Ever wonder how painful it is to play with an injury that can only be fixed through surgery. One of the most common injuries like this is a torn ACL. It can happen to anyone really, just the wrong turn and snap. A senior who goes to Penns Valley is pushing through her sports career with a torn ACL. Skylar Fleshman isn’t letting this stop her from having a great senior year on and off the court. 

Skylar is 18 and lives in Center County PA. She is the 2023 class president. She enjoys shopping, food, sports, and watching Tic Tok. In the summer of ‘22 she was a part of a travel basketball team. Little did she know one game was about to change her whole sporting career forever. When asked how you tore your ACL she responded with, “ I was in a basketball game. I was cutting to the basketball and had just passed the ball. When all of a sudden my left knee gave out. At first I thought I had just pulled a muscle. When I got up I tried to walk it off on the sideline. Then I realized it was more than a pulled muscle“. Even though she is restricted on what she can do, she is pushing through. 

Many student athletes have to go through this and it’s heartbreaking. To try and prevent this from happening to someone here are a few things to remember. Practice good technique, make sure to work muscle groups evenly and create a balance between flexibility and strength. It is more common for women to tear their ACL due to the structure of their knees. Even though it is more common for women, men should still train to prevent this from happening to them.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/acl-injury-or-tear/acl-tears-in-female-athletes-qa-with-a-sports-medicine–expert