NAME THAT LIGAMENT
The three ways every injury is classified.
By cause, by tissue type, and by onset.
The acronym for the six-step on-court assessment.
TOTAPS.
An ACL is not stitched back together; it is replaced with THIS.
A graft (reconstruction).
The number of phases in ACL rehabilitation.
Four.
Australia's Matildas captain and superstar striker who ruptured her ACL at a Chelsea training camp in early 2024 and missed the Paris Olympics.
Who is Sam Kerr?
The cause, tissue type and onset of Mia's injury (all three).
Indirect, soft tissue, acute.
What each letter of RICER stands for.
Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation, Referral.
A graft from your OWN body vs a graft from a DONOR - the two names.
Autograft (your own) and allograft (donor).
Cold causes THIS to blood vessels; heat causes THIS.
Cold = vasoconstriction; heat = vasodilation.
Liverpool and Netherlands superstar centre-back who tore his ACL after a collision with Everton's keeper in an October 2020 derby.
Who is Virgil van Dijk?
The ligament that stops the tibia sliding forward on the femur.
The ACL (anterior cruciate ligament).
What NO HARM stands for - the things to AVOID for 48-72 hours.
No Heat, no Alcohol, no Running, no Massage.
Why surgery usually suits a 16-year-old netballer over the non-surgical option.
She's young and plays a cutting/pivoting sport, so an unstable knee would give way and risk further damage.
Why plyometrics are saved for the LATER phases of rehab.
They put very high load on the healing graft, which is weakest while it incorporates.
Swedish striker and one of football's biggest personalities who tore his ACL at Man United in 2017 - and later claimed he played 6 months WITHOUT an ACL.
Who is Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
These scenario clues point to the ACL, not the MCL.
Knee close to straight, collapsing inward (valgus), an audible pop, and the knee giving way / rapid swelling.
What you must do the moment an athlete fails any TOTAPS step.
Stop immediately, remove them from play, and refer for treatment.
Two long-term risks of NOT reconstructing the ACL.
Any two of: ongoing instability, secondary meniscal/cartilage damage, early osteoarthritis, likely later reconstruction.
The strength benchmark (a %) an athlete must hit before return to play.
A Limb Symmetry Index of 90% or more (also hop tests at 90%+).
The NFL quarterback widely called the GOAT (7 Super Bowls) who tore his ACL and MCL in the first game of the 2008 season.
Who is Tom Brady?
A complete Grade III ligament tear leaves the joint like THIS, which a Grade I tear does not.
Unstable (it gives way).
Why an MRI, not an X-ray, is used to confirm an ACL tear.
X-ray only images hard tissue (bone); MRI images soft tissue, so it shows the ligament.
The public system vs paying for choice of surgeon and shorter waits - the two funding pathways.
Medicare (public) and private health insurance.
The scale used to check an athlete's PSYCHOLOGICAL readiness to return.
The ACL-RSI (Return to Sport after Injury) scale.
NBA point guard - the league's youngest ever MVP - whose career was derailed by a torn ACL in a 2012 playoff game.
Who is Derrick Rose?