ACL TEARS: AN ALL TOO
COMMON INJURY
By Kristin Chulick
Sports are a huge part of
the high school experience. Students’ sports careers in
the past couple of years have been tainted by the tearing of their
ACL.
The ACL is one of the four major ligaments in the knee. The ligament
is the knee’s source of stabilization; with an obstructed
ACL, surgery is required to replace the damaged ACL. Before surgery
the patient has the choice of either using a strip of your patella
ligament or to use a portion of your hamstring muscle, and you
have the option of using a cadaver (a body part from another person).
After the operation, physical therapy is required to rebuild the
strength in the knee, and to build up the muscle around the knee
to prevent any further problems with the knee.
Tearing of the ACL can happen to anyone. The ACL tear is most
common in competitive sports that consist of pivoting, landing
from jumping and abrupt stops when your knee is in the wrong position.
The two sports that have the highest risk for ACL tears are basketball
and soccer. Ligament damage can be prevented by weight lifting.
When weight lifting to prevent knee injuries concentrate on your
leg muscles mostly, such as hamstring, quads, and your core (abdominal
and back muscles) those are the most important muscles to strengthen
when preventing knee problems. Although many athletes do hit the
weight room there is still a chance of tearing your ACL.
Damaging the ACL is an enormous dent in the life of an athlete.
Last year seven students at valley tore their ACL. Dominique Hunsucker,
who was well known for his athletic abilities, and his performance
on the football field, basketball court, and on the track, he
tore his ACL in a basketball game after an amazing football season.
He was looking forward to running track and going to CCS again
after doing that as a freshman. Brandon Holland was another athlete
who people were looking forward to seeing perform on the basketball
court. Brandon is said to be an amazing basketball player, and
after he tore his ACL his freshman year he was unable to show
his basketball skills until his junior year in high school, due
to him having to wait an extra year for surgery. He said, “Tearing
my ACL made me see life without being able to play basketball
which is my passion, and I was scared that I would never be able
to play again.” Ben Jones was also a victim of the ACL epidemic.
He tore his ACL during football season. Ben is also a two-sport
athlete; he plays rugby and football. The year he tore it, he
was forced to sit out for the rugby season. Similarly, Chelsea
Chard, an outstanding soccer player, had one of the worst knee
injuries yet to come to Valley. She tore not only her ACL but
some of the other major ligaments, forcing her to go through a
longer rehabilitation process than a normal patient.
The team that was most deeply affected by ACL injuries was the
girls varsity basketball team. They started out the season with
a shortage of post players. There were three post players in the
beginning of the season, but in preseason Kristin Chulick who
sat out all last year due to two ACL surgeries was expected to
play this year, but she tore it again taking her out for the duration
of the season. Shortly after Kristin had fallen victim to another
ACL tear, Christina Kidd tore her ACL. When Christina went down
with a knee injury that affected the team greatly. She was a team
captain, and a huge asset to the team with her scoring, rebounding,
and defense. The team lost two of the three post players early
in preseason. Although the girls varsity basketball team was faced
with these struggles they kept persevering.
Every team that lost a competitor or a teammate lost a piece of
the team. The football team had to move forward without Dominique
as the running back who had already made a name for himself his
sophomore year on the football field. The boys varsity basketball
team kept competing for two years while Brandon was on the bench
waiting for his chance to show his skills. The football team went
on without Ben to be there to assist, and so did the rugby team.
Chelsea who brought so much to the field for the soccer team had
to struggle through a long physical therapy process due to her
damage. Kristin and Christina left their team two players short
to end the season. The school as a whole has been tested with
the ACL injuries.
The Valley Christian High School athletic program has been affected
by students who have torn their ACL. The teams have lost some
key players who brought so much to the team, whether it was a
positive attitude to practice everyday, or just someone who left
everything they had on the playing field.
