Holly B. is an active professional in her late twenties who spends her free time playing recreational flag football and league basketball. She recently tore her ACL and will be sharing her experiences with us as she works towards getting back into sports.

Like most accidents, you never think it's going to happen to you... until it does.

You're healthy, you're active - what could go wrong?

That was me before I tore my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) when playing flag football. One moment I was blocking a linebacker, the next moment I was on the ground holding my knee.

I was lucky compared to most people who tear their ACL. I wasn't in much pain, but I knew that my knee instability would prevent me from playing. What hurt was that it was the third play of first game of the day. But even that wasn't what hurt me the most. Here's what really pained me:

I could have prevented the ACL tear by wearing my knee brace.

That's right. I had an ACL knee brace in my gym bag but I didn't wear it because I didn't think I needed it.

Now it'll be about a year before I'm playing basketball and football again, after all the orthopedic doctor appointments and surgery recovery. Once I'm back on my feet you can bet that I'll be wearing a knee brace when playing sports!