Latest / The ACL Athlete Podcast / 259 | Why Your ACL Rehab Needs a Guide, Not Just a Protocol

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259 | Why Your ACL Rehab Needs a Guide, Not Just a Protocol · 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: Welcome back to another episode on the ACL Athlete Podcast.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: So today we are diving into this topic around ACL specialist.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: A question that I get often talking with people on consult calls or even just people trying to figure out what they should do for rehab in this process.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so the question I always get is should you wait until after post-op to find an ACL specialist or later stages?
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Or people might ask, when is the best time to find one?
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: And what I often actually get is that people will just say, Ah, I'll just wait till we get through the post-op and then reach out or reach back out, especially if they're talking to us, or I hear this even just with people who are really struggling through this, you know, whether they are messaging or whether they are trying to just kind of figure their way out of these early stages, they are like, Oh, I'll reach back out in the mid or late stages of return to sport, maybe where I think this will be better use, right?
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: To get someone who's a little bit more specialized.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so like I've got the generic, there's no need to necessarily change anything right now.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's okay or it's fine, right?
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it's very rare that people are like ever saying this and they're super happy with it, right?
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, someone is expressing, they are maybe frustrated, or it just kind of feels very cookie-cutter, not individualized to you.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: You're kind of doing the same exercises as the 85-year-old who had a total knee replacement, Bertha, in the corner, and there's no, you know, real feel like an athlete, right?
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: And bridging off this, it's just the timing of this call that I had.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: But I had someone ask, can I do the generic rehab with my PT?
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: And then start with you guys three to four months later working remotely.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so this guy is a tech consultant.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I flipped the question to him and I asked him if he thought it would be good to find, you know, a generic consultant for the first few months of a project that someone is asking to have help on, and then ask him to come in later after they've worked on it for a few months.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so then after that, of course, he left because he was like, No, I'd do it with the expert from the start, right?
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so I made the same parallel to, you know, if you were building your dream home, right?
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: And this is what I want you guys to imagine.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And you have this home in front of you, you envision it, you're like, man, this is the home that I want to live in.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then you ask yourself, would you have the generic builder do the first two to three months of it?
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they start with the foundation, do all the piping, all the framing, maybe the first floor, and then you call in the expert.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: No, right?
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like, because often with the generic, what happens is that things get missed.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's generic for a reason.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: So then, therefore, you know, they're not paying attention to detail, it's not as individualized, it's almost like framed in cookie cutter because that's just the way it is, right?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: You are able to produce more volume, but the quality that goes into it is usually not as high, and it's typically not done, if you will, the right way.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: So then you have to go back, and what feels like saving some money, some time, and it's it's kind of frustrating because it costing you more in that more time, more money, more emotional, mental stress, and toll of it all.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: And now, don't get me wrong, like the point I'm trying to make here is that it's important to just find someone who knows this.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing that's challenging is that everyone has a different situation.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so, for example, you know, I consulted with a mom and a youth athlete who didn't necessarily have the resources to be able to just go find anyone, right?
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: So then the goal is to be able to point them in the right direction and say, okay, what can you make work in terms of like finding someone local to you, especially with it being a very young athlete, and being able to find someone who's reliable, right?
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what's important.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's not necessarily work with us or work with only this person, it's more so to find someone who knows this process because of how different it is.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I get that people have different life seasons, different socioeconomic status, different support, healthcare resources, especially now, especially in the US with insurance, and people are going more uninsured just because you know, premiums are crazy right now.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe it could be due to their literacy, their education, specific to medical teams and those resources, the surgeon, PT, insurance, other healthcare systems.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many things that will influence the decisions you make.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: And that just adds to it just so much more.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I know everyone just doesn't have the means to cover something out of pocket.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's something I do want to stress here is that I'm not saying go pay thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars for some sort of service.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: I do get that you might have to invest something in terms of being able to find something a little bit more specialized.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: But with that said, there are different avenues outside of just paying a tremendous amount of money for help, right?
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: And there's other resources out there that exist in terms of the way to do that.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the misconception that I want to point out here is that it's assumed that post op rehab is basic, it's created the same.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: You check that box, and then I'll find what I need to pursue the expert care, right?
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where I see a lot of people mess up.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people mess up.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: And you might be listening to this and being like, I kind of feel like I've messed up.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: I kind of feel like I did go the generic route.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: And the sad thing is that most physical therapy, most rehab is going to be a bit more generic.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Now, you're gonna still see progress as I've shared in that early part of the ESO rehab process, especially post-op, because again, even the worst physical therapist can make progress and helping you because you're going from a straight leg post-op, your pain is naturally going to come down some compared to the surgery.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna get that knee bending some, you're going to be able to get off crutches, you're gonna start walking, your normal everyday life starts to normalize.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: And that's progress for you.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: So then, therefore, it makes it seem like, oh, well, my physical therapist is good.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: And to be honest, most people are still gonna do that regardless of the care that they get.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, it's going to still influence the nuances of it.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Do you get full extension?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Does your swelling go down?
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: Do you end up getting your flexion back to normal, right?
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Do your quads wake up?
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Do you end up still dealing with pain that you're still just like working through and navigating?
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: Are your ADLs and your activities of daily living improving gradually?
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like, are you able to take stairs?
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: Are you able to drive?
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: Are you able to be able to get back into the gym earlier?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: All these things will influence things.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing that will obviously be a very big indicator will be whether you are walking with a limp or not.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: That is one thing that I feel like is an early kind of red flag, if you will.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you're walking with a limp with a PT and you just continue to carry on with the limp, then to me that is kind of a red flag of like, mm, they didn't really do their due diligence to help guide you in this.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so this is the thing that's always challenging is that I think it can be looked at as very basic, or there could also be this perception of, well, it's already kind of covered by my insurance, I've already got it set up, it's right down the road, so I'll just kind of see how it goes, and that's okay.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: But the thing is, is that people are just kind of comfortable with it.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's okay until you start to notice in your gut, and this is where the gut test is so important in this process to know am I really getting what I need?
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Am I really deserving this level of care, especially for such a major, major injury?
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Now, let me give you some situations where this can kind of help connect the dots.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: I used some analogies earlier, and I think it's important to help create context with these examples because it's not generic.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that's important because generic is the thing we need to differentiate.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: You do not deserve generic care, you deserve expert care because it's very important in recovery like this.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: An architect, generic, they're building a community and all the homes are the same or slightly different, right?
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: Expert, you have a house that you need a lot of help on.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: You're building the home of your dreams as I had shared before, building a unique building design that you need help with, right?
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Project manager, the generic version.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: This community, this architect is building, all the homes are the same or slightly different.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: They're the person in charge versus the expert, the house that needs the help, the building that home of your dreams, or the unique buildings or design that you need help with.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: I bet you're going to find the best for this versus whoever is available, right?
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: So we're just kind of building off that architect and the project manager, right?
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like those people are going to be so important with projects like this.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: The IDoc, the generic, you need an eye exam and you're healthy, or needed to update a prescription.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Expert, you are very sp having a very specific issue, creating vision issues, or maybe it's a disease that could impact your ability to see.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: The same could be said about a dentist and they're since they're seen in a similar light.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then if we bring in something a little bit more serious, like a cancer, you know, maybe an oncologist.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Generic, honestly, hard for me to say that you'd seek out something generic for this, but let's say it's a very, very non-threatening cancer diagnosis.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: You may find someone who can get the job done.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: Expert.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's life-threatening or very disabling, and the treatments and outcomes can vary, right?
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so I know that there's like varying degrees of how serious this is, and with the latter cases, would you see a generalist?
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: What about the first part of the process?
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: Or would you find the best help you can from the get-go?
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: So now let's flip this and say, it's your parent, it's your sibling, it's your partner, it's your best friend, it's your kid.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Would you have a different answer for this?
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I know this seems extreme, and you guys are probably like, why are you being so annoying and pointing the finger at all this?
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: And to be honest, like I've just been having so many conversations with ACLs that it just directly frustrates me.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that I'm in this place that is uniquely seeing things from many different lenses.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing that I just always want to showcase is like, I'm not here to make any gains.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm here to make sure that you can get back to what you love doing, have the least amount of stress, be able to enjoy this process and grow from it and come out better, stronger, and be able to get back to what you want to do.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's all I care about.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like there are a lot of people who listen to this, who go through this process, and they just think that it is just let time pass, let's go through the repetitions, and we'll get there.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: And it's the thing that can be so frustrating for me because I just want to like be able to say, like, if you could just change these things, if you could just hear yourself, and if you hear the things that you are saying about the care you're getting, that if you just made a change, then everything would be different for you.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: Everything.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: But the thing is, is also that like I know the extreme part of this is saying, like, well, why are you stressing this so much?
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: But the thing is that you're not dealing with just knee pain or a flared up low back that is gonna probably get better no matter what in eight weeks.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's what people think this injury is.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's basic and it happens all the time.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: You hear it on the news, you hear it about other athletes, but it's not your typical cold, and you're not going to a primary care for this, right?
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to go to a primary care for this because a cold is going to get better on its own.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: So it's aching to having like a specific neurological issue, and you're seeing an expert neurologist for the issue versus a primary care doc.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: The thing that is hard about the landscape of healthcare is that when we graduate physical therapy, you physio school, we are taught to be generalists.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: We are just able to treat something, but we know nothing about one specific thing.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the thing that's so challenging with this is that there are way more ACL surgeries and cases than there are actual physical therapists that are equipped to handle it.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then you stack that onto a healthcare system that is based on volume and not really outcomes driven, it's mostly revenue driven, right?
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's for-profit companies that it's just very challenging for someone to really get the care they need for a recovery like this.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying that for all diagnoses they are bad.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: Could we use a better system?
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: But with that said, it is very hard for ACL rehab because people just don't get the best care because there's not enough specialty in there, and there's also not enough of individualization and testing, which makes this so challenging whenever you have a one in four chance of getting hurt again.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: This is an injury that has ended careers and dreams, lost scholarships, lost months and years of time for people, removed people from communities they are part of, impacted friendships, created metabolic diseases and weight gain, cost the folks thousands on thousands of dollars.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: I've spent thousands of dollars in my life from my surgeries, even from my ACL surgeries alone.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's crazy how much I have spent on just having these procedures.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: It creates a lot of anxiety, depression, and isolation because you just can't do as many things.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: You don't trust your body.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: So it might not be life-threatening or losing your vision or building the home of your dreams, which obviously feels like more of a positive thing.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: It is an injury that, if not rehabbed right, will change the trajectory of your life.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Could be good, could be bad.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: And often I talk to ACLers where it's bad.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: And the that's the thing that's so really hard.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like this is like a very blunt episode, and it's not to try to get you guys to say, like, hey, come join and work with us.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's honestly because I just want you to be able to see what it is that we see on our side of things and what we see from the physical therapy and the reinjury rates and the people who email us a year later, two years later saying, like, I re-injured my ACL.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: I wish I could share with you guys those emails, and maybe I will one day, but it breaks my absolute heart to see that, especially when the 14-year-old, the 16-year-old who had asthma for the second time in two years.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, there's something off with that.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then whenever I dig into the history of it, I'm like, this girl didn't get tested, she got cleared at six months, and it's just like, what are we doing?
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's why we see where the reinjury rates are.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so the reason this podcast exists isn't to just pump volume of people into our company, it's to make sure that when you walk away from these episodes, that you go to your surgeon, you go to your physical therapist, and when you step away from those things and you feel confident knowing that this is the absolute up-to-date information that exists in this world.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like the no BS, like this is what is real in this world.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's really important for everyone who is listening to this episode to be able to understand that.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: But because it's such a common and non-life-threatening type injury, and so many people go through it, people think it's fine to settle with what's down the road or the generic thing.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I have just such a hard time with this, and I know it's my bias showing in this episode.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: So some of you are like probably gonna throw shade at me, and it's okay.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: I just feel like I gotta kind of vent this and get this out because I'm really feeling the vibes in 2026.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm I'm just not gonna hold it back because I've been through this not once, but twice.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: And at this point, have consulted and spoken with hundreds and thousands of ACLers on this.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like, this has been my life mission at this point to make sure that this is something that you guys are educated on and to help more and more ACLers, more clinicians, more coaches, just as a whole in this entire community to be able to move things forward so every one in four athletes don't go on to get injured, and rest of their life is completely upended because they're now walking on eggshells because they're not confident in their knee, and they have these aspirations and goals of being humans and performing and being athletes.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing is, is that people think that there's some cheat code or someone has the the key to it or the answer and have it all figured out on their own.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not saying I have all the answers, but I do know we're doing something right.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: This is something that we have just dedicated so much time and energy to that we have just we're not going wide, we're going deep.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: And we all we do is go deep on ACL, and that's it here.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so the thing is that this company has existed since 2020.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: I've been doing ACL work since honestly, since I've injured my first ACL in 2010.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: I did it through undergrad and I researched it in PT school.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: I spent so much time on this throughout the years and years that it's been well over a decade that I've just been so dedicated to this.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's something that I think is just from the landscape of ACL rehab that we have to do better.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I think if we rely on the healthcare system, if we rely on surgeons, if we rely on just majority of physical therapists, we are going to be failed.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think it's one thing if people don't know better, we don't know what we don't know.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't fault any of you for that.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I have been naive and young and like in this process, and so I didn't know what I didn't know.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: I had immigrant parents walking me through this process, and in reality, they didn't really know.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like we were just showing up to appointments, and you check the box, and the surgeon tells you what to do, the PT tells you what to do, and you go home, right?
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's just kind of done to you.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: But the goal of this podcast is for you to be able to step into those rooms and be able to have a seat at the table and ask questions, not just be talked to, but have a conversation one person to another versus being uh someone who's just listening, right?
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm so thankful for just the information age, it can be kind of a little bit more overwhelming.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, like with AI, I think that it is going to be helpful for people to continue to be educated.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's one of the main things that is used for health and for healthcare in terms of what people look up on AI and Chat GPT, and I think it'll continue to grow and grow.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm so thankful for that.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: We just have to be careful with where we get the information, right?
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think that's the thing that we're trying to equip you guys with is to be educated and informed.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then once you do know better, we have to do better, right?
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: If you listen to this podcast episode and you continue to step away from this and you're like frustrated with this process, but you know your PT isn't going well, you know that you're not necessarily doing all the stuff to show up and do your rehab well, then at the end of the day, like you have been informed at this point to do something different, right?
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so there's an opportunity cost with this that I think is just so valuable for you to be able to see.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I've talked about this in previous episodes.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: There's so many gaps, often early stages, especially.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: Early stages set the foundation of this.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: And often we do have to take a step back anytime someone comes in later because they haven't been guided well, they haven't been guided based on criteria, usually it's based on time.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, all right, it's good enough time, you look good enough.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, let's move on to the next thing.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is what the protocol says for week 12.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the thing that could be challenging is that like there's an opportunity cost for a lot of things, but especially time, and prolonging the process when it could have been more efficient based on what was given.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then what about finances?
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: People think in the short term they're saving money, but what if it doesn't get them there?
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: Insurance, as I had shared, is the big problem here because people feel it owes them, right?
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: They're playing their own game, and it isn't to get people the proper visits, it's to make profit.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: They're for-profit insurance companies, it's unregulated business.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: Young athlete only getting 12 visits approved, and at three weeks post op, how does that work?
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I've seen so many different cases where people are like, Yeah, I've got 60 visits on my insurance, and someone gets to, you know, 20 visits and the insurance cuts them off.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: They're deemed functional, right?
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: They could do their ADLs, their activities of daily living, but there's still you know 80% of the process still left to gain back.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: To feeling like an athlete, but you don't have your insurance there, right?
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then not to mention the cost of inefficient or bad rehab or another ACL injury.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the thing that I always tell people is like, what is the cost of a second ACL injury?
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's the thing that you essentially have to tee this up to and really not sugarcoat.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: And the one quote that is common in this is like, buy nice, buy twice, or buy once, cry once, right?
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so that emphasizes the investing in higher quality items initially that can save money in the long run.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: Not only money though, but like also time.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's an investment, yes.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, it is something that also values in maybe the mental energy and stress and anxiety.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it is just knowing you have structure, knowing you have guidance.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: I kind of think about it as like you get in your car, you get the GPS, like you trust that GPS to know all the different data points and guide you in that process.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like you're trying to go up the mountaintop and there's a sherpa alongside you.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: And you're not following a map map, you're not following like, you know, something just by the seat of your pants to be able to do it.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like you're following something that is going to guide you and someone who knows that mountain, and it's going to be that Sherpa who's going to get you there, right?
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to invest in that.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's going to be the goal, right?
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like to be able to invest in that to be able to get there.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so you need to do research though, because more cost or expensive isn't always equal to quality either.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: I've seen people who have charged thousands upon thousands of dollars to be able to work with someone for you know six months.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it's crazy that there's just no true value in terms of like what they're actually doing.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like they're quoting themselves as like this expert, but then when you see what they're doing and their method, if you will, and you're just like, this is just really just kind of like a marketing gimmick more than it is anything.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: So the expensive route isn't always something that also showcases either.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's often quality, often correlates with durability, debunking the notion that higher prices always guarantees longevity.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: The principal advice is against opting for cheaper alternatives that might need for frequent replacement, ultimately costing more over time.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: So that's gonna be super important here.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: This principle advice is against opting for cheaper alternatives that might need frequent replacement, ultimately costing more over time.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: So basically, that is going a little bit more of a cheaper route, and then over time is gonna cost more, right?
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so thinking the investment will pay off more later versus now is something that's gonna be super important in this process and being evaluated, right?
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so this is one of the things that I did want to just kind of bring up, like as we're kickstarting 2026, you might be listening to this way later than that, and that's okay.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: But I just wanted to kind of open up the air with just some transparent stuff in terms of you know people feeling stuck.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've been kind of talking about more of these kind of feelings in terms of conversations with athletes and just full transparency with where things are.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I can imagine that many of you who listen to this are probably kind of feeling a little bit from this episode, right?
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so my advice and my action item for you, if you will, is to just make a change.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: This is your green light to make a change.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: I don't care if your PT is nice, I don't care if you've been with them for six months and they seem nice, and you know what, you've got the history together, unless they are doing the proper testing, unless they are like leading you and providing clarity and structure when you're in rehab, when you're outside of those sessions and you have clear structure and progressions.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: And anytime you ask a question, they can answer it, or they may say, I don't know, I will find out and get back to you.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: You want to make sure that you have someone who is confident to be your guide and that you don't need to think twice about who that person is in your corner and on your team because your physical therapist will make or break this process.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: Your coach will make or break this process.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: That PT coach who you hire, who you have on your team will be the person to get you there.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: They're your Sherpa, they're your GPS, not your surgeon, not anybody else.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: It is going to be the PT, that person who can really walk you through the ins and outs, who knows this process, who sets up criteria, and most importantly is going to be the person responsible for making sure that when you step out on that field, on that court, on that mountain, on any type of athletic activity or sport, that you have the lowest chance of injuring that ACL because you have been properly tested based on the research and data, and that you will perform at a higher standard than what you were before you had this ACL injury.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's our goal here at the ACL athlete.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so I encourage you to find someone that you can work with that can do this.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I would say don't wait, do it now.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_00: Even if you have, you know, the cushy insurance, either find someone who takes that insurance or go make the investment.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: We have had college students, we have people going paycheck to paycheck to be able to make sure that they can do things, and we're flexible.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing is, like, you want to be able to work with someone who can make sure that they can get you there.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I promise you it will be so worth it.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: And you'll look back and be like, I'm so glad I did that.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: I hope that this was helpful, y'all.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have any feedback, if you have any questions, if you just want us to help point you in the right direction, we're here.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: But otherwise, like, I hope you have a good rest of the day or night or morning, whenever you're listening to this.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: And let's just have a good year, good month.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're listening to this, especially the early part of 2026 or where whenever it is, this is the year.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: Just let's put it to bed.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like, let's not say, like, all right, we're gonna make it 2027.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like, make it this year, whatever year you're listening to this in, make it this year.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go do the thing.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, this is your host, Robbie Patel, signing off.