2nd degree tear acl

[wally]

busted up my knee playing hoops, ortho says going under the knife will get me back in the climbing/running game quicker and better than going without an operation. Anyone tear their acl and what did you opt for and what's your level of recovery? thanks

[hasbeen]

I blew my acl skiing April before last. Complete rupture. Had 'scope procedure, using patella tendon for replacement on Memorial day weekend. I was walking in about 4 days, biking inside on stationary bike in two weeks, commuting to work by bicycle in about 4 weeks. Lots of PT/strengthening work. Light hiking by early July. Skiing by February. Pretty much fully recovered in one year with no real problems. Running, skiing, pretty hard alpine climbing all OK. Still a little uncomforatble to kneel on the knee, because of the tendeon harvest. If you want more info, pm me and I'll be happy to give you the blow-by-blow.

[yakimuchacho]

I am 30 years old and have been through 5 knee operations (all on my left knee). At 21 yeras, I blew out my ACL and ripped up the meniscus REAL bad when I was vert. skating. The Doc rebuilt it with a graft from my patella tendon. 11 months later, I ripped out the graft and destroyed more cartilegde (skating again). That time my knee was re-built using a graft from my hamstring. This ACL graft has been bomber, it feels solid. I have had two additional scopes to repair and cleanup scarring and meniscus frays. The last surgery I had, involved stem cells coagulatting on a specially prepared boney surface in my knee joint. These cells grew into to "new" fiberous cartiledge and my knee has been great since.

 

I would give up running if I were you. I didn't, although it took a few years, I certainly sped up the aging process by being stubborn. I now cycle and have zero knee pain.

 

I also quit skateboarding.

 

I would totally focus on building your quads. and hamstrings. These muscles support the knee and reduce the stress on the joint.

I lost about 20 lbs., this helps too: less weight to support, less stress on the joint

PM me if you want more detail on my ACL experiences.

[wally]

i don't have 20lbs to loose i'd blow away, but you're the third person to say my running days are over. what have you heard about repairs of a 60% tear? The doc says I have a choice to operate or not so I'm needing some suggestions.

[Eerie]

I tore the acl on my left knee out while snowboarding when I was 23. It happened in March I had surgery in April and was snowboarding again the following December.

 

It's been 7 years since surgery. There is nothing I did before that I can't do now. I snowboard, climb, mtn bike, trail run, etc. In fact I don't even consider thinking of my reconstructed knee when deciding whether I should do something. Well, ok thats not necessarily true. I'd never do an ironman. That decision is primarily due to concern to how my knee would hold up for that long of a run on pavement after a 100+ mile bike ride.

[glassgowkiss]

my take is try not to oparate at first. try a rehab and see where it gets you. if you don't like the results you can always go for the surgery later on. surgery on a joit, well inside the joint WILL increase your chances for osteoarthiritis later on. good luck

[j_b]

i partially blew an acl while skiing. i followed rehab for a few month but still experienced quite a bit of pain while hiking (especially going downhill with a pack). i had arthroscopic surgery to clean it up and was back at ~98% within a couple of weeks. it happened >10years ago and haven't had any further problems.

[glassgowkiss]

and this is what i am talking about. let it get better for a period of few months and see where you are at. in a meantime keep your muscles strong, flexible. hydrate well, keep icing it. if you don't like what you have, you can try surgery, but then usually the outcome is much better and you heal faster. i am not agaisnt surgery, but it should be your last resource, not the first one.

jb, you pain had more to do most likely with meniscus then acl. acl is stabilizing the joint. it's a ligament. most likely you had also torn part of cartlage.

[Ducknut]

I am 46. I blew my ACL out playing volleyball last September. I waited til December to have the operation, but I continued going to the gym daily within days of the injury. Had complete tear but partial reattachment after 3 months. Doc did the surgery anyway because I wanted a bomber knee. Used a hamstring graft. Never did use crutches, was in for PT the day after the surgery. Worked out in the gym every day for 4 months gradually increasing strengthening routines and cardio. At 4 months I climber Hood in 6 hours round trip. At 6 months I did Sandy Glacier Headwall and the Dr. said I was completely healed. At 7 months the Three sisters traverse. I probably tore some cartlidge on that trip cause it was swollen after doing North and Middle in a day. Since then it has been getting back to what it was before Three Sisters. I would recommend the hamstring graft and agressively trying to rebuild strength but be patience before pushing on to the multi-day suffer events.

[Stefan]

Took 3 months for me to get the muscle power back in my leg after ACL surgery. Did all the moves the trainer recommended EVERY DAY. 4 months after surgery was back to normal climbing. However I noticed a lot of pain in my knee for about 20-30 minutes after a trip and getting into a car. This pain in the car lasted for about one year.

 

I was in a lot of pain the first 3 days after the surgery, but drugs helped. After that, no pain.

[wally]

that's encouraging, I will be patient but agressive in my rehab. My injury is L&I, will they cover surgery a few years down the road if I opt to wait?

[glassgowkiss]

yes they will, just don't close your case! tell your pcp you want to try rehab for a few months. if you are not happy, let's say in about 6-8 months then try the surgery. i would start with agressive icing, maybe by now ice/ heat treatment. from my own experience using stationary bike withour any resistance restores function to the joint the best.

[Fairweather]

Wally, I had a complete ACL done in 1999 using a hamstring graft. My doctor told me at that time that a patellar graft would be "butchery" and any doctor still performing the procedure should update his skills. He went on to tell me that a cadaver graft was only for older, sedentary, or overweight patients who aren't likely to be doing "crazy stuff".

 

Surgery took about 3 hours and was somewhat uncomfortable the first 48 hours following. (I puked from the anesthtetic) I went to a sports rehab PT who specialized in olympic soccer - even though I don't play - and I think this helped. Getting back the full range of motion took about six weeks. No brace or crutches. The Ortho Doc who performed my surgery was fantastic and justifiably cocky about his work. (PM me for his name if you like) I climbed in The Wrangell Mountains at about 6 months post-op. I still run w/o pain or problems. The only knee pain I have is occasional patellar tendonitis in my "good" knee! I honestly can't tell that my repaired knee was ever worked on.

[ken4ord]

A couple of years ago I had an ACL triage (acl, mcl, and 3 meniscul tear), that happened in September. I opted for surgery rather than having to wear a brace for activities. By the time Feb. rolled around I had been doing PT 3 days a week, hitting the gym 5 days a week. I came back stronger than when I went in under the knife. I did everything they told to do and not over do it. First day off the couch so to speak, (first day out) I lead several 4+ ice climbs, that is where I finished at the end of last season.

 

Now-a-days I do everything I use to do without any problem. It took a lot of work, but it was well worth it. It sucked but it was worth it. The hardest part was the first couple months where my activities were down to smoking plenty of dope and lifting in the gym (used to get some funny looks crutching myself into the gym while I was on crutches). A big thanks to Orthopedic Associates and Health South for setting up right.

[Mark_Husbands]

I had a partial ACL tear in a ski accident in Jan 1999. Little bits were balled up in there clicking away. I had arthroscopic surgery--3 tiny incisions--and was well enough to climb Mt. Foraker in late April. I have about 1/2 the ACL left and everything seems OK.

[SnowByrd]

busted up my knee playing hoops, ortho says going under the knife will get me back in the climbing/running game quicker and better than going without an operation. Anyone tear their acl and what did you opt for and what's your level of recovery? thanks

 

Hey Wally...need a first mate? (same boat) I've got a 30% tear in mine. How's the knee and what have you decided? Give me some beta....coz I don't like knives!

[Dr_Crash]

Dead body graft... At least you have scary stories to tell on Halloween night...

 

drC

[ajm]

First word of advice get a second opinion and an MRI.

I tore my ACL and had meniscus damage about 3 years ago and the healing process was a pain in the ass. My doc used a hamstring graft which increases the healing time but if you follow thier orders specifically you will be ready to climb in no time. It all depends how much effort your willing to put into the rehab.

[kp9597]

Go with what the orthopod wants to do...believe me you will be better off in the long term. You'll have a stable knee, and in about 6-9 months after surgery (if you work hard) you will be back at, or close to, your previous activity level. As for running after the reconstruction - do you watch any professional athletic event on television? You're activity level after the surgery will be almost 100% in your hands. If you work hard, do what the Dr. and physical therapist tell you, the outcome will most likely be good.