On Feb. 13, 2016, Sean Mayberry went up for a layup against Albright College; a move that he has executed a thousand times. But this time he hears a pop in his left knee, the unforgettable sound he has heard only one other time in his life.<\/p>\n
The next day, Mayberry went to see Dr. Michael Bennett, assistant professor of orthopedics at the University of Maryland Medical Center, and was told that for the second time within a year he tore his ACL.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was devastated,\u201d said Mayberry, junior basketball player at Stevenson University.<\/p>\n
According to Beaumont Health Systems, there are approximately 100,000 to 200,000 ACL ruptures every year in the United States and these injuries are common for professional and recreational athletes.<\/p>\n
After surgery it takes an athlete six to nine months to fully recover from the injury, according to Head Athletic Trainer at Hood College Jennie Bowker.<\/p>\n
This is the second year that Mayberry would have to sit out and recover from the same injury. Is this just a coincidence or are there other factors to someone reinjuring their ACL?<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Bennett told me that my injuries might have something to do with my genetics,\u201d said Mayberry. \u201cMy father [also] injured his ACL when he was younger while playing [basketball].\u201d<\/p>\n
According to a study in 2009 by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, South African researchers found that genetics can be a reason for injury and then re-injury of the ACL, and that those who had torn their ACL were four times as likely to have a blood relative who had suffered the same injury.<\/p>\n
Even after being fully recovered, active athletes are 15 times more likely to re-injure their ACL after the first surgery, according to the American Society of Orthopedic Surgeons.<\/p>\n
There are many ways that athletes can re-injure their ACL but one is by having complications from their first surgery.<\/p>\n
Kai Dalce, Hood College sophomore basketball player, tore his left ACL twice in a three-year span and had two different doctors for each of his surgeries. For his second surgery he went to Dr. Bennett.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Dr. Bennett] told me the other doctor drilled too big of a hole in my leg, which made me more susceptible to re-injuring it,\u201d said Dalce.<\/p>\n
The patient can also have an effect on their recovery. If a player doesn\u2019t take the full recovery time or doesn\u2019t take rehabilitation seriously then they can create more injuries, according to Bowker.<\/p>\n
Eboni Staples, junior women\u2019s basketball player at Hood College, tore both of her right and left ACL(s) in a six-year span.<\/p>\n
She first tore her left ACL in middle school and then she tore her right ACL during her sophomore year of college. Each of her injuries generated two different mindsets.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn middle school, I feel I didn\u2019t have time. I put the pressure on myself to come back. My family and coaches told me to take my time. But, no I got to get back [on the court],\u201d said Staples.<\/p>\n
Her surgeon Dr. John Tis, physician advisor and assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at John Hopkins Medicine, said that her second injury was inevitable because her right leg was being overused.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned from the first surgery if you take your time then you\u2019ll get better results. Once you rush it you\u2019ll have to work 10 times harder to get to where you want to be,\u201d said Staples.<\/p>\n
Each of these players is fully recovered from their injuries and plans to play for their respective teams this upcoming college basketball season.<\/p>\n
Still, ACL injuries can be unpredictable even when fully healed because it is the mindset of athletes that matters in recovery. Every player must go through fear to be able to fully recover and have confidence that the body part is fully healed, according to Health Essentials.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just remember my coach [Darnell Hopkins] told me \u2018Don\u2019t be afraid. It\u2019s not like you\u2019re going to die if you miss a jump shot,\u2019\u201d said Dalce. \u201cThat helped me a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, even with a great support system in place 25 to 40 percent of athletes do not return from ACL injuries, according to Dr. David Geier, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist in Charleston, South Carolina.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy surgeon told me, you might want to let basketball go and hang up the shoes,\u201d said Staples. \u201cBut, basketball is how I relieve stress and be in my own world.\u201d<\/p>\n
For each of these players they understand the risk involved and the rate of re-injury, but still want to play because the game means something more to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do it for the love of the game and I haven\u2019t ever been a person to give up, so that wasn\u2019t an option,\u201d said Mayberry. \u201c[And] I\u2019m going to come back and play at my abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"