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Re: Morris ACL!!!!
Wow. Only Dale Morris could make his ACL repair itself!
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Re: Morris ACL!!!!
The Western Bulldogs are planning for a case of deja vu with Dale Morris again avoiding a knee reconstruction in the hope of getting back by mid-season.
Morris, 36, injured his left knee during a training drill on Friday morning, with the Dogs confirming on Monday that it was a "high-grade" ACL injury.
Dale Morris
Dale MorrisCREDIT:AAP
The veteran defender, whose powers of resilience are legendary, partially tore the ACL in his right knee last February but avoided a full knee reconstruction, remarkably getting back to play by round 11. He then underwent minor knee surgery but was back playing within 10 days of the procedure, ending up playing 11 games for the season.
Morris insists his mind hasn't turned to retirement, with both he and the club planning for a repeat of 2018.
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Re: Morris ACL!!!!
Western Bulldogs defender Dale Morris will approach the rehabilitation from his ACL injury in a similar manner to last year.
The 36-year-old injured his left knee at training on Friday last week, with scans confirming a high-grade injury to his ACL.
“Dale is an incredibly diligent and professional athlete, so we will put a comprehensive rehab program around him to do everything we can to get him back to playing AFL footy this season,” Medical Services Manager Chris Bell said.
“We have decided to manage Dale’s knee injury conservatively, and that means he will not require any surgery. Dale will go into a splint in the hope that the cruciate ligament heals.
“This is similar to how we managed his partial ACL injury to his opposite knee last season.
“We will assess the stability and degree of healing of the cruciate again in four-to-six weeks to determine when he can come out of the splint. It’s also at this time that we will get a clearer idea of his return to play timeline.”
Morris said he was determined to fight back to pull on the red, white and blue again.
“Not once have I thought, ‘maybe this is it’,” Morris said.
“That’s just not in my DNA. I want to play for as long as I can, and this doesn’t change that.
“I’ll be doing everything I can to get back, because I just love playing for this football club so much.
“Time-frame wise, we just don’t know. We’re going to be aiming for around that mid-year mark, (but) it could blow out, it could come in, we’ve just got to wait and see how it goes.”
*A full injury update will be available tomorrow via the Club’s website.
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Re: Morris ACL!!!!
Is it possible that the ACL can even heal itself? Is it not as bad as they are making out? I'm confused. Last year a partial tear makes sense that they didn't do the surgery but this one doesn't make sense. Is it torn or only partially torn?
They've done studies you know, 60% of the time, it works every time!
Brian Fantana.
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Re: Morris ACL!!!!
They've done studies you know, 60% of the time, it works every time!
Brian Fantana.
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Re: Morris ACL!!!!
Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"
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Re: Morris ACL!!!!
Love it! Moz embodies the Bulldog spirit!
Last edited by Eastdog; 18-03-2019 at 10:20 PM.
"Footscray people are incredible people; so humble. I'm just so happy - ecstatic"
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Re: Morris ACL!!!!
To answer a few questions raised in this thread....
No, ligament tissue cannot completely repair itself due to a lack of blood supply to the damaged tissue - Morris must have a partial tear to the ACL - it is possible to support the knee using a combination of strengthening the muscle tissue around the knee, along with a knee support or brace. That would allow the player to continue to play without requiring an immediate total reconstruction.
LARS - Instead of using organic tissue (often a hamstring tendon) to replace the damaged ligament, LARS uses a synthetic substitute. Synthetic tissue has been used for decades, but the majority of orthopaedic surgeons refuse to go down this path due to complications that can arise. The worst complication is a failure of the graft which results in an extremely complex surgical repair. There is also an issue with the introduction of a foreign body into the body - the best case scenario is a long term low grade inflammatory response which is associated with long term health issues. The worst case scenario is graft rejection due to infection.
The other reason surgeons avoid LARS is that it is not approved in many countries, including the USA, as the cons outweigh the pros, and as with traditional surgery, the best outcomes are still achieved with a conservative approach to rehabilitation (12 + months).
Footscray member since 1980.
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Re: Morris ACL!!!!
Originally Posted by
ratsmac
Is it possible that the ACL can even heal itself? Is it not as bad as they are making out? I'm confused. Last year a partial tear makes sense that they didn't do the surgery but this one doesn't make sense. Is it torn or only partially torn?
Although it was conveyed that way, there was nothing partial about Moz’s ACL tear last season. It was a full rupture but the success of the conservative approach taken really depended on healing ability and the extent and location of the tear. Moz dodged a bullet then and appears like he he has a chance to dodge another although there this no certainty that the conservative approach will take this time around. Will probably have a better idea in 6 weeks.
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Re: Morris ACL!!!!
FFC: Established 1883
Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.
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Re: Morris ACL!!!!
Great news for Moz and the club, lets hope he can get back and contribute in the second half of the year.
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Re: Morris ACL!!!!
Originally Posted by
Flamethrower
To answer a few questions raised in this thread....
No, ligament tissue cannot completely repair itself due to a lack of blood supply to the damaged tissue - Morris must have a partial tear to the ACL - it is possible to support the knee using a combination of strengthening the muscle tissue around the knee, along with a knee support or brace. That would allow the player to continue to play without requiring an immediate total reconstruction.
LARS - Instead of using organic tissue (often a hamstring tendon) to replace the damaged ligament, LARS uses a synthetic substitute. Synthetic tissue has been used for decades, but the majority of orthopaedic surgeons refuse to go down this path due to complications that can arise. The worst complication is a failure of the graft which results in an extremely complex surgical repair. There is also an issue with the introduction of a foreign body into the body - the best case scenario is a long term low grade inflammatory response which is associated with long term health issues. The worst case scenario is graft rejection due to infection.
The other reason surgeons avoid LARS is that it is not approved in many countries, including the USA, as the cons outweigh the pros, and as with traditional surgery, the best outcomes are still achieved with a conservative approach to rehabilitation (12 + months).
So Bell was right all along.
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Re: Morris ACL!!!!
Originally Posted by
hujsh
So Bell was right all along.
He just loves the word, Morris' 14 week ACL rehab is conservative apparently
If you kicked five goals and Tom Boyd kicked five goals, Tom Boyd kicked more goals than you.
Formerly gogriff
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Re: Morris ACL!!!!
Old Dog using old tricks
The man behind Dale Morris’s latest anterior cruciate ligament roll of the dice says the Western Bulldogs veteran can make another same-season comeback.
Leading knee surgeon David Young hopes Morris, 36, can again dodge surgery and resume a 14th AFL season.
Morris missed only the first half of last season after avoiding an operation on a pre-season ACL rupture and will try to do so again after copping a similar injury on his other knee at training this month.
Young moved to clarify reports Morris had only suffered a partial tear.
“It’s virtually a full rupture, but he’s torn it off at one end and there is a slim chance that if you tear it off at one end it can heal spontaneously,” Young told the Herald Sun.
“You have a shredded ligament or an avulse ligament.
“If it’s shredded your chance of that healing is poor, but if it’s avulse … you’ve got a chance of managing it conservatively (without surgery).
“If it heals spontaneously you can get back quicker and that’s what we’re hoping.”
Morris will spend another week in a full leg brace before wearing a hinge brace and then stepping up a rehab program he hopes will last no more than 14 weeks.
The defender has been a rock in the Dogs’ back half over a 252-game career.
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Re: Morris ACL!!!!
I note the phrase 'slim chance'.
I know Dale has proven time again he has an amazing propensity for rapid recovery. I hope he has fortune on his side this time.
It sounds really like a massive dice roll for the 'slim chance it spontaneously regrow.'
If not, and he subsequently requires a reco, then he would almost have to call it a day, given he'd miss a chunk of next season as a result of the conservative approach taken this year.