• Home

    • About Let’s Move QC

    • Meet Our Bloggers

  • Success
    Stories

  • Get Fit

  • Eating Smart
    with Jeni

  • Battle of
    the Bulge

  • QC
    Outside

  • Activity
    Calendar

    • What To Do

    • Where To Go

  • Why I
    Move

  • What
    Moves Me

  • ORA
    Health Tips

    Tips on staying in shape, eating right and taking care of your body so you can keep moving.
    • Better Training

  • Home

    • About Let’s Move QC

    • Meet Our Bloggers

  • Success
    Stories

  • Get Fit

  • Eating Smart
    with Jeni

  • Battle of
    the Bulge

  • QC
    Outside

  • Activity
    Calendar

    • What To Do

    • Where To Go

  • Why I
    Move

  • What
    Moves Me

  • ORA
    Health Tips

    • Better Training

HomeSuccess StoriesAssumption’s Belle of Basketball in Action a ...
Previous Next

Assumption’s Belle of Basketball in Action after Torn ACL

belle-for-fb-and-web
Assumption High School basketball alum, Belle Thrapp, 18, Davenport, is back in the game after successful ACL reconstructive knee surgery at ORA Orthopedics. ACL tears are common in young women athletes.

Quad City area girls basketball season is in full swing, and thanks to successful knee surgery, one Lady Knight is back in the game.

Assumption High School starter Isabelle “Belle” Thrapp, 18, Davenport, says a torn ACL (a common injury for young women) could have sidelined her senior year.

“I have been playing basketball since kindergarten. I just love it. I grew up with the sport and watched my sister play. I am really excited I can finish my basketball career for Assumption,” says Belle.

In the summer of 2014, Belle was playing for a traveling team in the off-season, when she was injured on a play.

“I was driving across the lane and into layup. I got fouled and I landed on my left leg. It buckled and it hurt. I knew something was wrong.”

bries
Dr. Andrew Bries, ORA Orthopedics

ORA Orthopedics sports medicine physician, Dr. Andrew Bries, ordered an MRI that revealed a torn ACL. The ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) is one of the four primary ligaments in the knee. These ligaments control the knee’s back and forth motion.

“The treatment for a torn ACL is reconstruction,” says Dr. Bries.

“When Dr. Bries broke the news to me, I knew he felt for me, but I was surprised it was my ACL,” Belle recalls. Her injury was severe enough to sideline her from both basketball and volleyball her junior year. “I knew I was going to miss my favorite sports, but my goal was to play one more year.”

Dr. Bries performed the ACL surgery at Crow Valley Surgery Center, a surgical center specializing in orthopedics. The surgery is performed on an outpatient basis and usually takes about 60-90 minutes to complete.

“To rebuild Belle’s ACL, I harvested a small part of her own hamstring tissue and built a new ligament,” he says. “This surgery is minimally invasive and spares surrounding tissue, leading to a quicker recovery and return-to-play.”

belle-for-side“Patients like Belle are home the same day and walking soon after. Strong physical therapy and exercising usually means athletes can return to their previous activity between 7-12 months. We also make an effort to time the surgery with athletic seasons so that players can be cleared prior to the opening season.”

Every year, ORA performs over 200 ACL reconstructions.

“I was surprised that the surgery was so easy,” adds Belle. “It went very quickly. It was just one day and I was home. I was really nervous and I had never had surgery before. Everyone at ORA was comforting. I went home the same day. They had me up and walking, and I was in physical therapy the next day. I was able to play in a game seven months later at the end of the 2015 season.”

Women more prone to ACL injury than men

Following surgery and months of rehabilitative exercise and training, Belle is back playing the game she loves, but she is not alone in her comeback to health. According to NIH Medline Plus, young women are two to eight times more likely than young males to injure their ACLs.

In general, young female athletes are more prone to ACL injuries than their male counterparts due to body structure, hormones, and muscular development.

“Due to a young woman’s wider pelvis, her knees often point inward to a greater degree. And because women also have less muscular strength than men, the result is greater stress being placed on their ACL. When women land, the knee goes inward, and that’s why they are higher risk,” Dr. Bries explains.

Says Belle, “As a senior, I feel really great. I don’t even notice it anymore. I was hoping to play in college, but I want to go to Iowa State and major in marketing or management.”

Although Belle won’t be playing for the Cyclones, her love of basketball is always with her. “I’ll be playing in Intramurals and really looking forward to my future.”  You go, Belle!

 

Share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Rate this post!
Assistant Editor Assumption’s Belle of Basketball in Action after Torn ACL January 17, 2016
User rating: 4.9 (12 votes)

Tags: anterior cruciate ligament, Assumption High School basketball starter, Davenport Assumption Lady Knights, Dr. Andrew Bries, Isabelle “Belle” Thrapp, Knee Surgery, ORA Orthopedics sports medicine, outpatient ACL surgery, QC ORA surgeon, Quad City ACL reconstruction, torn ACL

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Stories

  • A Valentine’s Diet: What’s in Dark Chocolate and Red Wine? February 11, 2021
  • QC Winter Hikes: Eagle Watching at Smith’s Island February 10, 2021
  • Can’t Get to the Gym? Try this At-Home Workout! February 5, 2021
  • QC ORA Surgeon Looks Forward to Snowcover! February 2, 2021
  • Winter in the QC: Where to Ski, Snowshoe & Have Fun! January 31, 2021

Receive Our FREE Newsletter

Sign Up Now
Click here to receive the monthly
Let's Move Quad Cities e-Newsletter.

Upcoming Events

There are no upcoming events at this time.

Trending Topics

Alan Sivell Aryn Lloyd Beth Davis Bettendorf bicycling Biking Chelsey Bowermaster Cody Lichthardt Davenport Dr. Andrew Bries Dr. Steven Boardman Dr. Waqas Hussain General Orthopedics Hip Replacement Jeni Tackett knee arthroscopy Knee Replacement Nahant Marsh Nutritionist Blogger Jeni Tackett ORA Orthopedics qc dietitian QC dietitian Jeni Tackett QC nutrition expert Jeni Tackett Quad Cities Quad City dietitian Quad City nutrition expert Quad City orthopedic surgeon Quad City personal trainer Quad City Sports Medicine RAGBRAI Rock Island Rock Valley Physical Therapy Rolling Reporter Shoulder Arthroscopy Shoulder Reconstruction Shoulder Replacement Spinal Stenosis Sports Medicine St. Ambrose communications professor St. Ambrose professor St. Ambrose Professor Alan Sivell Total Joint Replacement Wade Ellett Walk with a Doc Wapsi River Center
© Copyright 2019, ORA Orthopedics
  • About Let’s Move QC
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: