Twitter Chats Promote Grasp of ACL Knee Injuries

Four Sunday nights ago, Jesse Dimick discussed cadaver grafts and anterior cruciate ligament knee injuries.

On Twitter. With doctors, clinicians and students nationwide.

“Myth number one. A cadaver graft will get you back on the field faster,” Dimick Tweeted.

Dimick, a licensed assistant with Sports & Physical Therapy Associates’ Westborough office, Tweets such information for an hour bi-monthly Sundays at 9 p.m.

He and Julie Eibensteiner, a physical therapist from Minnesota, launched and moderate the ACL chats, found at #aclchat, this winter.

The March 10 chat where Dimick commented about cadaver grafts focused on “Common myths or misunderstands surrounding ACL injuries and rehab.”

The next chat is at 9 p.m. this Sunday. The topic hasn’t been chosen yet, Dimick says.

“I think the kids have really enjoyed it. They almost use it as a way to vent,” he says.

“There’s some very frustrating processes with ACL rehab. What a lot of people don’t realize is it’s not just physical. Lots of times, this is the first adversity that a 15- or 16-year-old has really faced in their life.

“We try not to give specific medical advice, but it’s a good way for them to bounce some general questions off known practitioners that they wouldn’t be able to do otherwise.”

Dimick says the chat arose from discussions he and Eibensteiner had.

“Right now, there’s a lot of social media, health care, Twitter chats every week,” Dimick says.

“It’s a very confusing process for kids. Lots of times, it’s the first adversity that they face in their lives. Why don’t we start a chat that goes through the process of what they can expect post-op ACL?”

Although the chats last about an hour, “people will post in it all week, though. Other clinicians will post links to studies that have come out,” Dimick says. All transcripts are posted on Sports and Physical Therapy Associates’ website.

“I’ve gained a lot of access to information from doctors that are readily available to chat with. I’ve gained access to studies that I may not have seen, new exercises to use,” he says.

Dimick says he and Eibensteiner tag and note out-of-the-norm Tweets for participants.

“A lot of the doctors are doctors that we’ve conversed with already. We know that they’re orthopedic surgeons and they’re registered,” he says.

“We try to get mainly orthos that do a significant amount of ACL repairs over the year. We do a basic background check on them and check on their sports medicine practices.”