A Professional Footballer’s Natural Healing of ACL Tear -case 32

注目

ACL Online Therapy for natural healing

The case reports of ACL natural healing

Patient Information:

38-year-old male, Japanese

Mechanism of Injury:

On September 11, 2022, during a soccer match, an opponent collided with him from the left. At that time, he twisted his right knee unnaturally when he braced with his right foot. He went to the hospital the same day and had an MRI the next day, receiving the following diagnosis:

ACL tear (mid-section tear with retracted ends (Ihara Classification III)

Post-Injury Progress:

On September 15, he visited another hospital. The Lachman test was positive. On September 19, joint fluid was extracted through joint aspiration. After that, there was no swelling, and the knee could flex up to 90 degrees.

On October 3, he visited our clinic. Lachman test was positive, lever arm test was positive, and pivot shift was negative. He started Evo-Devo exercise therapy and continued it daily at home. Another MRI was performed on October 18.

Natural healing of the torn anterior cruciate ligament was confirmed. He continued the naturalization exercises, and MRIs were performed again on December 15 and January 19 of the following year.

The continuity of the anterior cruciate ligament was sufficiently confirmed, and the looseness was also improved.

Discussion:

The patient was a former top athlete in the Japanese national beach soccer team. He wished to continue playing soccer at a competitive level and frequently had MRI scans to closely monitor the healing process. Despite recommendations for surgery from doctors and all related soccer personnel, he chose natural healing, which was a bold decision. The healing level as per imaging diagnosis was Grade II four months post-injury. Although there were concerns about his return to high-level soccer, he underwent rehabilitation and returned to soccer after several months.

References:

Natural Healing of an ACL tear – Healed Case 29

注目

ACL Online Therapy for natural healing

The case reports of ACL natural healing

Patient Information:

Japanese female, 41 years old. On July 5th, 2022, she experienced a sensation of her right knee dislocating while exerting force on her right leg during a basketball game, rendering her immobile. Although she was able to walk later, she visited a hospital two days after the incident. No joint fluid was aspirated during the examination. An MRI scan was performed on July 12th, revealing the following diagnosis:

Complete right Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear (proximal 1/3)
No meniscal damage.

According to the Ihara’s ACL tear classification of ACL injuries, it was classified as a type 2, which is the torn and disrupted type. After the injury, no giving way of the knee was reported. She did not undergo any physiotherapy involving knee extension post-injury. She had a history of a left Achilles tendon rupture surgery 13 years prior.

Starting July 28th, she initiated online therapy with Jun Matsumoto and continued Evo-Devo Exercises for five months. On December 12th, 2022, a second MRI scan was performed.

MRI indicates:

The evaluation of the MRI images indicated that the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament had restored continuity and healed naturally. According to Ihara’s ACL healing classification, it was classified as grade 3, which is thinned healed fiber.

Future Prospects and Considerations:

Having confirmed natural healing through MRI, she initiated full knee extension training and strength training. By the six-month mark post-injury, she had recovered to a level where she faced no issues in daily life. She is currently undergoing further rehabilitation with the aim of returning to recreational-level sports.

References:

ACL Healing without surgery – Healed Case 28

注目

ACL Online Therapy for natural healing

The case reports of ACL natural healing

Patient information:

37 years old, Female, Kazakh living in the U.S.
On February 26th, 2022, he twisted her left knee during skiing. She went through the MRI scan, and the diagnosis was:

Complete ACL tear

According to the Ihara’s classification, this type of ACL tear is classified as disrupted or unclear type. And, this type has been reported as the most difficult type to heal spontaneously.

After the injury, she had been doing some rehabilitation exercises such as strengthening the muscles and 10 min stationary bike under the supervision by a physiotherapist.

On April 29th, she started the Evo-Devo Exercises through the online sessions with Jun Matsumoto, and continued the sessions only for two months. During these months, she stopped doing any strength trainning and focused on the Evo-Devo EXercises. After doing two momths, she started strength training again.

On November 18th, she took the second MRI as poseted below.

MRI indicates:

The MRI shows the clear continuity of the ACL. This healing type can be classified as grade I of the Ihara’s classification, and it is the taut and straight band type of healing.

Future prospects and considerations:

Even though this type of ACL tear has been reported as the most difficult type to heal spontaneously, it has heald upto the best type of healing.

References:

ACL Healing without surgery – Healed Case 27

注目

ACL Online Therapy for natural healing

The case reports of ACL natural healing

Patient information:

25 years old, Male, Indian
On April 13th,2022, he twisted this right knee during playing soccer. On April 15th, he went through the MRI scan, and the diagnosis was:

complete ACL tear
tear of the anterior root of the lateral meniscus
mild grade1 tear of the body of the medial meniscus
sprain of the mecial and lateral collateral ligaments

complete ACL tear
medial meniscus tear
anterior root tear of the lateral meniscus

On May 24, he started the Evo-Devo Exercises through the online session with Jun Matsumoto. He had four online sessions in a month, and after that he continued the Evo-Devo EX by himself for three months. On October 2nd, he took the second MRI.

healing into the taut and striaight band
medial meniscus tear remains
anterior root of lateral meniscus remains

MRI indicates:

It can be seen that the completely torn ACL grows into the taut and straight band. And, this morphological type of healing is classified as the type 1 by Ihara’s classification. Although the ACL has been healing into the best morphology, the meniscus tears still remain and have even deteriorated further.

Future prospects and considerations:

Regarding to horizontal tear of meniscus, it could be asymptomatic in many cases. However, it is, of course, better to be healed than not to be healed. There is a need to improve existing treatments to make it heal the unhealed meniscus tears.

References:

Natural Healing of ACL tear 26 – Degenerative healing – case 3

注目

ACL Online Therapy for natural healing

The case reports of ACL natural healing

Patient information:

55 years old, female, Japanese
On March 7th, 2022, she fell in the snow while skiing. And, then her right ski stuck in the snow, and her body was pushed forward. She was immedeately taken to the hospital and scanned for x-ray, but there was no fracture. At that time, the blood and the fluid in the right knee were extracted by the doctor. One week later, she was scanned for MRI, and the diagnosis was:

Complete ACL tear
No other ligament tear
Bone contusion on posterior tibia

On April 18, she started the Evo-Devo Exercises through the online session with Jun Matsumoto. Since the injury, she did not experienced knee giving way. She continued the Evo-Devo EX. for four months, and she took the second MRI.

The second MRI did not show the clear natural healing of the torn ACL even though she did not feel the instability of the knee any more. She continued the exercises and took the third MRI at the different hospital to have more various pictures.

MRI indicates:

The MRI above doesn’t show the clear continuity of the ACL, however, the middle one shows the clear continuity. It is not the clear and beautiful natural healing, but it is sure that the torn ACL acquired the continuity to stabilize the knee. The MRI below is the one of the coronal slices taken on the same day 2022/11/11. It shows that the ACL is morphologically deformed and does not adhere to the original position. That may be the reason why the MRI in sagital plane does not project the clear continuity.

Future prospects and considerations:

Even though the MRI does not show the expected beautiful healing, the torn ACL finally acquired the continuity. She will try the PRP injection to expect the further natural healing. If the platelet contains the self-healing substances, the blood and the fluid in the knee should not be extracted by injection just after the injury. This ridiculous treatment might have interrupted the natural healing. In the functional meaning, her right knee healed well without feeling any instability, and she already has the normal daily activities.

After PRP injections:

She tried the PRP injections for three times and took the MRI again on Aug.31st, 2023. The slight progress of the ACL healing can be seen on the sagittal plane. At this time, Lachman test was performed, and the result was negative. Her prognosis is relatively good, and she is having a normal daily life.

References:

Crain EH, Fithian DC, Paxton EW, Luetzow WF. Variation in anterior cruciate ligament scar pattern: does the scar pattern affect anterior laxity in anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knees? Arthroscopy. 2005 Jan;21(1):19-24. doi: 10.1016

Kittani M, Haviv B, Shemesh S, Yaari L, Yassin M, Rath-Wolfson L. Morphological and Histological Changes in the Human Anterior Cruciate Ligament after Rupture. Isr Med Assoc J. 2021 Jan;23(1):33-37.

Spontaneous Healing of a Complete ACL Tear – Case 25

注目

ACL Online Therapy for natural healing

ACL tears heal without surgery

Patient information:

44 years old, Male, Japanese
On April 9th,2022, he was practicing Judo and trying to throw the opponent. Then, his left knee was twisted internally, and he collopsed down to the ground. He went to the hospital, and Lackman’s test was positive. When he turned the direction, he had gaving way syndrome. He took the MRI on April 19th, and the diagnosis was:

Complete ACL tear
MCL tear

He didn’t want to have a surgery, and he was searching the alternative treatment. He found the Natural Healing Therapy by Jun Matsumoto, and he started the online therapy with him from May 24th, 2022. He had the weekly sessions with Jun and continued doing the Evo-Devo Exercises for five momths. He took the second MRI on October 18th.

The MRI indicates:

The MRI shows the continuity of the ACL. His doctor diagnosed this case as the spontaneous healing of the ACL tear. There was still some signal intensity on the MCL.

Future prospects and considerations:

Jun Matsumoto allowed him to start doing more intense exercises such as squatting and lunge. On November 17th, he got drunk and twisted the left knee again. he says that it wasn’t a serious inury though. Let’s see and follow his prognosis from now on.

References:

Natural Healing of a Complete ACL Tear in Children – Case 24

注目

ACL Online Therapy for natural healing

ACL tears heal without surgery

Patient information:

8 years old, Male, Japanese
On Nov.30, 2021, he injured his left knee by his own movement during playing soccer. On the same day, he was taken to the hospital and scanned through the x-ray. On Dec.11, 2021, he was taken through the MRI scanning, and the diagnosis was:

ACL Tear
Suspected Avulsion Fracture of tibial spine

His doctor said that he was too young to have the ACL reconstruction as there is a high risk of interfering the bone growth. On Jan.18, he and his family visited Jun Matsumoto and started the Evo-Devo EX. for natural healing of the ACL tear. The Lackman’s test was positive. He continued the Evo-Devo EX. through the face-to-face and online sessions. The next MRI was taken on Mar.30.

Even though the MRI pictures don’t show the clear continuity of the ACL, the Lackman’s test was negative at that time. After continuing the Evo-Devo EX. furthermore, he took the third MRI on Aug.17.

The MRI indicates:

Even though the T1 pictures don’t show the clear appearance of the natural healing, the T2 picture(the first one pf 08/17) shows the continuity of the ACL.

Future prospects and considerations:

Due to the poor resolution of the 1.5T MRI, it is difficult to have the exact diagnosis from these MRI. However, from the results of MRI and Lachman’s test, it can be inferred that the ACL healed spontaneously. Around 10 months from the injury, he already recovered the full range of motion of the knee, and started attending the physical education class at school. After one year from the injury, he plans to return to playing soccer.

References:

Tsuchida S et al. Knee ligament injuries in a seven year old child. The Journal of Kansai Arthroscopy and Knee Scociety. 2008.vol.20.no.1.

Spontaneous Healing of a Complete ACL Rupture even after the meniscus repair surgery– Case 23

注目

ACL Online Therapy for natural healing

ACL tears heal without surgery

Patient information:

59 years old, Male, Japanese
On Dec.28, 2021, he injured his right knee during skiing. On the same day, he was taken to the hospital, and there was no fracture through x-ray. On Jan.13, he was taken to the MRI scanning and diagnoses as:

Complete ACL tear
Buckling of medial meniscus

On Jan.17, he had a surgery for repairing the meniscus, and his knee was immobilized by the cast for three weeks. After the cast was removed, he visited Jun Matsumoto, and he started the Evo-Devo EX. for natural healing of ACL tear. He continued the therapy through face-to-face and online sessions for six months. On August 4, he took the next MRI.

The MRI indicates:

Continuity of ACL fibres

Future prospects and considerations:

In my experience, this is the first case of natural healing of ACL tear after the meniscus repair surgery. I assumed that natural healing would be immpossible, becasue the knee was immobilized for three weeks. Actually, it took a long time to recover the range of motion due to the contracture after the immobilization. Contrary to my assumption, the torn ACL has successfully healed naturally after 6 months of the Evo-Devo EX.. After the natural healing was observed through the second MRI, he started strength trainning as well as Evo-Devo EX. to return to skiing. In October, he already has the normal dialy activities without problem and continues the rehab exercises every day.

References:

Spontaneous Healing of a Complete ACL Tear – Case 22

注目

ACL Online Therapy for natural healing

ACL tears heal without surgery

Patient information:

45 years old, Male, Japanese
He injured her right knee during skiing on February 5th, 2022. On February 10th, she went to the MRI scanning, and the diagnosis was:

Complete ACL tear
MCL tear grade2

On February 21, 2022, he started the online therapy for the natural healing of the ACL tear with Jun Matsumoto. He continued doing Evo-Devo Exercises for six months, and he took the next MRI on August 17th, 2022.

The MRI indicates:

Visible continuity of the ACL

Future prospects and considerations:

According to the new MRI, the visible continuity of the ACL can be seen, even though it is not the perfectly clear one. This morphological healing is classified as the type II of Ihara’s classification, and the healed ACL is the straight band with partial thinning. The patient has healed functionally very well, and he doesn’t feel any pain in the daily activities so far. He will continue the Evo-Devo Exercises and the some strength exercises until he can return to skiing.

References:

Natural Healing of a Complete ACL Tear – Case 21

注目

ACL Online Therapy for natural healing

ACL tears heal without surgery

Patient information:

41 years old, Female, American
She injured her left knee during skiing on February 4th, 2022. On February 10th, she went to the MRI scanning, and the diagnosis was:

Complete ACL tear

On February 27, 2022, she started the online therapy for the natural healing of the ACL tear with Jun Matsumoto. She continued doing Evo-Devo Exercises for four months, and she took the next MRI on July 5th, 2022.

MRI reports:

Modest signs of suffering are detectable in the anterior cruciate ligament which appears slightly reduced in thickness in the middle-distal III with an inhomogeneous signal that tends to be hyperintense in the T2-weighted sequences for slight edematous imbibition with characteristics compatible with the outcomes of a “strain” suffering with probable parcel laceration and persistence of a tenuous edematous suffering of the residual ligament; the ligamentous structure however remains clearly visible along its entire course with modest surrounding synovial thickening and periligamentous liquid layer in the distal insertion tract.

Future prospects:

According to the report above, the torn ACL starts healing naturally, and it will take a while until healing process ends. Jun Matsumoto permitted her to practice the full range of motion of the affecyed knee and start strengthen the quadriceps muscles. Even though she still feels weakness on the affected knee, there is no othere complication in her daily life activities. Further more, she will contines the Evo-Devo Exercises and strength exercises until she gets ready to return to skiing.

References:

Ihara H, Miwa M, Deya K, Torisu K. MRI of anterior cruciate ligament healing. J Comput Assist Tomogr. 1996 Mar-Apr;20(2):317-21. doi
Pitsillides A, Stasinopoulos D, Giannakou K. Healing potential of the anterior cruciate ligament in terms of fiber continuity after a complete rupture: A systematic review. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2021 Oct;28:246-254. doi