Nightmare knees

Kate Taeuber

September 02, 2009

Crows forward Trent Hentschel (Left) who returned from a knee reconstruction this
yearwith teammate Bernie Vince (right)

 

There are three letters in the English language which manage to produce intense fear and anxiety in even the toughest AFL players, ACL.

 

An ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury to a knee equates to 12 months on the sidelines for an AFL player and less than a 50 per cent chance of a successfully return to the game.

 

This outlook is less than encouraging for Crows young-gun Brodie Martin, whose AFL career has been put on hold after he ruptured the ACL in his knee during the Showdown in round 17. 

 

Martin, who made a promising debut in round 16 against St Kilda, is now facing 12 months of rehabilitation without any contract security.

 

After spending two years on the rookie list, the 20-year-old’s two-game career is now in limbo as his almost certain elevation into the senior list is now in tatters. 

 

The Crows now find themselves in the predicament of deciding whether to elevate Martin to the senior list, cutting him from the list entirely or allowing him to nominate for the draft with the prospect of picking him back up for the rookie list. 

 

Former Adelaide Crows coach and football commentator, Graham Cornes, predicts the third option.

 

“I think they will let him enter the draft, and re-list him as a rookie if he doesn’t get picked up by another team.

 

“I hope I’m wrong though because they really should contract him for next season,” Cornes said.

 

Cornes said the unsuccessful return of Trent Hentschel and Rhett Biglands from ACL injuries will impact upon Adelaide’s decision about Martin, however he is still hopeful.

 

“Brett Burton’s successful return gives me some optimism. Remember, Trent’s injury was much more serious than a standard ACL rupture,” he said. 

 

However, inaugural Crows captain Chris McDermott has more faith in the Adelaide Football Club’s moral values.

 

“History shows they are rarely brutal in their handling of their players. Trent Hentschel got another year when most thought he should be cut.

 

“Martin will survive because it is the right thing to do,” McDermott said.

 

McDermott said he did not think the recent unsuccessful returns of Crows suffering ACL injuries would affect the clubs decision.

 

 “Hentschel’s injury was more akin to a car crash than a run of the mill reconstruction and must be viewed in isolation. He was never going to make a long term return given the restrictions to his body.

 

“Biglands’s issue is long forgotten,” McDermott said. 

 

Unlike Trent Hentchel’s dramatic ACL rupture which saw him stretchered off the field with a dislocated knee, in an extraordinary fashion Martin continued to play out the match after tearing his ACL. 

 

Adelaide Crows Senior Doctor, Andrew Potter, said it was pretty rare for a player to continue to play with an ACL tear.

 

 “Rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament usually results in an unstable knee and severe pain and bleeding within the knee immediately. It is most common for these to preclude a player from continuing.

 

“Very occasionally, the bleeding and pain are less severe and the player feels no apparent instability. In such situations players have been unable to continue with swelling, pain and instability becoming apparent in the next 24 hours,” Dr Potter said.

 

A recent 10-year study into ACL reconstructions conducted by orthopaedic surgeon and ex-Crow, Matthew Liptak, revealed nearly 27 per cent of players never play again, while a further 28 per cent experience another severe knee injury.  

 

The study also highlighted the importance of extensive rehabilitation with statistics showing players who return from less than 12 months on the sidelines are at greater risk of suffering another severe knee injury.

 

In a further blow the study suggests it often takes three years for a player to regain their pre-injury form.

 

Despite the statistics, McDermott disagrees with his former team mate’s finding into regaining pre-injury form.
 

“Having undergone one (knee reconstruction) myself back in 1988 I certainly didn’t feel it took anywhere near that long, in fact after game one and the odd sore spot, belief and form wasn’t an issue. Constant rehab was and keeping the body sound.”

 

With the study revealing disheartening statistics, Cornes suggests Martin “sticks religiously to his rehabilitation, be patient and hopes that his surgeon has got it right”.  

 

McDermott who has experienced the pain of a knee reconstruction advises Martin to be patient and meticulous in his rehabilitation.

 

“As a young man with his entire career ahead of him he must forget about putting a time line on his return and get it right.

 

“Returns fail when shortcuts are taken. There will be no substitute for time in his rehab. Do the work, but just as importantly wait the time.”

 

“Injuries are part of the game. The day you play is the day you know sooner or later the curse will strike,” McDermott said.

 

With knee ACL injuries continuing to contribute to the most amount of lost playing time for single injuries, McDermott recommends players use their injury as a positive. 

 

 “For me it is not about the injury but the player’s ability to cope, recover and improve.

 

“Too many players waste the time out of the game through a recon doing the bare minimum and not improving their body.

 

“It can be looked upon as a unique chance to dramatically improve your tools for the next part of your career, not an injury that has destroyed it,” McDermott said.