Preparing For Lineup Return — Female Athletes Battling Back From ACL Tears

By Andy Hutchison

With the start of the high school fall sports season right around the corner, Newtown High School athletes have been training and practicing to stay on top of their games to be in tiptop shape for the start of the season. Some athletes, however, have been working hard just to retrain and rebuild their muscles as they rehabilitate injuries with the anticipation of getting back to game action sometime after the season is underway.

Among the athletes who have spent the summer weeks training to overcome injuries are three NHS athletes who sustained anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears last school year and are rehabbing under the guidance of Mark Fletter, a licensed physical therapist assistant and certified athletic trainer at the Newtown Youth Academy: Katie Bowen, KellyAnne Brophy, and Stephanie Suhoza.

The ACL is one of the main ligaments of the knee and is susceptible to injury among athletes — especially female athletes, in part because of their build.

“The way we are built makes girls more prone to ACL injuries,” said Newtown High Athletic Trainer Sabrina Byrne, adding that, simply put, the way in which female athlete s leg muscles pull on the knee can lead to more injuries than occur in male athletes.

Byrne has seen a handful of ACL tears in girls, and only one in a male athlete, in two season with NHS. She said she has even seen injuries occur — in rare instances — when girls simply slow down from a sprint. The injuries are most commonly known to occur as a result of sudden lateral movement in games such as volleyball or soccer, however, said Newtown’s Tammy Gruber, a certified personal trainer and Pilates instructor.

Bowen, who tore her ACL during a Newtown High basketball game early last February, underwent surgery later in the month, causing her to miss the entire softball season.

“It was definitely very frustrating because, at the same time, I want my team to succeed as always,” she said after completing a series of running and agility exercises under the direction of Fletter at the youth academy.

Missing the end of the basketball campaign was tough for Bowen and sitting out the spring softball season was a heartbreaker for the junior who was being scouted by collegiate softball programs, some of which have lost all interest since the injury, she said. “That was really hard,” Bowen added.

Bowen has battled to get back into game shape and gotten back to good enough strength to participate in fall college showcase events with the hope of resparking interest among college coaches. She looks forward to being at full strength for her senior campaign. “I am really excited for next year,” Bowen said.

Fletter said his rehab approach is to retrain muscles and allow the girls to ease back into regular exercise routines. It is important for the athletes to build strength after they sustain muscle atrophy from nonuse following injury.

“They’re more likely to retear if that muscle’s not strong and stabilizing the joint during activity,” Fletter said.

Fletter sets up drills including side-stepping and light sprinting when the girls are ready. It all begins with walking and easing into the more rigorous routines when the muscles are ready.

Soccer player Brittany Tolla, who is beginning her freshman year at NHS, sustained an ACL tear last year and, following rehab under Fletter, was cleared to play with no limitations this past June. She has had a strong recovery and made the varsity roster.

Mark Tolla, Brittany s father, said he was ecstatic with the treatment she received and added that the youth athletes need reassurance to know they can push it to rebuild their strength during the rehab process.

“It s very difficult for young athletes to get through the psychological end of it,” Mark Tolla said.

Fletter runs the SPEED Performance Training program at NYA. SPEED is an acronym for what Fletter says are the five essential components to athletic success: strength, proprioception, endurance, explosion, and determination.

“This is so key to getting back. He has so much knowledge,” Bowen said of Fletter’s sessions.

“It s helping me out a lot. It’s been really encouraging,” said Suhoza, who tore her ACL while playing lacrosse in a tournament in New Jersey in June and is looking forward to a return to sports this school year.

Brophy tore her ACL during an indoor soccer game this past spring and is aiming for a return to the pitch in mid-October. She points out that rehabbing is about more than just working the injury.

“It’s not just rebuilding my ACL — it’s working my quad and getting me back into shape,” Brophy said.

Emily Leidlein, a former Newtown High athlete who graduated this past June, recovered from an ACL tear sustained in a travel basketball game that caused her to sit out her junior year. It was frustrating at the time, but Leidlein is thrilled to be able to go from surgery to walking ... back to running once again.

“It was great to be able to come back from something like that and run,” said Leidlein, adding that she still has some discomfort but has been amazed with how far she has come along after several months of rehab. She worked under Fletter and Gruber to regain her strength and form.

Leidlein was told by doctors the way she was landing after jumping for the ball was bad for her knees, so she has learned techniques to be sure she is bending her knees more.

ACL injuries remain more of threat for girls than boys, but proper stretching, warm-ups and off-season training are key to avoiding or limiting the chances of any injury, according to Byrne.

Byrne, along with girls  soccer coach Marc Kenney and girls  volleyball coach Tom Czaplinski, ran the Lady Nighthawks Strength And Conditioning program for girls this summer and Byrne said the 50 girls who participated are ahead of the other athletes in preseason practices in terms of fitness levels and avoiding cramps and small injuries.

“We’re definitely seeing the difference already this fall,” Byrne said during preseason practices this week.

She said dynamic stretching, which incorporates movements into stretching routines, is better than static stretching in part because the muscles have a chance to warm up. Cool down after a workout is also important for avoiding injury, Byrne added.

Taking it a step further, Gruber believes young athletes need one-on-one training with certified athletic trainers since everybody has a unique body with different needs.

She said muscle imbalance needs to be addressed and that group training does not meet individual needs among athletes.

“I think parents should pay for more personal training for their kids,” Gruber said.