(Photo credit: https://www.skysports.com/nfl/news/12040/11507127/jimmy-garoppolo-suffers-potential-season-ending-injury-in-san-francisco-49ers-defeat)
The San Francisco 49’ers quarterback Jimmy Garrapolo’s worst fears were confirmed Monday when an MRI revealed that he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee late in Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
49’ers coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game the team feared Garoppolo had suffered such a devastating injury but further testing was needed to be sure. That certainty came Monday afternoon, as the team announced the official diagnosis.
Garrapolo’s next steps will be an initial course of daily Physical Therapy for swelling reduction and range of motion exercises to maximize outcome in surgery. He will have 6-9 months of intensive rehabilitation in hopes to return to the NFL.
In the US each year 200,000 ACL injuries are reported, making ACL injuries one of the most common injuries among athletes. Athletes from the high school level to the pros are impacted by devastating ACL injuries.
About ACL’s:
- Two-thirds of ACL tears are NON-CONTACT injuries.
Most ACL injuries occur when an athlete pivots or lands from a jump, not direct collisions.
- High school females are at the highest risk for ACL injury. WHY?
Females are bio-mechanically structured with muscle imbalances including wider, weaker hips and hormonal fluctuations that make ligaments looser.
- 8-50% of athletes do NOT return to their sport after ACL reconstruction.
The rehabilitation process is lengthy and requires skilled physical therapy along with mental preparedness for return to sport.
Proper training and ACL risk reduction programs are key.
It is crucial that proper form with squat mechanics, jump training, plyometrics, and strengthening are the focus of a training program.
We have SportsmetricsTM certified clinicians that train athletes in specific ACL reduction programs. Additionally, our clinicians are trained in Functional Movement Screens (FMS) to screen for objective risk of injury.
For more information on ACL risk reduction, contact us at info@sptny.com.