By the end of this symposium, participants will be able to:
Understand the current evidence for surgical and non-surgical management of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.
Facilitate shared decision-making using patient-centered frameworks that integrate injury characteristics, functional demands, and individual factors.
Understand the rationale for and indications of the Cross Bracing Protocol (CBP).
Understand rehabilitation considerations of the CBP, supported by current evidence.
Evaluate contemporary post–ACL reconstruction (ACLR) rehabilitation principles and integrate current evidence for post-operative rehabilitation and criteria-based testing into clinical practice.
Symposium Convenor: MrLimKang Jin Julius, Physiotherapist, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital
Biography: Julius has worked as a physiotherapist in Khoo Teck Puat Hospital for 5 years. He has experience with treating patients over various disciplines, including geriatrics and neurology. He is currently specialized in treating patients with musculoskeletal conditions and sports injuries.
Speaker: A/Prof Stephanie Filbay
Topic Title: Surgical or non-surgical treatment for anterior cruciate ligament injury? Empowering physiotherapists to facilitate informed treatment decisions.
Biography: A/Prof Stephanie Filbay is a physiotherapist, NHMRC Fellow, Dame Kate Campbell Fellow, Principal Research Fellow and co-lead of the Musculoskeletal and Sports Medicine Stream of the Centre for Health, Exercise and Sports Medicine at the University of Melbourne.
Drawing on her extensive research, A/Prof Filbay is recognised for promoting evidence-based management of ACL injury and developing strategies to improve outcomes for patients. She has presented her research over 100 times to a variety of stakeholders, serves on committees for international organisations, has supervised 30 individuals at various career stages and received numerous awards, scholarships, and grants for her research.
A/Prof Filbay was recently awarded a consecutive NHMRC Investigator Grant to fund a further five years of research aimed at improving outcomes for people with ACL injury, and was awarded over $2M in funding to lead a large clinical trial comparing ACL injury outcomes between people managed with the Cross Bracing Protocol and ACL reconstruction.
Speaker: Dr Jane Rooney
Topic Title: The Cross Bracing Protocol - Rehabilitation considerations for ACL injury Management
Biography: Dr Jane Rooney, FACP is a Specialist Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist (subspecialty knee) (as awarded by the Australian College of Physiotherapists in 2009) and a Titled Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist. Jane is also an Associate Clinical Professor at Swinburne University, Melbourne.
Jane was awarded a prestigious Churchill Fellowship in 2016 to investigate management algorithms and non-operative management strategies for ACL injury, travelling to Europe, Scandinavia and America. This inspired a research project conducted with Dr Stephanie Filbay and team examining treatment decision making for ACL rupture from the perspective of physiotherapists and patients in Australia. The results informed a free online patient decision aid for shared decision-making following ACL injury.
Jane has been implementing the Cross Bracing protocol since 2020 and is a co-author of the published Cross Bracing case series in BSJM, 2023. She is also a co-author and the rehab protocol designer for both arms of the EMBRACE RCT comparing Cross Bracing to ACL reconstruction for ACL injury management.
Jane works as a clinician at Prahran Sports Medicine Centre, a large multi-disciplinary sports clinic. With over 30 years of clinical experience Jane collaborates closely with many of Melbourne’s leading knee surgeons and Sports Physicians, working with athletes across all abilities.
Topic Title:Keeping up with current ACLR Post-operative rehabilitation evidence - Update on KTPH post-ACLR protocol
Biography: Ms Tan Jia Ling is a physiotherapist specializing in sports rehabilitation. She completed her Master of Physiotherapy (Sports) at Curtin University in 2022 and has received multiple awards for academic excellence during her undergraduate and master’s studies.
With a strong interest in athlete management, she has supported events such as the ASEAN School Games, Hockey Sixes, and Para Games. At Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH), she is actively involved in updating rehabilitation protocols, ensuring that clinical practice reflects the latest evidence.
Ms Tan is also passionate about promoting physical activity for children with disabilities and is a co-founder of PlayBuddy, an initiative dedicated to increasing access and participation in physical activity for children with special needs.
