Rehabilitation remains one of the most important parts of Sports Medicine that affects both active and former athletes. We are in a stage of development of Sports Medicine where Sports Rehabilitation has become increasingly scientific and specialized and it’s helpful to reflect on the journey that has brought us to this position.
May 2007 - Aspetar
At that time the Department of Rehabilitation was the only department in the newly opened Aspetar that was fully operational. It was impeccably organized owning to extensive experience and expertise of their Director Riadh Miladi. I would often stop by the department throughout the day to have an interesting clinical conversation and to exchange experiences with their always-friendly staff. For me, as well as for all other orthopaedic surgeons, it is very important to have full support from physiotherapists because the work they do is crucial in ensuring a successful outcome of surgical treatment. The cooperation and mutual respect that we established in those early days are still very much present.
October 2023 - Aspetar
Today the Department of Rehabilitation is Aspetar’s biggest department with 71 members (34% female and 66% male) of staff working full-time in Aspetar and another 150 members of staff are working full-time in the National Sports Medicine Program, covering the needs of Qatar federations and clubs at their training and competition venues. This unique organization of the physiotherapy department through two separate entities working together assures more than 200,000 patient appointments per year. This type of organization is put in place by their legendary Director Riadh Miladi and his team supported by the governing body of Aspetar.
18, 19 November 2023 - Aspetar
Aspetar International Rehabilitation Conference - The complete guide to the Athletic ACL.
Given the background and development we’ve seen over these years, I decided to present the first targeted topic on Rehabilitation after ACL injuries. In this issue we would like to highlight the latest modern approach to sports rehabilitation for this important condition.
I have, therefore asked my two highly recognized and respected physiotherapists and as well respected Scientists: Enda King PhD, Head of Elite Performance and Development in Aspetar, and Rodney Whiteley PhD, Assistant Director in-charge of Clinical Projects and Quality, to guest edit this issue. They have assembled a great team of experts from Aspetar as well as experts from all corners of the globe. With their papers, they are offering practical and scientific insight to the complexity that is rehabilitation of ACL injuries:
Rehabilitation is a key component of the recovery process after an Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.
Exercise intervention should be considered the foundation of ACLR rehabilitation. Optimal criteria to guide successful rehabilitation and return to sport following ACL reconstruction remain unclear.
While a minimum time-period post operatively is required to allow for sufficient biological recovery, there has been a progressive shift towards a criterion-based approach.
We have to understand that returning to sport after ACLR is a Journey and should not be defined by a single or selected group of tests. The athlete's Journey after ACL injury begins on day ONE.
Considering the current evidence, it appears that at best our ability to determine successful outcomes following ACL reconstruction is equivocal.
Furthermore, re-rupture injuries rates remain high, we need to question if current recommendations are suitable to prepare athletes to return to performance.
It is time to change as we are still a long way from understanding pertinent factors associated with successful athletes outcomes. We have to think more critically and develop strategies to effectively bridge the gap between rehabilitation and return to performance.
What is very interesting to mention that there is substantial heterogeneity in the available ACL rehabilitation protocols in the scientific literature.
The recently published Aspetar Clinical Practice Guideline on Rehabilitation after ACLR provides an overview of systematic reviews on the effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions after ACLR, translated all the available evidence into clinical recommendations based on expert consensus to inform treating clinicians. Aligned with the Aspetar Journal philosophy, we try to add value for our readers by including some more easily digested artistic depictions to keep our publication reader-friendly.
In addition to all these excellent papers, I would like to strongly recommend to you the sports careers story of a female football star from Sweden Hanna Glas. She opens up to discuss and share her experience with multiple knee injuries, four major knee ligament surgeries, and an especially long rehabilitation period of solitude.
This time to enhance the aesthetic appeal of this issue, we are honoured to present renowned Saudi photographer, Amal Al-Moussa to share her art with our readers. She has kindly agreed to provide her art free of charge to our readers and we are confident that her work will add extra value and enjoyment to this issue. I am especially pleased with the double-page spreads of her photography throughout this issue which not beautifies the journal but also provides a visual representation of Qatar and its culture to all participants of the Rehabilitation Congress in Doha and other readers who haven’t had the opportunity to join us here.
Our Guests Editors, Enda King and Rodney Whiteley, did a great job. I would like to thank them sincerely for their time and hard work. I would like to thank all authors for their valuable contribution to this wonderful targeted topic on Sport Rehabilitation after ACL injuries and I hope that you enjoy reading it.
Prof Nebojsa Popovic MD PhD
Editor-in-Chief