Quotes from interviews for each subcategory
| Main category | Subcategory | Code | Quote |
| Past: the ACL injury and its consequences | The terrible impact of the injury | Impaired body Terrible Difficult to understand | Q1: I love to use my body. I am not an elite athlete, but… I love to move(…), and this (feeling the body as impaired) is perhaps the worst thing. That… feeling my body is impaired. It was terrible. It has been enormously difficult to understand. |
| Healthcare system: lost without help | Nobody told me I did not understand Did not get information I Had to book myself Not understand my injury Very tough programme produced symptoms | Q2: I did not get any information about… this is something that I first understood long after the injury. But I should not have walked on my injured leg. But nobody told me. I did not understand how badly my leg was injured.(…)so we went in (to the hospital) to get some crutches. And I still did not receive any information. I had to book an appointment with a physiotherapist by myself. Then I came there and the physiotherapist was not able to determine what type of injury I had.(…)so, I got a very tough rehabilitation programme, which gave me a lot of knee symptoms. | |
| Treatment choice: not knowing what to do | The surgeon decided I had no choice Reading literature Consulted with a physiotherapist Surgery would not be better | Q3(A): But he (the surgeon) said: “This is not a case for surgery”. There was no discussion, I had no choice. Q3 (B): I had been reading some of the literature on the subject and then consulted my physiotherapist… and… as I understood, there was no belief that surgery would result in a superior outcome. | |
| Rehabilitation of an ACL injury: the endless road | It was a shock Could not contact muscles I could not move my knee Nice to come back to the gym Going to the gym gave motivation Quick differences From injured to strong Got excited | Q4 (A): And then I remember… I remember it was like a shock. I was unable to use my muscles.(…)it was a simple task: extend the knee. I remember I was staring at my knee, but it just wouldn’t extend. Q4 (B): It was so nice to come back (to the gym)! And at the same time… it (coming back to the gym) gave me more motivation… To do the old exercises… I noticed the difference very quickly… From injured to strong. I got excited! | |
| Lessons: taking responsibility for my body | Turning point when I listened to my body Did not trust healthcare providers I looked at my body from a different perspective I had to take responsibility for my treatment | Q5: The turning point in the rehabilitation was when I started listening to my body. I did not blindly trust doctors or physiotherapists. I took a step back and looked at my body and soul… What do I need? I had to learn to take responsibility for my treatment. | |
| Present: having knee-related symptoms | My knee does well enough for what I want | Fully active Play my sport Play without problems | Q6: I am fully active. I play my sport in division one without any problem. |
| The knee: a symptomatic obstacle | Knee is not as before I do not accept it Sense of weakness in the leg Cannot trust the leg Not trusting the leg limits me | Q7: The leg… it is not as it was before. And I do not want to accept it any more. The leg stays together. I know inside my head my leg can support my torso… But… I have a sense of weakness inside there. I cannot trust my leg as I did before. I feel this limits me from doing what I love to do. | |
| Physical activity: necessary adjustments | I do not perform as before Run slower Take it easy because of the knee | Q8: … on the other hand, when you think about jogging, I am not where I was before (the injury). So, when I am out running now, we are talking about five, six kilometres, at a totally different pace compared with before the injury… But… it is still jogging, if we can call it that…but I consciously take it easy in order not to strain my knee too much. | |
| Future: what might happen? | The future: uncertainty | Keep training the rest of my life Knee needs training Do not know what might happen if I do not train | Q9: Yes, I think I will have to keep on training for the rest of my life… My knee needs training. But, in the future, when I am old… if I feel I am not able to train… I don’t know what will happen then. We shall see. |
ACL, anterior cruciate ligament.