The rise of anterior cruciate ligament injuries has been a tragic addition to football at all levels in recent years, in part caused by increased fatigue, and also artificial pitches. However new approaches to treating them are being explored.
The general treatment for the injury involves surgery on the knee, and a recovery period that typically oscillates between 9 and 12 months. In Australia, Relevo report that Dr. Tom Cross has been trying out a new method since 2014, and has treated more than 800 patients in this manner. Rather than surgery, his method is immobilising the knee with a splint, and allowing the ligaments to reattach themselves. It has shown promising results, with some recovering in 5-7 months.
Avoiding surgery is a major benefit, and in Barcelona, Dr. Ramon Cugat’s team are looking into it. Dr. Cugat is Barcelona’s club doctor, and is currently treating around 500 ACL injuries per year, and has been in contact with Dr. Cross’ team. The experiment is being applied to Espanyol youngster Joan Puig, who tore his ACL in January, and relapsed in July, suffering the same injury.
“I was already suffering from the idea of going through the operating room again, but the doctor proposed something that is done very rarely: he gave me growth factors and a 90-degree splint and told me that I had to spend a month with the leg was immobilised. It went very well, the ligament took, and I am running, and in a month and a half I can return to the pitch to compete.”
Dr. Cugat has preached caution, but they are paying close attention to the results, and to see if it functions in athletes. They do admit that if it does turn out to be a viable solution, then it could change the future of ACL injuries, with the added bonus of reducing athritis down the line and avoiding invasive surgery.
It is an interesting prospect no doubt. Before advances in medicine in the last couple of decades, an ACL injury generally was thought of as career-ending for top athletes, if not seriously inhibiting for the rest of it. These days it still has a career-altering effect on players generally, but it is no longer out of the question for a player to get back to their best thereafter.
