts cut down this time.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not to accelerate it, but it could be, in a sense, accelerated because instead of you taking this two-year process to get back, instead, they're able to streamline this GPS to adjust for everything and get you there in the most efficient way.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, things might come up, but guess what?
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of taking that detour and you're off into never never land and then having to redirect back, it's just literally a pit stop and the most efficient way off of the course to get you right back on it.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so then this is where this matters so much.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: And the basically the time it would have taken to do it on your own.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_00: Lastly, I'll mention giving you the confidence to test it out.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_00: Just like that garage door expert, it literally gave me the confidence to just see him test it out and talk me through it.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I wasn't stressed anymore about the door.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I know this seems so simple and so basic.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: And some of you guys are probably like, Why are you talking about this still?
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_00: But it's it's something that really just came to mind and connected the dots for me for a second.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because I relate everything to ACL rehab, and I was like, man, like this is so crazy! Like, this is literally something my ACLers deal with all the time.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so then, therefore, I just wanted to share this is that you know, you don't have to stress or worry about it because you have the confidence that you've been tested and you've been given the programming appropriately to be prepared and seeing if it's going to hold up, if your knee is going to hold up, if your body is prepared for what is going to take place with sport, MMA, BJJ, skiing, getting back to pickleball, being able to play soccer, being able to trick.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many different things that we are working with athletes with right now that it is wild.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so then, therefore, we can give you that confidence as a rehab professional who is very dialed in with ACL rehab versus trying to figure it out yourself.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now, some people are like, cool, where's the pitch on this now that you've built this up to finding an expert?
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have one.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: And if you've listened to 187 episodes of this podcast, you know how I feel about this.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_00: All that I care as you walk away from this episode and probably hear me ramble on and on about this whole entire story, um, is that I care that you don't do it on your own.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I care that you find an ACL expert to help you and someone who knows knees, who knows how to take you from the post-injury, post-surgical process to full return to performance in sport.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_00: And even if it's just a gap of like, let's say your physical therapy just gets you to the first three to four to five months because of insurance or because of their experience, because they're like, hey, I can't help anymore.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: This is past my skill set.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_00: Find someone else who can fill that gap.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many coaches out there, there's so many people who do such good work.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_00: But the thing is, is that don't do it on your own.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I tell this to so many of the athletes who I do consults with that are interested in our remote coaching or do want to do it.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like, I don't care who you find, but just make sure you get the proper help and expert help.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_00: They have the background with ACL experiences, ideally a physical therapist or a strength conditioning coach combined, depending on where you're at.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_00: And this is something where they need to have a very dialed-in process and proof that it works.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, we can help you, but there are also so many good people out there and good humans that I had mentioned who are doing good work that I'm friends with, that we have an incredible community with.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: And if it's something that you're near a city, especially big city, we have friends in all kinds of different big cities all around the US, especially.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_00: And we can even connect you with internationally.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_00: But the thing is, is find an expert, whether it's remotely or in person or combined, because that is going to be the major game changer for you.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_00: Most important thing that it is someone who aligns best with you.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_00: Don't be that person six or 12 months from now, stuck in the same spot, trying to figure it out on your own.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart that the healthcare system and our PT education was not equipped to make all ACL rehab equal.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_00: I wish it was, but as we know any profession, you know, not every teacher is equipped to guide this particular student, not every physician is equipped to be able to take care of this particular disease or issue.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_00: The same thing here, right?
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so, yeah, PT can help, but at the end of the day, this is such a nuanced injury and recovery.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: It is not the knee pain, it is not the back pain.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_00: It is literally something that will change your life.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I promise you that.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_00: And any of you listening can probably already attest to that, especially if there have been multiple retails or you've been on this journey for a while.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm sorry that the healthcare system itself has not served you very well.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_00: And if it has, I'm so happy for you because there are people doing good work.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: But I do know that it is not designed to help ACLers through this entire process.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_00: But you do have the opportunity and the right to find the people who are equipped for this and have put in the work and have the credibility to help you.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, my takeaway here is go do that and don't fix your own garage door.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'll call Hanny again the next time this happens because I'm going to lean on an expert for this situation.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_00: As an ACLer, I suggest doing the same.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_00: I know this one's a little bit of a different episode, guys.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_00: I just brought the heat with it.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sorry that I literally unloaded this all on you, and you're probably like, oh, now I got to go find an expert and do all this stuff.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, just take a breath, take a second.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_00: But it is something that I do think maybe take that step back and evaluate where you are and decide now and decide early if you do need to take that step forward and don't be reactive.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you know your insurance is gonna run out, don't wait until it runs out and then figure it out.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like get ahead of the game.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I promise you, you will be in such a good position to do that.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: And just know your geography does not have to limit you for your help.
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_00: There are so many remote-based options now these days that you can really find some really good help.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, it's more dialed in, you get more communication.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's not built for everybody, but for the right person.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_00: Man, it is a home run, and you also save so much on the cost of it.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, this is something to evaluate alongside what's in person and whatever else is available, as long as it is with an ACL expert and someone who knows this injury, like the back of their hand.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so I hope that this helps.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions, if you need help with resources, you know we're here to help any ACL or clinician, coach, whatever that may be.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: So reach out to us via email, message on Instagram, whatever that might be.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_00: The information is in the show notes.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, team, this is your host, Robbie Patel, signing off.