The ACL Athlete Podcast
Episodes
298 episodes
298 | Why “Keep Working On It” Might Not Be Enough in ACL Rehab
In this episode, we start with a handful of words almost every ACL athlete hears at some point, usually right after raising a concern that will not go away. You did the work. You showed up. Your knee still does not feel like yours, and the answ...
297 | Audit Your Knee Extension: A Simple Assessment for ACL Rehab
In this episode we start with a sentence we hear far too often: your knee extension is "normal", it'll come back with time, or just keep working on it. One athlete heard some version of that for months. A scan early on showed something, but it ...
296 | The Trust Problem in ACL Rehab and Healthcare
In this episode, we sit with an ACLer who told us he would almost rather hear that it was over so he could stop fighting it. He wasn't being dramatic. He was exhausted. For months he did everything he was told, showed up almost every day, and s...
295 | Two NFL Players, Two Very Different Paths Back From ACL Surgery
In this episode we look at two NFL quarterbacks, two knees, and one label stamped on both of them. One walked out under the lights on Monday night in week one. The other is still on the sideline answering questions at a podium, and the comment ...
294 | The Collateral Damage Consideration of Going Nonoperative in ACL Rehab
In this episode we follow one athlete who had done everything right in recovery. Strong knee, no giving way, nothing to suggest a problem, until one ordinary moment on a wet pool deck changed the outcome entirely. We get into why that single mo...
293 | The Comparison Trap Every ACL Athlete Falls Into
In this episode, we get into something that quietly shapes how almost every ACL athlete feels on any given day, even when their knee is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. It is not a workout, a graft type, or a timeline. It is something m...
292 | The One Skill That Separates Good ACL PTs From Great Ones
In this episode, we go back to a mistake made early in a career, one that quietly cost someone months they never got back. We talk about the feeling that creeps in during recovery long before anyone has words for it, and why so many people are ...
291 | Twenty ACL Athletes Later, Complicated Might Be Normal In ACL Rehab
In this episode, we open up our actual caseload and walk you through what a normal week of ACL rehab really looks like behind the scenes and the variety of cases we're working with. Not the highlight reel version, not the forum version, just re...
290 | The Fear Of Damaging Your New Graft After ACL Surgery
In this episode we get into the fear that hits almost every ACLer in the weeks after surgery, the quiet worry that one wrong step, one weird zing, one slip in the shower could undo everything. We share a message from a listener that fueled this...
289 | Why Your Surgeon's Favorite Graft Might Not Be Right For Your ACL Surgery
In this episode, we tackle one of the most repeated pieces of advice in the ACL space, the idea that the best graft is simply the one your surgeon is best at. It sounds reasonable. Athletes hear it in consults, in physical therapy offices, and ...
288 | Should You Let Your PT Crank On Your Knee In ACL Rehab?
In this episode, we walk through a real case that has us fired up. An ACL athlete four and a half months post op, 40 physical therapy sessions in, finally hit a breaking point and told her PT to stop. We get into what was actually happening in ...
287 | 9 Lessons I Learned After Tearing My ACL Twice
In this episode we get personal. We are pulling back the curtain on two ACL tears in two completely different chapters of life, and the nine lessons that came out of both. We talk about the moment denial feels more like certainty than fear, why...
286 | 5 Signs It's Time to Switch Your PT
In this episode we walk through the quiet signs that your ACL recovery might not be on the track it should be. We get into what actually separates a provider who knows what they're doing from one who is behind, the questions you should be able ...
285 | The Mental Toll of ACL Rehab Nobody Talks About
In this episode, we open up about the side of ACL rehab that almost no one prepares you for, the mental toll that runs right alongside the physical recovery. We talk about why this process is a rollercoaster and not the clean linear path people...
284 | Why Hamstring Co-Activation Might Be Blocking Your Knee Extension
In this episode, we break down why your knee extension might feel stuck after ACL surgery, and it is not about weakness or effort. We walk through arthrogenic muscle inhibition, a new EMG study showing how the brain co-activates the hamstrings ...
283 | 10 Common NMES Mistakes in ACL Rehab - Part 2
In this episode, we close out our two-part NMES series by getting into the setup and execution details that make or break every individual session. We cover the five most common mistakes we see in how athletes actually run their NMES sessions: ...
282 | 10 Common NMES Mistakes in ACL Rehab - Part 1
In this episode we kick off a two-part series on one of the most valuable tools in ACL rehab: neuromuscular electrical stimulation, or NMES. We break down why arthrogenic muscle inhibition makes quad recovery so much harder than most athletes e...
281 | Is Knee Soreness Normal in ACL Rehab?
Is knee soreness in ACL rehab normal, or a sign something is wrong?In this episode we break down the real difference between soreness and pain, why soreness shows up more in mid and late stage rehab, the three most common causes, and th...
280 | Further Out and Still Not There: Why Your ACL Recovery Is Taking Longer Than You Expected
In this episode, we dig into one of the most common and quietly painful experiences in ACL recovery: being months or even years out from surgery and still not feeling close to where you thought you would be. We break down why the 9-to-12-month ...
279 | Bone Bruise After an ACL Injury: What It Means for Your Rehab and Recovery
In this episode, we take a deep dive into one of the most overlooked pieces of the ACL injury: bone bruising. Present in roughly 85% of ACL tears, bone bruises are almost always mentioned in the MRI report and almost always glossed over in the ...
278 | How to Navigate a Second ACL Opinion: Before Surgery, After Surgery, and Complex Cases
In this episode, we break down how to actually navigate second (or third) opinions in ACL care without getting overwhelmed or stuck in decision paralysis. From pre-surgery planning to post-op confusion and complex, lingering symptoms, we walk t...
277 | The Sympathy Gap: When the Visible Markers of ACL Rehab Disappear
In this episode, we talk about one of the quietest and most underrated phases of ACL recovery: the window after the crutches and brace are gone, but the real work is still very much in progress. We call it the sympathy gap, and it shows up when...
276 | Two-Stage Revision ACL Reconstruction Part 2: The Surgery, the Research, and the Road Back
In this episode, we go deeper into the two-stage revision ACL reconstruction process, starting with what actually happens during Stage 1 and why understanding the bone work changes how you think about the months that follow. We break down the i...
275 | Two-Stage Revision ACL Reconstruction Part 1: What It Is and Why It Happens
In this episode, we open with the story of an athlete who did everything right after her ACL reconstruction and still knew something was off. Her surgeon told her she was fine. Her knee told her otherwise. We break down what a two-stage revisio...
274 | Structure Outside of PT Is Not Optional in ACL Rehab
In this episode, we dig into one of the most common and costly gaps in ACL rehab: the absence of structure outside of physical therapy sessions. We start with the math of how few hours most ACLers are actually getting guided work and walk throu...