Knee Acl Weak From Injury, Change Action?

[DrGonzo_101]

About a year ago, I damaged the ligaments in my left knee (landing on it bowling) - I'm 36 so old age approaching
I should add that I am a fast bowler and I think I tended to land with a slight angled foot so it obviously put pressure through the knee in an odd way.
I had an xray and there is no collagen wear or fractures.
This took quite a few months to get better and I tried some squats, one leg squats, zig zag runs, zig zag hops, etc. before going skiing on it 9 months later. Skiing was fine for a whole week and I wore a support brace to help (it's not a metal brace but one that is supposed to support development of the muscles by providing resistance).
I just had my first nets session of the year and immediately felt it again, I can't run in fast and land on it without it feeling like it's going to collapse on me again.

I'm wondering if I should change my action to help this somehow or what I can do.
If I already did muscle support training and squats it should be better by now almost 12 months later.
I feel like if I am leaning over my knee forward then it is fine, which explains why skiing is ok, but as soon as there is any backward lean when the leg is extended then it is weak. I'm sure my bowling action has the left leg straight at some point when landing to pivot on it before the arm comes down.

 

[Liz Ward]

Hi DrG,

Firstly... Welcome!

Is this the knee of your front leg?

If so, do you 'brace' the leg... 'lock the knee' as you land?

 

[DrGonzo_101]

Yes left front leg, the one that I land on.
I don't have many photos but from the one I do, it looks like the front left is almost straight so it probably locks at some point.

 

[Liz Ward]

OK, interesting action! Is it front on?

 

[DrGonzo_101]

OK, interesting action! Is it front on?

Yeah it's not the best photo, the angles aren't always like that
The front is my left leg even though the photo makes it look different somehow with the left arm in the way....the photo is not taken directly square to the wicket.
Yes, front on action.

 

[Liz Ward]

No worries about the photo DrG; when you spend your life looking at images you kind of know what you are looking at!

I would love to see a video of your action at some time to see if you should change your action; I could not possibly say without seeing it... However, the immediate issue is weak hamstrings... or I should say an imbalance between the hamstrings and the quads.

Take a look at http://findrugbynow.com/2013/08/acl-injuries-guide-to-symptoms-treatment-prevention/

Different shape and sized ball but it should help.

Let me know if it helps and/or if you have any questions.

 

[Liz Ward]

PS: If you were wondering how I know there is an imbalance... you demonstrate it in the photo!

As well as the single leg squats, you could also perform single leg RDLs as well as hamstring strengthening exercises.

 

[DrGonzo_101]

PS: If you were wondering how I know there is an imbalance... you demonstrate it in the photo!

As well as the single leg squats, you could also perform single leg RDLs as well as hamstring strengthening exercises.

Thing is I've had the same action for years so is it just age that caused the ligament problem. And if so, am I going to have to continually strengthen the muscles? I figured they would just repair themselves and be back to normal strength after 12 months.

I'd love to upload a video but as I cannot bowl full pace it won't really demonstrate it will it?

Should the knee be flexed when landing? I've seen many bowlers with locked front legs.
Thanks though...I'll give that ball a try.

 

[Liz Ward]

There is no reason for this change due to your [young] age.

Consistent biomechanical malfunction will lead to this issue.

Your action may not have changed... but I doubt very much that it is the same as it always was... trust me!

However, the imbalance will definitely be recent... and your work to strengthen the quads whilst ignoring the hamstrings would have exacerbated the situation.

Waiting for the issue to recover itself never works unless you eliminate the cause. You will just enter the rest-injury-rest cycle.

Yes, you will need to flex the knee until the issue is sorted.

 

[SLA]

Ponty would love that front foot block and the sideways V. Just like Brett Lee. He might say something about the front arm not tucking in quite right though, and he'd probably want your back foot to drag a bit more.