Coming Back From a Torn ACL Is Really Hard. She’s Done It Twice

A torn ACL is a devastating injury for an athlete.

It takes you out of the game for up to 12 months for knee surgery and rehabilitation. Returning to a high level of athletic competition is not easy.

Katie Greb has come back from ACL surgery twice.

Comebacks like that require the right surgeon and the right physical therapist, and Katie found them at Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute, part of Jefferson Health.

A double comeback from ACL surgery also requires determination and physical and mental toughness, qualities Katie brought from her successful athletic career to her long months of physical therapy.

The 22-year-old Alburtis woman is a competitive cheerleader. She was on one of the winningest teams in college cheerleading at Morehead State University in Kentucky. 

Her goal was to win a national cheerleading title, and thanks to her successful surgeries and rehabs at Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute, she reached that goal in her senior year at Morehead State.

Her surgeon was Wayne Luchetti, MD, an orthopedic sports medicine surgeon with a reputation for successful ACL repairs on top-level athletes.

“What made the care I received from Dr. Luchetti so special,” Katie says, “is how much he cared about my recovery. He constantly checked up on me, even after I finished my therapy. I would definitely recommend him.”

Competitive cheering is a demanding sport. Those who may not be familiar with it just need to think about what Katie was doing when she injured her knee the second time – a cartwheel with a twist, followed by a back somersault without using her hands, followed by a back flip with two twists.

“I guess I had too much height,” Katie says. “When I landed, my knee popped out and I knew right away that I had just torn my ACL again.”

Dr. Luchetti estimates he has done more than 2,000 ACL repairs during his 30-plus year career. “I treat every young patient as though they were my own son or daughter,” he says, “and our whole team works together to support the athlete mentally and physically.”

Another key player in the team supporting Katie was Katie Drayton, PT, of Rehabilitation Services–1621 N. Cedar Crest, whom Dr. Luchetti calls “the ACL whisperer.”

“Staying focused and motivated to keep working hard through an 8 to 12 month rehab after ACL surgery can be hard for a young athlete,” Drayton says. “We try to keep things fresh” by switching to different variations of the same exercise, or by using activities that are specific to the athlete’s sport.

“Katie showed up consistently, worked hard and never complained about having to do the hard exercises,” Drayton says. “That just shows the level of elite athlete she is.”

In Katie’s case, she had to return to college in Kentucky before her rehab was complete. That was no problem for Drayton, who sent Katie workout programs to do while she was away, and checked in on her periodically to make sure things continued to go smoothly.

With the rehab from her second surgery finished, Katie stepped onto the mat with her team at the Universal Cheerleading Association College Nationals in Orlando. The day would end with her team capturing Morehead’s first-ever national title in the Gameday Division.

That championship, and her graduation from Morehead with a degree in exercise science, brought Katie’s 15-year cheerleading career to an end. But there’s much more on her horizon, inspired by what she learned along the way – on the mat, and from her two comebacks from ACL surgery. 

Katie’s goal is to become an athletic trainer working with collegiate female athletes. “Sometimes I feel like the women at the college level don’t get the same individualized attention the men get,” she says.

“I think I understand now what women need in the weight room and elsewhere,” she says. “My career goal is to help correct that imbalance.”