A torn cruciate ligament (ACL, cruciate ligament rupture) is really a disaster for a soccer player — but is conservative treatment really effective? It is not for nothing that we have already dealt with this type of injury several times and developed a comeback training together with experts from competitive sports.
We have also presented you with many tips for prevention — but what does the procedure actually look like if an injury does occur? Does it always have to be an operation?
Time and again, we are asked whether surgery makes sense or whether conservative treatment could promise success. We are neither doctors nor can we provide a generally valid answer, as every player and every injury must be considered individually. But maybe with this post we can provide you with helpful information that can help you with your decisions — surgery or conservative treatment.
Comeback training with professional know-how
When Patrick Hermann from Borussia Mönchengladbach had a torn posterior cruciate ligament a few years ago, Dr. Stumpenhausen, himself senior physician at St. Joseph Hospital in Berlin for many years and team doctor of a regional league team, spoke out:
“If the posterior cruciate ligament is torn, the chances of success with conservative treatment are quite good. If rehab is successful, the knee should be clinically stable again after around six weeks.”
Andi Beck from VFB Stuttgart also suffered a cruciate ligament injury in 2018/19, which was treated conservatively.
Considering that a player loses an average of around nine months after posterior cruciate ligament surgery, a stable knee after six weeks of conservative treatment appears to be a promising method. But how does conservative treatment actually work and when should you opt for it?
As with any injury, the first step is pain relief. A conservative treatment method then involves artificially restoring the cruciate ligament to complete knee stability and rebuilding muscular stability, as well as the development of strength and coordination of the knee joint through appropriate rehabilitation training.
Especially for amateur players who want to continue their career at the same level and thus deliberately expose themselves to less sporting stress — while maintaining low levels of stress in everyday working life — a conservative treatment method can have many advantages over a more or less serious surgical procedure.
Even though almost 90% of all operations are now successful and many players are back to almost unlimited performance in terms of knee stability, an operation always involves a residual risk. After surgery, there is also a very long recovery phase and, depending on the surgical technique and replacement material, postoperative pain behind the kneecap or an extensor deficit.
For young players, professional soccer players and very active people, however, reconstructing the cruciate ligament helps to fully stabilize the knee joint again and prevent complete performance, as well as prevention of sequelae such as cartilage and meniscus damage.
In any case, an injury to the cruciate ligament is a serious injury that must be treated individually depending on the degree of injury, requirement profile, level of performance and objectives.
In the very best case scenario, an injury does not even occur in the first place. And this is where we want to support you. With the help of our rehabilitation programs in the app and contributions, we want to make an active contribution to preventing injuries in soccer. If you have any wishes, suggestions or questions about various topics — just get in touch with us.
BE FEARLESS. BE FOCUSED. B42
Comeback training with professional know-how
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