Torn But Not Broken: Overcoming Your ACL Injury

An ACL injury can feel like everything is put on pause - your sport, your routine, even your confidence. At Bay Laurel Athletics, we believe that an ACL injury doesn’t mean the end or define your future, it just becomes part of your comeback story to a stronger, more confident athlete. As you read on, I’ll break down how ACL injuries happen, what recovery really looks like, and how we help patients at every stage—from surgery to full return to sport - to live vibrant, active lives.

Understanding the ACL and How Injuries Happen

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is located in the knee, connecting the thighbone (femur) to the shinbone (tibia).  It plays a crucial role in the stability of the knee and prevents over bending or rotation. The ACL can be injured due to it bending or turning past its natural limit. We see this most commonly in athletes who engage in sports with quick pivots, cutting movements, and jumping, but this injury could happen to anyone. 

An ACL Injury has 3 levels:

Grade A: When the ACL slightly stretches enough to cause pain, but still holding the knee together. 

Grade B: When the ACL stretches to a point where it is partially torn. 

Grade C: When the ACL is completely torn and in two pieces. 

Identifying and treating an ACL Injury

When the ACL is injured you will most likely hear or feel a pop in the knee. As time goes on if you feel any weakness, instability, limited range of movement or swelling in the knee, they all could be symptoms of an ACL injury. 

It’s highly recommended to get surgery to replace the ACL for complete tears. For ACL replacement or repairs, surgeons will use tissue from your own body or from a donor. It is crucial during the post-surgery process to start physical therapy to keep moving and strengthen the knee to keep the muscles strong and prevent atrophy. 

Road to Recovery and Prevention

The road to recovery can be difficult but is always achievable. A key aspect to this process is believing in yourself. At times it can feel overwhelming or even defeating, but building confidence within yourself is half of the journey. Support from family and friends make a huge difference. At Bay Laurel Athletics, your Physical Therapist. Dr. Laurel makes sure to address the mental hurdles that come along with ACL injuries and instills confidence and motivation during your recovery, encouraging you by highlighting the amazing progress you make every step of the way. 

At Bay Laurel Athletics a recovery plan will be different for every athlete and not your typical cookie cutter approach. Personalizing programs is one of Dr. Laurel's Specialties. Based on the sport you play or the activities you want to continue, your program will be tailored to help you return to them, possibly even stronger than before. Building your muscle strength around the ACL pushes the knee to be more resilient, taking stress off the ligaments and preventing the ACL from being prone to injury in the future. Some techniques used at Bay Laurel Athletics to achieve this and speed up recovery time are:

Blood Flow Restriction: A device used that constricts off 80% of the blood flow in your leg, tricking your body into working 2x stronger when doing exercises, releasing natural growth hormone boosting the healing process and leaving you without muscle soreness. 

Electronic Stimulation: Used in the early states, E-stim helps to strengthen and re-educate the quadriceps muscles, which are often weakened after ACL surgery especially related to the nerve blocks used during surgery.

Personalized Exercises: Designing exercises that target the movements you want to return to is a key part of the rehab process. For example, if you love playing basketball, one effective exercise might involve placing a resistance band around your knees and using your foot to push a slider in multiple directions. This helps basketball players because the sport requires constant pivoting and quick changes in different directions.

Is It all that Bad?

At Bay Laurel Athletics, all types of ACL injuries are welcomed, NO ONE is untreatable even when things are complicated or look dim. Dr. Laurel has helped countless patients recover from a wide range of simple to complicated and complex issues related to ACL reconstruction surgeries, including full ligament tears, hyperextension reinjuries, post-surgical infections, tibial osteotomies and more. Even these individuals with complex cases have not only recovered but continue to thrive and live vibrant, active lives doing the activities and sports they love in all decades of life.

My experience working as an intern for Dr. Laurel at Bay Laurel Athletics has been nothing short of amazing. I’ve had the chance to see firsthand high school athletes return to competition after ACL surgery, and  adults reclaim active lifestyles they feared were gone forever. I was able to watch many of these patients not just recover but also thrive.

One father, for example, tore his ACL, then suffered a hyperextension injury after surgery. Despite the setback, he worked hard and got back to playing basketball and soccer with his son—restoring meaningful father-son moments. Another client had her ACL removed due to infection, yet still returned to hiking, skiing, and spending long days on her feet at work. I remember watching her confidence grow with every step, proving that strength and function are possible even without a ligament. I also saw a mother recover from multiple torn ligaments in her knee without surgery and return to caring for her family fully. And I’ll never forget a 50-year-old CrossFit athlete who, after a major leg realignment surgery followed by ACL reconstruction, was squatting 300 pounds within five months.

These stories remind me that recovery is about more than healing—it’s about thriving. They’ve inspired me to never give up on the lifestyle I want to live, because it can always be achieved.

An ACL injury doesn’t mean your active lifestyle or life as an athlete has to stop despite what some say. With the right care, rehab plan, and support, you can get back to hiking, running, lifting, playing your sport, or simply moving confidently day to day. Whether you're an athlete or just want to enjoy an active lifestyle again, Bay Laurel Athletics is here to help you move forward, stronger and smarter.

Written by:

Sarah Levin

Bay Laurel Athletics Physical Therapy Intern