I had the opportunity to sit down with staff physiotherapist Marven Bani to talk with him about his recent knee surgery experience and how it's affected his health and fitness goals for the year.
Q: I understand that you had a physically challenging start to the new year recovering from your ACL surgery. How did you first injure your ACL?
click the image for our blog on meniscal tears
A: Based on a lot of research, initially I was hesitant since there was a lot of evidence that showed you were more prone to arthritis later on in life if you surgically repair an ACL and meniscus. However, I found my knee was giving out more playing sports (basketball) and eventually tore my meniscus playing through it. Once I got the locking due to tearing my ACL and wanted to continue playing basketball, I felt it was time to get it done in order for to me to play sports.
Q: Makes sense. How did you make sure that you came out of the surgery in the best shape possible?
A: I started working on a prehab program 6-8 weeks prior to surgery to ensure strength of specific muscles and build stability for both knees to help my recovery and limit atrophy post ACL reconstruction. It’s important to make sure the other knee is strong enough to take all the extra load during the recovery process. Following a healthy diet plan was essential to optimize recovery and going to the gym was crucial to build consistency.
Q: That's great, and we can see you still putting the work in at the clinic. With the surgery out of the way what are your fitness goals for the year
