ACL injuries are common among athletes and physically active individuals, but they can also occur in the general population due to accidents, falls, sudden twisting of the knee, or road injuries. ACL injuries happen in the knee area, in which the ligament breaks or is injured. This causes extreme pain and affects daily life routine. Apart from physical damage, there can be a psychological impact of ACL injuries. Mental health plays an important role during the recovery from ACL injuries. Sometimes, there are long-term effects of ACL surgery or injury on both physical and mental health.
Mental health after ACL injury or surgery plays a very important role in the life of an individual. There are many psychological factors like fear of re-injury, lack of confidence, depression, anxiety, etc, which creates barrier in the early recovery from ACL injuries. In many cases, many people struggle to regain trust in their body, which results delay in recovery, performing physical activity, rejoining sports, etc. Spreading awareness and understanding the psychological impact of ACL injuries will help people to achieve a better approach to recovery.
Overview of ACL Injuries
ACL injury means when your knee ligament gets hurt or breaks during any physical activity or sports. ACL tears or injuries both are the part of knee injuries. This mostly happens to the person who is normally engaged in physical activities like sports, running, jumping, etc. This injury causes extreme pain and it can also make you weak. This can hamper your daily life routine and may create problems during movement. Symptoms of ACL tear or Injuries are almost the same, but have some differences. Now, we will understand how we can identify an ACL injury.
- Popping or cracking sound during injury.
- Swelling
- Redness
- Experiencing pain during movement
ACL Injury is caused because of various reasons like accidents, sports, falls, etc. Sometimes, this can create major problems in the knee which can only be recovered by surgery. This is called as ACL reconstruction surgery, which repairs the broken Anterior cruciate ligament in the knee. Treatment of ACL depends on the condition of the injury. You can use the RICE method to recover from minor ACL injuries. They are:
- Rest: Take rest and avoid heavy lifting, physical activity, etc.
- Ice: Do icing to reduce stiffness, redness and swelling.
- Compression: Use an elastic bandage to reduce swelling and support the knee.
- Elevation: Keep your leg raised above heart level to reduce swelling.
In the case of major injuries, doctors can advise surgery or some treatments that will help to manage the pain like:
- Crutches
- Knee Brace
- Painkillers like Over-the Counter, NSAIDs, etc.
- Physiotherapy
Psychological Impact of ACL Injury on Mental Health
The psychological impact of an ACL injury is the main factor which is responsible for the early recovery. It deeply affects the person even when he is recovered and back to normal life. Sometimes, mental health after ACL injury badly impacts the body that affects the person in many ways, like physically, lifestyle & emotionally and many other ways. This can affect mentally, like:
Shock & Denial
When the person gets injured and feels a pop sound because of an ACL tear, it gives a sudden shock. In most cases, person feels that it is just a kind of sprain and ignores the injury. Ignoring the injury can be in many ways, for ex. not following medical advice or assuming that injury is not necessary, and many more. But, it needs to understand that denying or delaying this type of injury can badly affect your body and lifestyle. Keeping a delay for a longer period of time can affect the knee badly and may disturb the normal physical activity like walking, jogging, etc.
Anxiety and Fear
There are many reasons for fear like financial stress, professional stress, pain during physiotherapy, and success rate, etc. Fear occurs when an individual realises about the injury and proceeds with the treatment. This is generally known as kinesiophobia which means the fear of movement. Even after the full recovery of knee, individual fears to perform normal physical activity or give pressure on the knee. Sometimes, this fear may cause major problems. Person feels that he/she will not be able to work properly as before.
Isolation and Loneliness
When a person gets injured during sports, they are removed from the team. Where the team is practicing and continues in the game, the injured person remains engaged in the treatment and physiotherapy. Sometimes, if there is a major injury, a person might go through surgery which takes time. This affects the individual’s mental health after ACL injury, and they feel like a burden on themselves. They experience a sense of loneliness and isolation. Sometimes, the loneliness may increase or worsen the mental health of the affected person. This happens because the injured person is unable to be part of the daily fun happening in the team and is struggling with his injury at home.
Anger
Anger is the common psychological impact caused on an individual’s mental health after ACL injury. Sudden injury affects the person’s daily life, sports, personal goals, etc. The main reason for anger is the shift from easy normal life & routine to a difficult and dependence on others. In this case, the individual starts blaming themselves or others for this condition. They think that they could have avoided this injury or blame their opponents, coaches for unsafe techniques. During ACL recovery, the individual remains at home and engaged in treatments.
Depression and Frustration
A person living a normal life, but suddenly depends on crutches or a knee brace, is the main reason for frustration. Sometimes, it also causes irritation, depression, etc. ACL injury recovery is challenging and depends on the patient’s tolerance. In some cases, the full recovery timeline of ACL surgery can be 9-12 months. Because of this, a person feels helpless and may faces frustation, depression like issues. He/she cannot work properly or perform any physical movement like walking, running, etc., which results in sadness. It can also lead to irritation, not feeling to eat, mood swings and many other emotional and mental problems.
Loss of Identity
The work athletes or runners do is not just a job; it identifies themselves. It gives them a self respect, shows their identity. But, when they get an ACL injury, it affects their identity. It creates a feeling of being helpless or stranger. They start to question their identity and fear of losing it. This affects their mental health after ACL injury badly and challenges their main role in life. Proper training and physical therapy are required for an individual to regain confidence and their identity.
Acceptance
Accepting the situation and proceeding with it is a very important stage for the person dealing with an ACL injury. This includes realising the reality and adopting the situation in a good way. Understanding the situation and focusing on the recovery is the main task. During this stage, persons shifts their mind from overthinking to problem-solving. They start improving themselves from this injury with the help of various methods. Physiotherapy, good diet, stay positive are some of the main factors that lead to early recovery from the ACL injury. ACL injury recovery takes time, which requires patience. With the help of proper awareness, one can handle the situation and reduce the frustration. This will help to improve the mental and physical health of a person.
Social and Environmental Support
ACL injury takes time to recover. During this recovery, emotional and social support is required for an individual. This helps them to overcome from that situation. Social support and good physical environment is necessary which gives the positive result. Family and friends plays the main role in the recovery of an individual. They encourages and support the person in dealing with difficulties happening in the daily life routine. Secondly, teammates and coaches in the sports involves the person so that he should not feel loneliness and experience isolation. Physiotherapist plays very crucial role in the recovery by teaching the individual correct techniques. This helps to regain the strength and fills confidence in the person that they can rejoin their normal life routine.
Role of Physiotherapy and Mental Health Integration
The role of physiotherapy in ACL injury is considered very important for an individual. Recovery from an ACL injury is lon-term process. It requires a proper and arranged recovery process that helps an individual to regain their strength and flexibility. There are different kinds of physical therapy according to the stages that help to heal the injury. Physiotherapy helps to reduce the swelling, stiffness, and pain happening in the knee. It improves the movement in the specific area like quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and many other areas. With the help of physical therapy, one can ensure that they might be able to rejoin their normal life routine early, as before.
Physiotherapists are a major part which supports mental health after ACL injury. They use a correct technique which balances the physical health of an individual. They teach the exercises and therapies according to the stage and condition of an individual. This gives them a sense of life as before. Physiotherapists help patients to regain confidence and strength in their knees. They help to manage the fear by helping them to do more tough exercise which improves their flexibility in the knee.
Tips to Improve Mental Health After ACL Injury Recovery
Staying positive during the ACL recovery is very important. The phase during ACL injury recovery is full of different mood changes. But, with the help of correct and structured plan you can stay positive during the recovery of ACL injury. Here are some of the ways:
- Set Clear and Smart goals: Complete your exercises daily suggested by your physiotherapist. Mark your small improvements which helps in building your confidence.
- Monitor your progress: Visualising your progress is an important task. Keep a record of your daily performance and observe the difference.
- Maintain social connections: Interact with the people around you. Try to share your feelings with your family, friends, coach and teammates. This will help you to avoid the loneliness and a sense of isolation.
- Focus on your lifestyle: Take a proper and healthy diet & do exercise daily. This will enhance your capability of movement. Take proper sleep of 8 hours which supports tissue repair. You can use your extra time in engaging yourself with other curricular activities like reading, meditation, etc.
- Manage your emotions and expectations: Keep patience, stay positive. Recovery from ACL injury is not a normal process; it takes time. During this phase, an individual experiences different types of emotions. Do not compare your improvement with others because everybody has a different recovery process. Talk to the psychologists if you are feeling depressed, anxiety and other psychological issues. They will help you to deal with the situation.
Conclusion
Recovery from ACL injury or surgery is not easy. In many cases, it impacts our mental health in such a way that patients take a long time to recover from this injury. Mental health after ACL injury plays a very important role in the early recovery of an individual. Ignoring the psychological impact causes because of ACL injury can sometimes lead to serious problems. By understanding the psychological impact of ACL injuries and giving attention to mental health may prevent the chances of serious issues. This will also help to improve the overall health and support in the faster recovery of an individual.
