Return from ACL surgery

[andyf]

Ski accident on 1/13. Initial diagnosis was Grade II MCL sprain (partial tear). Follow-up MRI shows "possible partial" ACL tear and the orthopedist wants to go in with an arthroscope to check things out.

 

Two questions:

 

1. Assuming the worst, what experience do people have returning from ACL reconstruction? I know it happens eventually, but how long before I can expect to really climb again? Boulder?

 

2. Anyone deferred surgery and just stuck with PT? I know a skier who's done this; wondering about any climbers who've had success.

 

For reference, I'm 48 YO, generally climb solid 5.11 and boulder V4, enjoy sport, trad, and bouldering. That's what I want to get back to. I've missed two of the past three seasons with shoulder surgeries (both shoulders), so this really blows.

[genepires]

I had acl repair 12 years ago and it was a long 3 month recovery with a cast and crutches and atrophy. My bud had it done some 5 years ago and he was able to walk out of the surgery. Things have gotten much better in that decade. I imagine it has gotten even better still.

I think my bud had "recovery" for a couple months. (meant he was mobile but careful) If you are aksing how long before you can rock climb, I would estimate that you could face/sport climb in 3 months. Maybe even less if you stayed on easy stuff. Not sure about doing cracks which might put lateral pressure on the knee.

I would think bouldering would be out for 6 months to a year. landings!

The recovery from a orthoscope "looking around" should be really fast. wether they go in or not should not depend on the recovery of that procedure.

But if it is "partial" and "possible", then maybe going in is not warranted. If it is partial tear, can they do anything about it?

[BirdDog]

I had my ACL rebuilt in 1995. Took me 6 months to get to 80%, and about 2 years to get back to 95%. Mine was done using the patella tendon method, today's are done with a hamstring graft. I know two people who have had the hamstring method, they've been back on their feet in a couple of weeks and skiing in a few months. Initially my MRI showed a partial tear. When the doc went in, it totally shredded. I delayed surgery about a year, the knee popped out several times, tearing the meniscus each time. My advise would be to have it surgically repaired now!

 

Best of Luck!

[andyf]

Thanks for the input.

 

The "possible partial" description came from the physician assistant who called me the day after the MRI. Today I saw the actual MRI write-up. It's a bit more sobering: "Anterior cruciate ligament is torn. There may be a few fibers still intact, but the majority of the ACL is torn."

 

I think I'm looking at surgery...

[genepires]

bummer. but 10 years (maybe even less) from now, you won't even think about it. Like I said my ACL is rebuilt and I don't think twice about that knee.

[Stefan]

I remember the pain 15 years ago. The roughest was the 3 days after the surgery. Then nothing. I did my exercises from the PT starting on day 3. Took 3 months to get my muscles back. Do your PT exercises! Seriously! I wear a real darned good brace when skiing now. And there have been several times I have been thankful for that brace. But I do not use the brace for anything else. Mine was a full replacement.

Edited February 7, 2013 by Stefan

[hasbeen]

Another data point. I had ACL replacement surgery about 10 years ago. Patella tendon graft. It took about 1 year to fully recover the knee function and a few more before I could kneel comfortably. I think if I had to do it again, I'd very seriously consider an allograft (cadaver tendon) because it really speeds the recovery. Heed the other advice and hit the PT hard. I think that within the year, my knee with the replaced ACL was more stable than my other one. I don't worry about it at all any more, ski hard, climb and hike, and have never used a brace (my doc said that they don't help that much and you should just work on strengthening your quads and hamstrings -- YMMV). Good luck.

[naxu]

I had my ACL repaired almost exactly 2 years ago (2/21/2011), using an allograft. My surgery was three weeks after my injury. I worked very hard in PT and at the gym and was allowed to climb Rainier 5.5 months post-op. I climbed extensively that summer, skied a lot the following winter and have no issues with my knee except occasional stiffness. Feel free to PM me if you'd like more info. It's a challenging injury. Good luck!

[andyf]

Thanks again. Last week the surgeon (who I was seeing for the first time) switched me to a full-length brace and told me to come back in a month. He wants the MCL and other knee trauma to heal more before dealing with the ACL. I'm hoping I can get surgery scheduled in March to have a chance of climbing again this fall. My fear is that I'll come back in a month and be told he's booked for the next two months!