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268 | From ACL Adversity to Comeback: The Mindset Shift You Need Right Now · 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: Robbie 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.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: What is up, team, and welcome back to another episode on the ACL Athlete Podcast.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: So today we are talking through a little bit of mindset today.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I really love this quote and this video I came across.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so we're gonna focus on this quote and this video, which I will share in the show notes so you guys can check it out for yourself.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: But the thing to essentially set this up is with ACL athletes, we ask these kind of same questions at some point in this process, right?
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: And often many times.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: When will this be over?
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And the truth is that it's the wrong question.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where this quote and this powerful message from Kara Lawson, she is the Duke women's basketball coach, and so she has some really killer different quotes that she shares, and she just hits it really hard.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: And this one really landed, and I I heard it and I was like, I gotta share this on the podcast.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: And this was in response to controlling one's response to adversity.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: It was a message to the Dukes women's basketball team following a really challenging start to their 2026 season.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they were three and six, and you know, they played multiple top-ranked opponents.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so the speech itself was really more focused from the results to more of the resilience and adversity that this team was facing, and then turning the early struggles into a 16-game winning streak, which is pretty awesome.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: But the thing is that this quote really hit because it's something that I think really, really connects to our ACLers, and so this is something that I want to share directly with you guys, and I think a lot of you will connect with this.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: We don't get to control the length of our adversity, you get to control who you are in it.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna repeat that again.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: We don't get to control the length of our adversity, you get to control who you are in it.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm gonna share with you the video transcription, if you will, because I think it's important to play this back.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's not super long, so I'm just gonna read through this.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: We don't get to control the length of our adversity.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's a frustrating thing about life.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like when we're in adversity, we're like, okay, is it over yet?
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: You wake up and you're like, is it over yet?
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: You don't get to control that.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: You get to control who you are in it.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's it.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Who you are in adversity.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's what you get to control.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: And so the fastest way to get from a season of adversity to a season of prosperity is to lock in on what's real and true.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Figure out where you need to work and get better, and then it will turn at some point.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Whew, heavy hitter here.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Then she goes on to say, what's real and true in basketball, film analytics, what you see every day from your team.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: And when you stay focused and locked in on that, then you can give a real assessment of where you are and where you need to get to.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Man, if that doesn't truly connect to this ACL rehab process and also honestly, highlighting some of the pitfalls of it in terms of you guys know what I share about openly is just essentially some challenges in this process, where is it real and true, essentially?
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Being able to expose some gaps, expose some issues based on maybe the standard of care that is going on for ACLers.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: But this in general, the adversity that you're facing, you know, that is something that's it in a nutshell.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: You don't get to control how long this process necessarily takes.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we potentially say nine to 12 months, but y'all, it ranges the whole spectrum.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: We have so many people that we know that go way beyond 12 months, and many of you listening are probably beyond that.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: There are some people who definitely go shorter and they're able to get there a little bit faster, but it is the minority.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: The thing is, is that it takes a long time, right?
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: But you can't necessarily control that because yes, you can put in all the work, but the thing is you can't control some of the biological healing, the way the body responds.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: There's only so much you can control.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing, too, is that you don't always control the setbacks.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, there are some where you overdo it, don't recover well, but then there's also situations where the knee is just gonna react and respond, right?
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: And you don't control how your knee feels every single day.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's just not possible because we are dealing with some uncontrollable factors.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: But you 100% control who you are in it.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Are you consistent?
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Are you honest with your effort?
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: Are you doing the work when it's boring, slow, and uncertain?
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Are you still showing up even when it is super, super hard?
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's really important to dissect here.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: And this is the part that matters the most.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: What is real and true?
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: And this is something that I think is so important to be able to audit in this ACL reout process.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's not your timeline.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's not, I'm five months, I should be there.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's not even how your knee feels on a random Tuesday.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: What's real and true is essentially being able to look at your ability to have objective testing, to adhere to the data, the research, the criteria that exist that is proven to be able to reduce the risk of injury, but then also higher levels of performance to get back out there and do what you want to do.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's being principles first versus just choosing a bunch of different exercises or just using a timeline or protocol that is based just on time or that fits on, you know, a sheet of paper or two, right?
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: The thing is that anyone can come up with a long list of exercises.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: The thing is that we need to make sure that we are making it specific to you.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: Looking at strength numbers, looking at your quad strength, looking at symmetry, looking at your ability to jump, your ability to produce force really quickly, your movement quality and positions that you can get into and maybe can't get into.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: And so these are the things that are going to be really important in this process.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: Also looking at psychological readiness, right?
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like making sure mentally you're also prepared along with the physical.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: So there are different areas for us to evaluate subjectively, yes, based on feel, but more importantly is objectively to be able to expose blind spots, be able to connect data points and show what is real and true.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's your film, that's your analytics, because in reality, feelings are going to fluctuate.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people in this process get to four to five months, and they might be like, I feel strong, but a lot of times it's not nearly as strong as they need to be, and it's a very, very subjective thing.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to make sure that we are testing things appropriately, and the timeline is just one part of the equation.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: The data tells the truth.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're in it right now, stop asking when will this be over?
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Because you know, it could be a minute before it's over, right?
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: But I do understand that we need to anchor to time, so I don't want to overlook that.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: The thing that I do want you to do and ask is essentially who am I being in this?
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that is what is really important here.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: Lock into what's real, do the work, close the gaps, and when you do that long enough, it will turn.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I truly believe this, and I have seen this so many times with ACLers, but this has to be a center point in this process in terms of being able to test based on the research objectively, being able to make an individualized plan, have programming that is built to you, that is customized to you, and making sure that you have true expert guidance.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: This is not the thing that you need the generic PT that gets you 20 visits, or it might be unlimited visits for physical therapy.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: If it's generic, it's like you're just kind of repeating the same thing over and over, and it's not going to get you there.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to make sure that you have the specific GPS to help you get to the destination as efficiently as possible with the best route possible and adapt it whenever any type of road bumps or issues come along the way.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: That is what's key here.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so I hope you guys take this today and be able to say, like, okay, like, yeah, I'm facing adversity right now.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: We can't necessarily control the length of it, but you do get to control who you are in it.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so I hope that this helps today.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any type of thoughts or any questions, please send them our way.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: If you need any help or any type of guidance, then please just reach out.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: Our information is in the show notes.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, team, this is your host, Robbie Patel, signing off.