ACL Success with Lucy Masto
Meet Lucy Masto…an east coast native, living in California, who moved back to the northeast to pursue her degree at Brown University. Lucy is an incredible student who also has a knack for athletics. Unfortunately, during Lucy’s Fall lacrosse season, she came face to face with many athlete’s worst nightmare…a torn ACL.
The ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) connects the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia) and protects the knee from excessive hyperextension and rotation when planted. Like many field sport athletes, Lucy’s injury was deemed “non-contact”, as she injured it without an external force. As she was running and cutting to change directions, Lucy felt a pop and immediately knew something was wrong. Upon examination, it was recommended that she undergo an ACL reconstruction surgery.
Lucy found Restore Physical Therapy and Dr. Ross Levine through a family friend who had a great experience there as well. Despite having her surgery back home in San Francisco, Lucy performed several sessions of “prehab” before returning home for the procedure. The goals of prehab are to eliminate swelling, restore range of motion, normalize gait and regain as much strength as possible before surgery. Lucy was able to accomplish all of these goals, setting her up nicely for her reconstruction.
After surgery, Lucy stayed in San Francisco to begin her rehabilitation, where she worked through her initial milestones with relative ease. After 9 weeks of initial treatment out west, Lucy returned to the east coast to finish up her final semester at Brown. At this stage, she was ready for the next wave of physical therapy, which she continued at Restore Physical Therapy and Olympia Fitness + Performance. We immediately integrated Lucy into our ACL Success Program, which blends physical therapy treatments with elite strength & conditioning to maximize progress.
In her remaining 4 months in Rhode Island, Lucy dominated her milestones! Not only was she disciplined in her workout routine 3-4 days per week, but Lucy was diligent with her home exercise program as well. No stranger to hard work, Lucy would consistently leave with a great sweat and ALWAYS had a smile on her face. By the time her remaining 4 months were up, Lucy had reported feeling stronger than she was pre-injury! She had started running, cutting and playing lacrosse with her friends & teammates without pain or instability. Lucy did an amazing job and although there is still more work to be done, we are all confident that between the effort she has already put in, matched with her excellent work ethic, the sky's the limit for Lucy!
If you or someone you know has an ACL injury, come check out Restore Physical Therapy to learn more about our ACL Success Program. Whether you are getting ready for surgery, at day 1 of rehabilitation or several months post-op, we will help you eliminate pain, build strength and return to your favorite activities with confidence!