Brad's ACL Surgery

by Brad Smith
(Irvine, CA)

In 2005, during my freshman season at Concordia University Irvine, I tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), lateral cruciate ligament (LCL) and bicep (hamstring) muscles; all at one time. Initially I was on crutches for a full three months, and underwent two different surgeries.

The first surgery was to re-attach my LCL and bicep muscles with a dissolvable anchor on the outside of my knee. I had to rehab my knee for a full six months before being able to have a second surgery on my ACL. I went from playing college soccer to learning how to walk again (twice) and trying to build the muscles back up in my left leg due to severe atrophy.

After the ACL surgery, I went through a full year of rehab before being cleared to play. It was 18 months (a year a half) before I even stepped foot back on a field. But because of my diligence, preparation, and hard work, I came back almost exactly 24 months (2 years) later and played in the NAIA National Championship Final in Kansas. I finished my soccer career without any further ACL problems, and am still healthy to this day.

I started my own website, ACLspot.com to provide all the information I could regarding my own experience and all the research I've done over the years. Hopefully this will be a good resource for other's who have experience the same type of injuries.