ACL survivors encourage Alas

NLEX guard Kevin Alas will undergo surgery to repair a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in his right knee at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Global City tomorrow morning with top orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jose Raul (George) Canlas performing the procedure which is expected to take only up to 30 minutes.

Two ACL survivors Mike Cortez and Allein Maliksi yesterday reached out to Alas to share what they went through. “After having two ACL injuries, the best advice I can give is to focus on and trust the rehab process and take it one day at a time,” said Cortez, a 37-year-old veteran who turned pro in 2003 and is now with Blackwater. “Give yourself mini goals along the way. Never get discouraged with minor setbacks. Come back when you think you’re ready.”

Maliksi, who entered the pros in 2011-12 and is now 30 playing with Cortez at Blackwater, said his recovery was even more miraculous than Cortez’. “He only got two (operations),” he said, referring to Cortez. “I had three ACL and one meniscus repair.” Another Blackwater player Poy Erram has survived ACL surgeries in both knees and is coming off a breakout first conference where he averaged 14.2 points, 13.8 rebounds and 34.5 minutes.

Other PBA players who’ve suffered an ACL tear include Greg Slaughter, Dondon Hontiveros, Larry Fonacier, Dylan Ababou, Marc Pingris and Rabeh Al Hussaini. In the NBA, New York Knicks star Kristaps Podzingris recently went down with an ACL injury. NBA players who’ve recovered from the dreaded tear include Zach Lavine, Al Harrington, Jamal Crawford, Ricky Rubio, Jabari Parker, Kyle Lowry, David West and Kendrick Perkins.

Alas, 26, suffered his ACL injury in the first minute of Game 5 of the Magnolia-NLEX PBA Philippine Cup semifinals last Sunday. He was brought to the lockerroom and thought he could return to play in the second half after his knee was packed in ice. Alas even sent word to the coaching staff that he’ll be ready for the third quarter. But when he got up to put his uniform back on, the pain became unbearable. At that point, Alas knew the injury was serious and he wouldn’t be able to play out the game. He was taken to the hospital for an MRI and the next day, the ACL tear was confirmed by Dr. Canlas.

“It usually takes six to eight months to recover from ACL surgery with rehab,” said Alas. “But there’s a high incidence of re-injury for those who come back right away, like in six months, compared to those who go through the process and take up to eight months.” Alas is in his fourth PBA season. As a TNT rookie in 2014-15, he averaged 6.3 points and 18.9 minutes in 40 games. He moved to NLEX the next season and raised his norms to 7.4 points and 25.9 minutes in 35 outings. In 2016-17, Alas averaged 11.6 points and 26.4 minutes in 34 contests. In the eliminations of the ongoing Philippine Cup, he hit at an 11.5 clip and logged 24.3 minutes a game. In the playoffs before suffering the injury in Game 5, he averaged 12.3 points.

Are there drills to prevent the incidence of an ACL tear? “There are protocols,” said Dr. Canlas. “Dr. Tim Hewitt (a Mayo Clinic researcher and an expert on ACL injuries) is an original proponent. Basically, all the protocols strengthen the hamstrings and teach proprioception. They also teach proper lower extremity mechanics like landing from a jump and pivoting.”

Writer Ian McMahan of The Guardian said, “Thirty years ago, an ACL injury was career-ending but today, thanks to arthroscopy and refined surgical techniques, most athletes are able to return to sports … recovery time and post-surgery performance depend both on sport and position…most often, what dictates recovery is not will or resolve but the interior of the knee and function of the surrounding muscles … no one, even the best athletes in the world, can beat physiology … ignore that and the only reward for a quick recovery might be a short career.”

ESPN senior writer Stephania Bell said, “The window for recovery is often listed as six to nine months, but the actual return time is based on multiple factors specific to the individual, including how he heals, his overall health and fitness, the nature of the activity to which he plans to return (in this case very high level in terms of directional change, rapid acceleration/deceleration and frequent pivoting/twisting/cutting) and confidence in his knee … on a positive note with regard to ACL injuries, the majority of NBA players who sustain one will return to action, and virtually all of them will do so within the following year … a recent study published in the journal Sports Health highlights some interesting findings – of 58 NBA players who underwent ACL reconstruction between 1975 and 2011, 50 returned to play in the NBA (seven returned to play internationally or in the D-League) … of those 50 who returned to the NBA, all but one did so within a year.”

The ACL is the most important of four major ligaments in the knee and is a little band of connective tissue in the center of the knee. Believe it or not, some athletes have competed with torn or even no ACLs. Tiger Woods won the 2008 US Open with a ruptured ACL and a stress fracture in his tibia. Sean Elliott played in the NBA without an ACL in one knee and another NBA player DuJuan Blair had no ACLs in both knees. But to get the maximum mileage, productivity and longevity out of a professional sports career, players must perform with two intact ACLs whether surgically repaired or not.