ACL SURGERY - YES OR NO?

I was listening to this podcast today - 
Return to exercise after ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury, with Dr Richard Frobell 

- and I was blown away by this question and answer exchange:

Interviewer to Dr. Frobell: "You are now not so young anymore. So if you had your ACL torn in Alpine Skiing in Sweden, what would you do with it?"

Dr. Frobell: "I would most definitely wait with an ACL reconstruction. I would try rehabilitation at first [my emphasis]. If I still would experience instability because I am an active guy, I like to do sports, and if that would decrease my ability to do sports I would seriously consider a reconstruction. But I would never perform that at first. [my emphasis]"

WOW! What a change in thought. And what a concept.....rehab first! 

Injury care = rehab = sports performance. I have been saying this for decades! Surgery is always an option.... but as a last resort if all else fails.

Technique - It has always been and always will be about technique

Listen to Dr. Anthony Beutler talking about ACL Injury Prevention at the British Journal of Sports Medicine's podcast page - The JUMP-ACL study with Anthony Beutler

"There is no magic in the exercises....What really seems to be magic is the coaching [my emphasis]. Is actually getting people to change the way they perform these tasks, so that they do them in a more biomechanically sound [manner] with a movement pattern that is less risky for injury puts them at less risk for injury. That really seems to be the key so we emphasize good form, your knees need to be in line with your hips, your knees need to be in line with your toes, your toes need to be pointed straight forward and that you land softly."

Like I said, it always has been and always will be about technique.

EVERYONE NEEDS A KNOWLEDGEABLE COACH!