Going away to college is full of new experiences and meeting new people, but even though diverging paths tend to separate people – that doesn’t mean they won’t end up crossing again. That was true for a University of Sioux Falls football player.
Rehabbing a torn ACL is the last thing Dawson Raabe wants to be doing. But he gets bonus points for how he got injured.
“I ended up getting a sack and just turned it the wrong way. I stepped, just felt it and heard a big pop. I remember looking up at the sky and just saying like, I can't believe this happened again,” said Raabe.
You heard that right. This is Dawson's second ACL tear. The first came in his junior year of high school in Nebraska.
Safely Pushing The Rehab Timeline
“I wanted to play college football as my ultimate goal and to get to play my senior year. So we when we went to the first doctor he said nine months minimum, said no football your senior year. And I looked at my mom and said that's not possible. So we went and got a second opinion and that’s when we went to Dr. Volkmer,” said Raabe.
“He was just really ready to attack his surgery, attack his rehab, and wanted to know exactly what he needed to do. What's the timeline? How quickly can I get back to on the football field? So we knew we were going to be pushing the envelope a little bit with him,” said Dustin Volkmer, MD, orthopedic surgeon with Avera Orthopedics.
At the time, Dr. Volkmer was practicing in Columbus, NE. As an option to safely expedite Dawson's repair and recovery timeline, he performed his first internal brace technique in addition to the ligament and meniscus repair.
“What the internal brace involves is putting a thick, heavy suture next to the ACL graft that we put in there. It's fixed independently. The idea is it acts like a seat belt or a restraint. So while the ligament is healing and he’s going through rehab, if there is a position where it's putting a little too much strain on the ACL graft before it's fully healed, this internal brace essentially catches it and prevents him from overstretching the ligament,” said Dr. Volkmer.
This allowed Dawson to tackle his rehab and complete his high school career with a storybook ending.
“Yeah, so I went on and played every game in football. We won state as a team and then I went into wrestling and ended up winning individual state at heavyweight, and then went into track and ended up winning discus at state for class B,” said Raabe.
Reunited for a Second Recovery
But the story doesn't end there. Remember, Dawson is currently rehabbing his other knee. Dawson may have left Nebraska to play college football, but thankfully, a familiar surgeon also left the Cornhusker state.
“It’s kind of funny how it worked out. We both were in Nebraska. I did his surgery and we went separate ways and then ended up coming back together at University of Sioux Falls,” said Dr. Volkmer.
“I said to my parents right away, well, at least we know a surgeon up there if it happens again. Instantly after the second one, I told my athletic trainer at USF to reach out to Dr. Volkmer, that's who I want to see! So it was good to just have a connection with someone already in the area,” said Raabe.
Once again, Dr. Volkmer was able to repair Dawson's ACL and meniscus with an internal brace. Only this go-around, there's less of a rush back to the field and more time to focus on recovery.
Coordinated Rehabilitation Care
“A lot of his main focus is strength and stability of that knee. So we're looking at his form, making sure he's not wanting to compensate on the other leg or with other muscles. We're just really trying to set that groundwork for him to start progressing into higher level activities in the next couple of months,” said Kristin Boe, DPT with Avera Therapy.
“There have definitely been times where she's had to be like, OK, you’ve got to push past and get through that mental block. One of the biggest parts is just knowing that it's OK. It's not going to rupture again by just doing a squat. But yeah, it's been good to have them with me,” said Raabe.
“His attitude has been great. He knows what to expect. He knows how to push his body. He trusts his athletic trainers and everything. It's a really great team that he is incorporating around himself to really focus on the long-term goal to get him back for his senior season,” said Dr. Volkmer.
“I'm excited. I mean, it's bittersweet that it's my last year. I don't get to do spring ball and I didn't get to do some of workouts with my team, but it's been nice to find a different role as sort of an assistant coach and find a new role as a leader. Just to be able to be there for my guys without actually being on the field, but I'm excited to get back out there,” said Raabe.
Since that first surgery, Dr. Volkmer has incorporated the internal brace technique for most of his ligament repair procedures - especially in younger patients.
Learn more about orthopedic care and therapy options at Avera
