Research Into ACL Injuries : Sat Mar 10, 2012 7:42 pm  

Hoping for some assistance from anywhere really.

My daughters boyfriend is a medical student at Leeds Uni and as part of his studies this year he is attempting to analyse the occurrence of and the rehabilitaion of ACL injuries within professional Rugby League, and to compare this with the same injuries elsewhere.

He has written to all the club doctors in both Super League and Championship clubs with a very limited response.

Does anyone know if this statistical information is out anywhere in the public domain and if so where can it be found?

I did suggest to him that a very good contact would be Phil Clarke from Sky as he seems to have a very good graps of all things statistical and also has a number of contacts within this sphere, however we wouldn't have a clue how to contact Phil - does anybody know how we could contact Phil?

If anyone has any suggestions or can offer any assistance we would be very grateful.

Many thanks

Dave

Re: Research Into ACL Injuries : Sat Mar 10, 2012 8:01 pm  

Johnny The Fox wrote:

Hoping for some assistance from anywhere really.

My daughters boyfriend is a medical student at Leeds Uni and as part of his studies this year he is attempting to analyse the occurrence of and the rehabilitaion of ACL injuries within professional Rugby League, and to compare this with the same injuries elsewhere.

He has written to all the club doctors in both Super League and Championship clubs with a very limited response.

Does anyone know if this statistical information is out anywhere in the public domain and if so where can it be found?

I did suggest to him that a very good contact would be Phil Clarke from Sky as he seems to have a very good graps of all things statistical and also has a number of contacts within this sphere, however we wouldn't have a clue how to contact Phil - does anybody know how we could contact Phil?

If anyone has any suggestions or can offer any assistance we would be very grateful.

Many thanks

Dave

Had this done 3 times on same knee after playing so have a suggestion for you - check your inbox.

Re: Research Into ACL Injuries : Sat Mar 10, 2012 8:30 pm  

Allez wrote:

Had this done 3 times on same knee after playing so have a suggestion for you - check your inbox.

I know players who's done their ACL and it's very bad injury and a tough one to get back on the field playing but to come back three times takes some doing

I've broke bones, dislocated thumbs and shoulders, done ankle ligaments and obviously fair share of cuts but touch wood I'll never do anything like a ACL.

Re: Research Into ACL Injuries : Sat Mar 10, 2012 8:57 pm  

St pete wrote:

I know players who's done their ACL and it's very bad injury and a tough one to get back on the field playing but to come back three times takes some doing

I've broke bones, dislocated thumbs and shoulders, done ankle ligaments and obviously fair share of cuts but touch wood I'll never do anything like a ACL.

Yeah mate it is very painful. The initial rupture was painful but I did it when I was very young and the reconstructive surgery wasn't available so it was a case of hammer the weights. I suffered with that for many years and had the first reconstruction done with my kneecap tendon to replace the ACL. That went well until I ruptured that so they replaced that with my hamstring tendon which is another way of doing it. Guess what....that went as well so I saw a surgeon who specialised in that kind of injury who did a 3rd reconstruction with hamstring from my other leg.

That was a few years ago and thanks to a lot of hard work and some patience from my physio who has helped me a lot over the years the knee seems stable. It's a nightmare injury though and the rehab is tough and long. It's quite a common procedure these days and done arthroscopically (keyhole). If anyone is as morbidly minded as me there's videos of it on a well known video hosting site.

In some ways I am glad I am too old to play now

Re: Research Into ACL Injuries : Sat Mar 10, 2012 9:01 pm  

Allez wrote:

Yeah mate it is very painful. The initial rupture was painful but I did it when I was very young and the reconstructive surgery wasn't available so it was a case of hammer the weights. I suffered with that for many years and had the first reconstruction done with my kneecap tendon to replace the ACL. That went well until I ruptured that so they replaced that with my hamstring tendon which is another way of doing it. Guess what....that went as well so I saw a surgeon who specialised in that kind of injury who did a 3rd reconstruction with hamstring from my other leg.

That was a few years ago and thanks to a lot of hard work and some patience from my physio who has helped me a lot over the years the knee seems stable. It's a nightmare injury though and the rehab is tough and long. It's quite a common procedure these days and done arthroscopically (keyhole). If anyone is as morbidly minded as me there's videos of it on a well known video hosting site.

In some ways I am glad I am too old to play now

I'm so glad never had to experince anything like that. I've had some real bad ones but the ACL is the one I'm happy to avoided up until now (touch wood)

Re: Research Into ACL Injuries : Sat Mar 10, 2012 10:26 pm  

Clarke mentioned a tutor at Bolton Uni looking into this. It was in one of his stat things at the start of Boots n All I think. Possibly the Wednesday after the lad did his Achilles at Widnes.

Re: Research Into ACL Injuries : Sat Mar 10, 2012 10:28 pm  

As for contacting Clarke. Angela Powers is pretty good on twitter so she may be able to help.

Re: Research Into ACL Injuries : Sat Mar 10, 2012 11:42 pm  

It's odd. A few years ago I remember reading an article in which surgeons were claiming a breakthrough in the treatment of ACL ruptures which would cut recovery times from nine months down to six or eight weeks. IIRC, it involved taking a graft from another part of the body. I've heard nothing since so I can only assume it's either failed or is still under clinical trial.

ACL injuries really are a nightmare for any club as you lose the player for a full season and put the squad under intense pressure. Mind you, I suppose we should be grateful for existing treatment methods. Prior to around the time when Gazza blew out his knee an ACL injury signalled the death of your career. IIRC, it was the same that ended Brian Clough's playing days.

Re: Research Into ACL Injuries : Sun Mar 11, 2012 12:43 pm  

Not RL i know, but in the USA there are extensive research papers on the effects of different playing surfaces re player injuries.

It could provide a base in terms of how to approach the subject, or even a contrast between the two sports.

Re: Research Into ACL Injuries : Mon Mar 12, 2012 5:32 pm  

Dr Lisa Hodgson - head of Sports Medicine at the RFL - email at the bottom of this link http://www.therfl.co.uk/~therflc/community/news_item.php?id=12076

Dr Lisa Hodgson - head of Sports Medicine at the RFL - email at the bottom of this link http://www.therfl.co.uk/~therflc/community/news_item.php?id=12076