The Shoulder Physio Podcast

#21 Can the ACL heal? With Dr Stephanie Filbay

The Shoulder Physio Podcast

Show Notes

An entrenched assumption in sport and exercise medicine/physiotherapy, going back decades, has been that ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries DO NOT heal. Not ever. However, like many dogmatic beliefs in the health and fitness sector, this assumption appears to have been seriously wrong. Dr Stephanie Filbay joins me to discuss her latest paper about the healing capacity of the ACL and what this means for your clinical practice. Dr Filbay also teases some insights from the CROSS bracing trial, which is soon to be published. Be prepared to have some of your most tightly held beliefs seriously challenged in this episode.

Key papers:

Dr Filbay et al 2022. Evidence of ACL healing on MRI following ACL rupture treated with rehabilitation alone may be associated with better patient-reported outcomes: a secondary analysis from the KANON trial

Dr Filbay Lancet paper Surgery or rehabilitation for anterior cruciate ligament injury: where are we now?

The KANON trial by Frobell et al 2010

Stay tuned for the Cross Bracing Method Trail....

Connect with Jared:

Jared on Instagram: @shoulder_physio

Jared on Twitter: @jaredpowell12

Steph on twitter: @stephfilbay

Cliniko free trial, click here!

See our Disclaimer here: The Shoulder Physio - Disclaimer

More from The Shoulder Physio Podcast

Oct 20, 2026

Jared is joined by Professor Chad Cook who is one of the great researchers and academics in the field of physical therapy.

Sep 29, 2026

Jared is joined by Professor Jeremy Lewis who really needs no introduction but we will give him one just for fun.

Sep 15, 2026

The supraspinatus is one of the most misunderstood muscles in the human body. This episode aims to correct that.

Sep 1, 2026

A peanut isn't dangerous until it meets someone who can't tolerate it. Same with the upright row exercise. This episode scrutinises the "worst exercise for your shoulder" claim by tracing it back to a theory that's already dead, then shows what determines outcome: the person lifting. Shock. Horror.

Aug 4, 2026

Jared is joined by Tim Cook who is Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy at the University of Chichester, Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner in the NHS, and doctoral researcher to discuss their new paper with Prof. Jeremy Lewis in the Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy: "Rethinking strength testing in rotator cuff-related shoulder pain: a clinical tradition that lacks muscle."

See all episodes →