A January 2020 study by the University of Michigan found,
“In essence, the brain not only alters the way it communicates with the rest of the body, joints, muscles, etc., but the structural makeup of the basic building blocks of the brain are also changed after ACL injury,"
"We think that this is a protective mechanism, in which our body is trying to limit unwanted movement around a joint injury ... and can be applied to not just ACL injuries, but other musculoskeletal injuries as well."
"It means that during treatment, a systemic approach should be taken not just to improve range of motion or swelling at the injured joint, but also consider other impairments like poor movement patterns and muscle activation in order to get better outcomes,"
"There is evidence of using visual retraining, different motor learning modalities like external focus of attention and biofeedback, which can help 'rewire' the brain to help the body adapt to a new normal.”