Taha whānau / social wellbeing

An ACL injury can impact your ability to care for or provide for others, such as whānau. It can be helpful to discuss your concerns with your whānau and get their views and ideas.

A major injury can be isolating. Playing sports, going to work, and going out are often key times when you connect with your friends and people who are important to you. When you have a big injury, suddenly your normal way of connecting disappears.

It is important to actively feed your relationships and seek chances to connect. Staying connected with your team by watching games or taking on an assistant coaching role can be helpful for some people. Some people find engaging in a new hobby during their rehab helpful, as it gives them purpose and another social group to expand into.

You may also find it helpful to rehab with others – ask your physio if you can do your gym sessions at the same time as others recovering from ACL injury.