Spreading ACL awareness to young athletes
ACL Information Center
Meet the Creator of this information Center:
Ashley Wang
reflecting on my time as a soccer player, I was never informed about ACL injuries and what I could be doing outside of practice to decrease the risks of tearing my ACL. I think it is extremely important for players to know what an ACL tear is and the ways to decrease the risk of a tear. It affects so many soccer players (and other sports as well) and yet we are never educated on the topic. I do recommend taking a look at the extra sources I have provided or even reaching out to me with questions about my experience!
Hi everyone! I wanted to share my ACL story which will shed light on why I have created this information center. I am 17 years old and I once played soccer.
I was running late to my soccer game after an early morning of working a fundraising race. My coach quickly put me on the field and twenty minutes into the game, I heard a crack and fell to the ground in pain. I didn’t think anything of it and tried standing back up, but I immediately fell to the ground. Fast forward a couple of weeks, my doctor told me he believed my ACL was torn, but I needed an MRI to be sure. Being as uneducated as I was about ACL injuries, I asked if I would be out for a month or so…the doctor paused and quickly said that we will have to see.
Soon after that, I received an ACL reconstruction surgery using a hamstring tendon autograft. After my surgery, I was in excruciating pain and For the next six months, I was in physical therapy attempting the simplest tasks. That summer I spent every day in the gym in order to make sure I would play soccer in the fall. Sadly I never went back to playing soccer, however, every player is different and some do go back. (Though a few of my friends have gone back and immediately tore their ACL again.)
This is an image of my torn ACL before reconstruction surgery.