Latest / The ACL Athlete Podcast / 099 | Looking Back in Your ACL Rehab

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099 | Looking Back in Your ACL Rehab · The ACL Athlete Podcast

• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome everyone to the ACL Athlete Podcast.
• 0:23
  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.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Dr.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Ravi Patel, performance physical therapist and coach.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Between myself and fellow guests and experts, you'll learn through the lens of the patient, the healthcare professional, and the coach.
• 0:46
  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.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's dive into today's episode.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: What's up guys?
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to another episode on the ACL Athlete Podcast.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: It is Christmas time here in the States and it's the end of the year.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: So today is going to be short and sweet, very straight to the point, but you do have some action items that I want you to take.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that this will be very, very helpful for you as we approach this new year, 2023.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: And also if you're listening to this at some point in 2023, maybe it's 24, who knows?
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's 2025 and you're listening to this.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: I hope that this is still helpful for you to be able to reflect and think and be able to set the precedence for the time to come.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: So you guys know me at the end of the year.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: I am a very big sucker for reflecting and goal setting.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: I love this time of the year.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's just really awesome to be able to slow things down.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: I have a tendency for me to go, go, go and sprint and go really fast.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's with the rehab side of things or the business side of things or whatever we are working on, I just have a tendency to go and sometimes it's hard for me to stop.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so I love this last week of the year.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's a big week for me to be able to just really stop.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: And it's helpful to just rest with the holidays and before we hit the new year, because we have a lot planned for the ACL athlete.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm so excited to share this with you guys soon enough.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: But 2023 is going to be a very, very big year for our team, the company, for our ACLers, and we're so excited to reveal this stuff, but we can't just yet.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: So stay tuned.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: But this whole point of the end of the year and reflecting, it's good to disconnect, it's good to spend time with family and to just think.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: And we all love some dedicated time to this.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I end up getting my best ideas during this downtime because things are constantly go, go, go within the year and within certain time periods that it's hard to just be able to think.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so a big part of this episode and where we're at right now is to just reflect.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're listening right now and you're like, nah, I ain't got time for that.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Trust me, and just take even just five, ten minutes.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: If you got 30 minutes or however much time you want to dedicate to this, I promise you it will do you a world of good.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: And let's just take some time to focus on this for a second.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing that I want to point out here is that everyone's going to set goals.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: We got new year coming up, we got new year resolutions, we've got all these things that everyone's going to set really big goals for, right?
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Especially for you ACLers going through this process, you got big goals to be able to get back to what you love to do, whether it's BJJ or Muay Thai, or maybe it is skiing or playing soccer, handball, you name it.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: So you've got some things on the horizon that you're aiming for.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: So one of the things I want to first do is to think about not where you want to go, the goals you have set, but let's reflect and think of where you've been.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that this is really important because this is essentially looking at our process and the things we have done and being able to know, okay, what is it that I need to do in order to get to my end goal and to make sure that I improve my process and what I have been doing to move forward towards that goal.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: So reflecting on the goals I set for 2022, I'm looking at the things that I hit, the goals that I met and accomplished, which are always awesome to reflect on.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: And then the big part of this is also reflecting on where I fell short and the things that I didn't hit.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really important, and I almost think that it's more important to think of where you fell short because it allows us to audit our process.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: It allows you to be able to change and make sure that that doesn't repeat or happen again and be able to also figure out why didn't it happen?
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: So that's where reflecting can be so helpful in this process.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: So here's my encouragement and action item to you.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Whether you're listening to this at the end of 2022, maybe you are catching it later in this process.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: It'll apply no matter where you are in life or on the calendar.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: But think about how your 2022 has gone for you and the goals you had set.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: Now I know a lot of you, most of you in this process probably didn't have an ACL tear or an ACL reconstructive surgery planned for 2022.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: But here you are in the midst of this, it happened, and so now what is it that you're going to do about it?
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: And also thinking about what you have done so far in this process and reflecting on it.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the things from a big picture standpoint is thinking about the 2022 goals in general, let's say including the ACL rehab and not including the ACL rehab, what goals did you have set?
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: And what did you accomplish?
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like what can you check next to?
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: What didn't you accomplish?
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Putting an X next to, and then just sit and think for a second and ask yourself why?
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Why didn't I accomplish these?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Why do I have to put an X next to these?
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: And what changes are you going to make sure that it doesn't repeat for the next year?
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Now, looking at this through the lens of your ACL rehab, your surgery, your recovery, what goals have you had set for your ACL rehab?
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: What did you accomplish so far?
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: What haven't you accomplished?
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of you are kind of sitting on the spectrum of trying to get to this end goal and to be able to get cleared and to be able to do the things that you love that we had mentioned before.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: But one of the things I want you to think about is okay, if you haven't hit said goal, why not?
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: And then is starting to think a little bit deeper.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Well, is it your guidance?
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: Is it the person who is kind of leading you on this journey?
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Is it your plan?
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Are you just following like a general protocol or is it just something that's very generic?
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: Uh maybe you're just finding stuff on Instagram or YouTube to do.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: So is it the plan?
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: Is it your environment?
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you are going to a physical therapy clinic that is not very conducive for you to be an athlete and to move around in.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's the environment where you're training at and you almost feel a little bit shy of doing certain movements because of people looking at you.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: These are the reflections that are not fun to do, but they are the things that we need to know in order to change to be able to move ourselves forward.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's your compliance and execution.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: People can have the best plan and the most specific program and all the bells and whistles, but if you're not doing it, if there's no compliance to it and you're not executing what is being given to you and you're being guided by, well then it doesn't matter what you're doing, right?
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: So then that comes back to you as a person of like, okay, I'm just not following through on what I need to do.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Is it your schedule?
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: Is it something where you are a mom of twins and you also work and you've got this four-day program that you're supposed to do that takes you an hour and a half, and it's just not realistic.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: So then is that a conversation with who is guiding you?
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Is it a pivot in your plan?
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Is it something where you have just a most viable program where you only do 15-20 minutes of stuff every few days?
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: And you guys would be surprised how many people we talk to and we're like, hey, like what does your schedule look like with your training?
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then maybe they're also doing their sport-based stuff, and so then they are spending so much time and it's not balancing their recovery, or maybe they're getting so burnt out because they're doing so much, and it's just not conducive to their schedule and the way that they need to be doing their ACL rehab.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing to think about is it your intent.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: Intent meaning how much are you putting into it?
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: So a little different than compliance, compliance is actually doing the work.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Intent is are you just going through the motions or are you like showing up and doing the work and putting in as much energy as you can to make sure you're improving?
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: And these are the things to just kind of consider in this process and just to kind of get you thinking about why didn't you accomplish what you wanted to?
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: And these could be some factors.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many factors that are out there, but this is to just kind of get those wheels turning of okay, what do I need to change?
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Is it my guidance?
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: Is it the plan?
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Is it where I'm going in my environment?
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Is it me?
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Is it the compliance and just doing the work?
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Is it my schedule?
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Is it the intent and me just showing up to do the work and putting my energy into it?
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: And once you reflect on these whys, what are you gonna do to make sure that doesn't repeat as you go into this next year, right?
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: So the thing that I would recommend is connect that with something that you do want to change and make it an easy change.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Don't go crazy and just say, all right, I'm gonna work out six times a week doing my ACL rehab.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: One, that's probably not gonna be beneficial.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Two is that it's not gonna be realistic because of life.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so start really easy.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: If you're struggling to get maybe three days a week in, maybe let's start with one to two and hit that consistently, but just don't go crazy because if you try to do an all or nothing, which is a very big thing with goal setting and with the new year and resolutions, if I only do it 75% or 50% instead of going all in, then it's not even worth it, which is not true.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Let's just remove the barrier because if you weren't working out or doing your rehab one to two times a week, then even just stepping in and doing it one time is going to be beneficial.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna need two times and you're gonna need more than that, but start small and build that consistency and momentum.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: The last piece of this is I want you guys to go a little bit deeper on this reflection.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: And this is gonna be something big for me that I always do, but when you're evaluating this from different buckets, there's the professional side.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: So that might be your performance at work, the things that you did well this year that you didn't do well, that you want to grow in and improve on.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: There's the spiritual side, maybe if you guys are believers in any type of faith or religion, or maybe free spirits, you know, those are things to just kind of reflect on that's important to you as a person.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's obviously the personal piece or the health piece that we have an emphasis on, which for us our buckets are movement, nutrition, recovery, stress, and connection.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: So to talk briefly through these movement, you know, how does that look as a big picture of like, are you moving?
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, ACL rehab falls into this bucket primarily.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: What would you rate yourself and how did you do?
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, there were ebbs and flows.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: I know I had a lot of ebbs and flows with my own movement, and people are gonna have that.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: But how would you rate that?
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: And how would you rate that with your ACL rehab as well?
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: There's the nutrition piece.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: How did you rate in terms of fueling yourself?
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: We view nutrition as fuel.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's how I talk with all of our athletes.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is fuel that is going to fuel you for your day, whether it is for work or whether it's for the ACL rehab process, performance, recovery, and more.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: So, how is your nutrition?
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: How is your recovery?
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Did you balance that with the stress in terms of movement and in terms of strength training and all the things that you needed to do?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Did you balance your recovery, especially the sleeping side?
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: Did you sleep enough?
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: Were there periods of time where you didn't sleep really well?
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: And can you dig deeper as to why not?
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's an important piece of this whole personal and health and performance.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: Then there's the whole stress piece.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: This is the one that sneaks in very easily, and this gets everyone, especially certain periods of time, you know, where things are hectic or maybe some personal things are going on.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: So stress can easily get into the mix and then start to knock off some of these movement pieces, nutrition, sleep, but it also changes our body's physiology a little bit.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: So it's good to dial that in and know when those points come and how you're going to be more proactive about it.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then last but not least is connection or as we say, relationships.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: This is a huge bucket for personal health, in my opinion.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I love it because it's something that we all need as human beings, whether it's with family, with friends, with a community of sorts.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Heck, like ACLers have such a strong community, our community is so strong, and so that's important to be able to connect with people who are going through this process.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: So this is the other thing that I would suggest kind of reflecting on from family to friends to professional to, you know, whether it is a group of people, whether it's a sport, or something like all of you ACLers.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: So these are areas to think about as we head into this new year.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: But this is a point of looking back in your life and in 2022, especially, in your bigger goals, in your ACL rehab, and in the personal and professional and all the things that we just covered.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: The things that you want to think about is what you accomplished, what you didn't accomplish, and diving into why not.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe that's just plans changed, or maybe it was just the plan was not right, it wasn't a good time, but what can be changed to make sure that that doesn't repeat again?
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: So take 30 minutes to sit down, reflect on these different buckets.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if I can be of any help, please reach out to us and our team.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: But before you guys go looking at 2023, take a second, look back, give yourself a second to think and reflect, and I promise you it will be a world of good for your goals ahead.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's gonna be it for today, guys.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, a happy new year.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're in 2023 listening to this, and I hope that you are.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: That um I appreciate all of you, and we are coming up and into a big year of 2023.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: So we are so excited, and the support from you guys is just unreal.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, team, this is your host, Robbie Patel, signing off.