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when you have a brash New York doctor working in the great state of Texas? Well, in this particular instance, you get an orthopedic surgeon who is doing some pretty impressive things when it comes to ACL recovery.
ACL Reconstructed Rehabilitation
Specializing in Orthopedic Sports Medicine, Dr. Mark Sanders began advancing the development of the accelerated ACL Reconstructed Rehabilitation protocol as early as 1987. This unique protocol returns patients to their activities as quickly and safely as possible. He has assembled a trained staff of certified trainers to take postoperative exercise devices and traditional rehabilitation to a whole new level.
An avid cyclist, motocross rider, skier, and tennis player, Dr. Sanders has seen both sides of an injury and understands firsthand how his patients feel. His unique approach has allowed Dr. Sanders to promise elite athletes "the fastest way back" to recovery and active competition.
For instance, in order to avoid such conditions as hemarthrosis (blood in the knee), which causes immediate pain, swelling, and disability and prevents patients from bending or straightening the knee, or putting weight on the foot, Dr. Sanders and his staff immediately begin patients on a non-surgical reconditioning program. The program includes ROM exercises, a gait reeducation program to quickly eliminate the need for crutches, a cold/compression device, and a strengthening and flexibility program.
This program lasts between four and six weeks and will generally be done by the patient independently. Following the program, most non-athletic patients, or patients willing to give up most sports during the program, can recover from their injury without the need for surgery.
For athletic patients unwilling to modify their activities sufficiently for a non-surgical recovery, this time is used for teaching and psychological preparation. Patients are readied for immediate post surgery mobility, by learning before the surgery takes place the function of any necessary rehabilitation device they will use, and the purpose of the progressively challenging exercises. Patients are educated about the role surrounding muscle groups can play in strengthening the injured limb during recovery. A personal plan is then developed, goals are set, and a timeline for activity resumption established.
The results are impressive (and we have to admit we're a tad biased). We like his approach because he uses our Shuttle MiniClinic as a vital part of his innovative rehabilitation program. You can see the MiniClinic at work in the following dramatic video - a patient beginning his recovery just one day out of ACL surgery.