Nelson Bay Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Centre

05/01/2026

Happy New Year everyone. We are open now and happy to help you with any concerns.

Monday 5th Jan 9-6pm
Tuesday 6th Jan 8-5pm
Thursday 8th Jan 9-6pm
Friday 9th Jan 8-5pm

Give us a call on 02 4981 3461.

We will be open throughout the Christmas and New Year period with the exception of the Public holidays and weekends. We look forward to helping you with your physiotherapy needs to keep you going and enjoying more of this festive period. Live Your Life Better with Nelson Bay Physiotherapy & Sports I...

28/12/2025

Hi everyone, we are back on deck! We'll have some slightly different hours over the next 2 weeks. Anyone needing an appointment, please call reception from 8am today.
Monday 29th December 8-2pm
Tuesday 30th December 8am-6:00pm
Wednesday 31st December 8-2pm
Closed New Years Day
Friday 2nd January 8-2pm

23/12/2025

Did you know this?

𝗕𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵👉
𝗜𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗖𝗟 𝗜𝗻𝗷𝘂𝗿𝘆

🟦 A commonly held belief among both patients and clinicians is that anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction is a prerequisite for returning to sport particularly for cutting and pivoting activities
🟦 However a 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis published in Sports Medicine challenges this prevailing narrative finding no difference in return-to-sport rates between those treated with surgery and those managed with rehabilitation alone

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮 𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬

🟦 Researchers conducted a comprehensive systematic review involving 18 articles reporting on 15 studies to compare outcomes for individuals with ACL ruptures
🟦 Two management approaches were compared
◽ ACLR Group
◽ Patients managed with surgical reconstruction
◽ Rehabilitation-Alone Group
◽ Patients managed with exercise-based rehabilitation that was standardized and or supervised by a healthcare professional
🟦 The primary goal was to determine if there is a difference in return-to-sport rates and activity levels between these two management strategies

𝙆𝙚𝙮 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨

📌Return to Sport Rates

🟦 Contrary to the popular belief that surgery provides a superior pathway back to athletics the study found no statistical difference in the rate of return to sport between the two groups
👉 The Numbers
◽ In the pooled analysis 48 percent of people in the ACLR group returned to sport compared with 45 percent in the rehabilitation-alone group
👉 The Odds
◽ The statistical analysis showed an odds ratio of 1.5 indicating that surgery was not associated with higher return-to-sport rates compared to rehabilitation alone
👉 Timeframe
◽ In the limited data available regarding the time it took to return to sport no differences were observed
◽ One study reported an average of 12 months for the surgical group versus 13 months for the rehabilitation group

📌Activity Levels

🟦 The review also assessed activity levels using the Tegner Activity Scale and other measures
👉 Minimal Difference
◽ A small statistical difference favoring ACLR was observed
◽ The mean difference of 0.7 points did not exceed the minimal detectable change of 1.0 point
◽ This difference was likely not clinically meaningful
👉 Long-term Outcomes
◽ At follow-ups ranging from 2 to 23 years post-injury there was no meaningful difference in activity levels between treatment groups

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘽𝙞𝙖𝙨 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢

🟦 A critical aspect of this review was its analysis of bias in previous research
🟦 Ten of the included studies had a high risk of confounding bias that likely skewed results in favor of surgery
🟦 These biases occurred because researchers or clinicians often
◽ Recommended non-surgical management specifically for patients who were already less active pre-injury
◽ Allocated patients to the rehabilitation-only group if they expressed no desire to return to sport
◽ Explicitly advised the rehabilitation-only group not to return to sport or to limit their activity while actively supporting the surgery group to return to sport
🟦 Despite these biases designed to disadvantage the non-surgical group the rehabilitation-alone group still achieved similar return-to-sport rates
🟦 When only studies without this high risk of confounding bias were analyzed no difference in return-to-sport rates or activity levels was found

𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨

🟦 These findings have significant implications for how ACL injuries are managed
👉 Desire to Compete
◽ A patient’s desire to return to sport should not be the primary factor in recommending ACL reconstruction
◽ Returning to sport is achievable with either management option
👉 Informed Consent
◽ Patients are often told they must have surgery to play again
◽ This review suggests such advice is not supported by the best available evidence
👉 Re-injury Risk
◽ Recent evidence suggests the risk of new knee injuries might be lower or comparable in non-surgical groups
◽ About one in five people experience a second ACL injury after reconstruction

𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨

🟦 Most included studies had a high risk of confounding bias
◽ Patients’ pre-injury activity level and desire to return to sport influenced treatment decisions
🟦 Outcome measurement was inconsistent
◽ There was no gold standard for return-to-sport assessment
◽ Heavy reliance on the Tegner scale which has validity limitations
🟦 Data gaps limited strong conclusions
◽ Especially for time to return to sport
◽ Delayed ACL reconstruction comparisons were limited
🟦 Statistical conversions were required
◽ Data conversion assumed normal distribution that could not be verified
🟦 Limited generalizability
◽ Most participants were adults
◽ Participants were not elite athletes
◽ Baseline physical and psychological differences were unclear
🟦 Overall certainty of evidence was low to very low
◽ Future research could significantly change the conclusions

𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣

🟦 There is no difference in return-to-sport rates or activity levels when comparing ACL reconstruction with rehabilitation alone
🟦 Clinical recommendations favoring surgery for all active patients are based largely on expert opinion rather than high-quality evidence

𝘼𝙣 𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙨

🟦 Imagine two mountaineers trying to reach the same summit returning to sport
👉 The Surgical Route
◽ This climber decides to rebuild a bridge that washed out the ACL before starting the ascent
◽ The construction takes time and carries its own structural risks
👉 The Rehabilitation Route
◽ This climber decides to strengthen their legs and learn a specific technique to traverse the gap without the bridge
🟦 Both climbers reach the peak at roughly the same rate and enjoy the view just as much
🟦 The bridge is an option not a requirement for the ascent

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⚠️Disclaimer: Sharing a study or a part of it is NOT an endorsement. Please read the original article and evaluate critically.⚠️

Link to Article 👇

04/12/2025

The last time we see this young man before he's married 🎉🎊🥳 Looking forward to the big day! All the best Rhys from everyone here. Hope the aircon works well on Saturday 🥶

03/12/2025

Happy Birthday Katrina! 🎂🎊 Any excuse for chocolate for all of us 😜

01/12/2025

Christmas in November....wedding in December 🥳....what a great team we are blessed with!

28/11/2025

Look what we found today. Comment below with your first thought ... then look carefully again, it's not what you think!🤣

27/11/2025

Is a lumbar roll the friend your back is missing? Do you have one but not really know how or why you do? Check out our blog to learn more:
https://nelsonbayphysiotherapy.com.au/2025/11/10/why-lumbar-rolls-should-be-your-backs-best-friend/

26/11/2025

A diverse product range for a Physio practice we agree. Supporting a young entrepreneur! Come in and check out the latest offerings from Elizabeth’s Jewellery Designs, just in time for a Christmas purchase or two 😉

25/11/2025

New beginners Pilates classes starting Tuesday afternoon, targeting your spinal health. Please contact us to organise your inclusion. We'd love to accommodate you into this fantastic program.

24/11/2025