Discussion
Winky151 said:
Disagree with that based on my own experience detailed above but then I've never ski'd & have no intention to. Warm weather holidays for me. 
Good to hear info for varying points of view/experience. Everything I've heard suggest after repair it's a long rehab period until you can return to your same level of activity (6-12 months) which made me wonder if your's was a slight tare etc.My understanding is you need an ACL for rotary stability-basically anything where you're not going in a straight line.
I had no ACL to speak of looking at the MRI pictures.
a311 said:
Fair enough it came across that way but no offence taken. Was yours a tear, rupture any other damage? How did you sustain the original injury?
Everything I read post Op suggest 2-6 weeks before you can drive, properly back on your feet etc. I guess the limiting factor on the driving is if you could perform an emergency stop.
Everything I read post Op suggest 2-6 weeks before you can drive, properly back on your feet etc. I guess the limiting factor on the driving is if you could perform an emergency stop.
Ruptured the ACL, tore the LCL & miniscus playing football. From your comment about the emergency stop is yours your right knee? Mine was left so clutch. A mate of mine had his re-built after rupture & was out for the length of time you describe. Mine was tidied up & flushed so didn't require the same length of recovery.
a311 said:
My understanding is you need an ACL for rotary stability-basically anything where you're not going in a straight line.
I had no ACL to speak of looking at the MRI pictures.
As I've previously said, I've gone to the gym for over 30 years (I'm absolutely knackered now I had no ACL to speak of looking at the MRI pictures.
) & have decent/reasonable legs & now the muscles hold the knee in place. Don't get me wrong, if I do too much twisting & turning in 5 a-side it can swell a bit (no pain) but I get on the exercise bike in the gym for the next few days & I'm good for next weeks game. joeg said:
So that sounds like you just manage to get by...going to the gym and one game of football a week is hardly an active lifestyle. Especially if you have to rest the knew a few days after each game of football.
Have you read my previous posts? Gym 5 times a week, 5 a-side football (I tend to go straight to the gym for another 45 minutes afterwards as its in the same place), squash, jogging - if that makes for a sedentary lifestyle I may as well kick the bucket now. IF & its a big IF I twist my knee I don't rest it I use the exercise bike instead of jogging (you might not agree with that but its what works for me). I injured my knee 20 odd years ago & continued playing twice a week even after a back op until 3 years again (I'm 48 fyi). The guys I play football with are all at least 20 years younger than me & still play Sunday league football themselves & I'm in no way carried by them in 5 a-side. Just because I have no interest in going skiing doesn't mean I 'just get by'.
Bit of an update as it's been a while.
Went to see a certain resident knee surgeon and got the problem diagnosed. In addition to a ruptured ACL some cartilage in my knee became 'displaced' so was flapping about preventing me from getting back to a normal range of movement in the joint/leg. This was corrected by surgery the week before Christmas, hopefully get the ACL reconstruction in the near future.
It's been a difficult few months, essentially not being able to live a normal active life style since sustaining the injury at the end of September. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but if I had the time again I would seen a specialist knee surgeon as quickly as possible as it might have put my a month or two ahead of where I am. I initially waited 4 plus weeks until the swelling reduced enough before an initial diagnosis then a couple more weeks for an MRI.
Glad to be on the road to recovery now.
Went to see a certain resident knee surgeon and got the problem diagnosed. In addition to a ruptured ACL some cartilage in my knee became 'displaced' so was flapping about preventing me from getting back to a normal range of movement in the joint/leg. This was corrected by surgery the week before Christmas, hopefully get the ACL reconstruction in the near future.
It's been a difficult few months, essentially not being able to live a normal active life style since sustaining the injury at the end of September. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but if I had the time again I would seen a specialist knee surgeon as quickly as possible as it might have put my a month or two ahead of where I am. I initially waited 4 plus weeks until the swelling reduced enough before an initial diagnosis then a couple more weeks for an MRI.
Glad to be on the road to recovery now.
a311 said:
Went to see a certain resident knee surgeon and got the problem diagnosed. In addition to a ruptured ACL some cartilage in my knee became 'displaced' so was flapping about preventing me from getting back to a normal range of movement in the joint/leg. This was corrected by surgery the week before Christmas, hopefully get the ACL reconstruction in the near future.
Good to hear your recovery has started. How are you getting on after keyhole (I assume keyhole) to sort the cartilage?Winky151 said:
Good to hear your recovery has started. How are you getting on after keyhole (I assume keyhole) to sort the cartilage?
It's not too bad, it was keyhole. I was pleased that the cartilage was repaired rather than removed but it means a longer period of convalescence (6 vs 2 weeks of partial weight bearing) but short term pain for long term gain is the way I look at it. It's just that it's on top of the 3 previous months being spent on my arse 
I invested in a cryo cuff thingy with a cooler which was a worth while investment, generally just took it easy for a few days, more discomfort than pain really for the first few days to a week.
ACL reconstruction is 100% worth it.
I fell badly when i hit some slush at slow speed while skiing... binding didn't release and i turned my knee over and snapped the ACL, damaged the miniscus and MCL.
Due to it being while skiing, they see hundreds of these accidents. I was in surgery within 5 hours having my ACL reconstructed and miniscus repaired.
5 days in Austrian hospital followed by 6 weeks of no weight bearing.
Within 6 months I was back to normal, with good strength in my knee. My hamstring on that leg isn't as good as the other, but that's understandable!
I've been skiing since and the only thing that wasn't as strong was my confidence!
I fell badly when i hit some slush at slow speed while skiing... binding didn't release and i turned my knee over and snapped the ACL, damaged the miniscus and MCL.
Due to it being while skiing, they see hundreds of these accidents. I was in surgery within 5 hours having my ACL reconstructed and miniscus repaired.
5 days in Austrian hospital followed by 6 weeks of no weight bearing.
Within 6 months I was back to normal, with good strength in my knee. My hamstring on that leg isn't as good as the other, but that's understandable!
I've been skiing since and the only thing that wasn't as strong was my confidence!
utgjon said:
ACL reconstruction is 100% worth it.
I fell badly when i hit some slush at slow speed while skiing... binding didn't release and i turned my knee over and snapped the ACL, damaged the miniscus and MCL.
Due to it being while skiing, they see hundreds of these accidents. I was in surgery within 5 hours having my ACL reconstructed and miniscus repaired.
5 days in Austrian hospital followed by 6 weeks of no weight bearing.
Within 6 months I was back to normal, with good strength in my knee. My hamstring on that leg isn't as good as the other, but that's understandable!
I've been skiing since and the only thing that wasn't as strong was my confidence!
Similar to me, did you left knee when I was 18 skiing and had it done on NHS after 1 year wait. Did the other knee also skiing when I was 38 and had it done private within a week. I fell badly when i hit some slush at slow speed while skiing... binding didn't release and i turned my knee over and snapped the ACL, damaged the miniscus and MCL.
Due to it being while skiing, they see hundreds of these accidents. I was in surgery within 5 hours having my ACL reconstructed and miniscus repaired.
5 days in Austrian hospital followed by 6 weeks of no weight bearing.
Within 6 months I was back to normal, with good strength in my knee. My hamstring on that leg isn't as good as the other, but that's understandable!
I've been skiing since and the only thing that wasn't as strong was my confidence!
Both times (France and Switzerland) ski resort doctorswwere pants and thought I'd bruised my knee, wrapped it up and gave me pain killers.
jodypress said:
Both times (France and Switzerland) ski resort doctorswwere pants and thought I'd bruised my knee, wrapped it up and gave me pain killers.
That's very surprising!The village GP in the resort took one look at my knee, wiggled it and saw it flopping about without support from the ligaments and sent me packing to the hospital immediately!
The hospital then absolutely insisted on doing the repair themselves immediately (before it swelled too much), pointing out that the NHS would make me wait 6 months-1yr for the knee to 'settle' again.
I've had two ACL reconstructions (1997 - patella tendon graft, 2013 - hamstring graft and much smaller scars)
I can't remember the 1997 one but the 2013 one I was back at work (from home) a day or so after and back in the office within a couple of days. It was a while before I could drive though.
On both occasions I've got back to full sporting activity including football, ski-ing, snowboarding and cycling. I got into cycling to spare my knees the impact when I decided to do something big for my 40th, so cycled to Paris instead of running a marathon.
I injured my knee in October 2012 but due to me not realising how bad it was and then delays for NHS appointments and finding out I had high blood pressure it was November '13 before I had the surgery. In March 2014 I went to Mallorca on a Stephen Roche cycling holiday (a prize) and ended up cycling with Mr Roche himself on the day I arrived (he'd just arrived too and it was a rest day so there were no group rides)
This season I'm playing football and training to cycle up Mont Ventoux in July.
The point of this ramble? Don't think that the injury is the end of an active life. Good luck with surgery and good luck with the recovery.
I can't remember the 1997 one but the 2013 one I was back at work (from home) a day or so after and back in the office within a couple of days. It was a while before I could drive though.
On both occasions I've got back to full sporting activity including football, ski-ing, snowboarding and cycling. I got into cycling to spare my knees the impact when I decided to do something big for my 40th, so cycled to Paris instead of running a marathon.
I injured my knee in October 2012 but due to me not realising how bad it was and then delays for NHS appointments and finding out I had high blood pressure it was November '13 before I had the surgery. In March 2014 I went to Mallorca on a Stephen Roche cycling holiday (a prize) and ended up cycling with Mr Roche himself on the day I arrived (he'd just arrived too and it was a rest day so there were no group rides)
This season I'm playing football and training to cycle up Mont Ventoux in July.
The point of this ramble? Don't think that the injury is the end of an active life. Good luck with surgery and good luck with the recovery.
Good to hear other experiences, it makes you realise how one injury isn't the same as another. The NHS is great but for this sort of thing it can be a waiting game, if I'd have known what I know now I could have shaved a couple of months off. Possibly.
If I go back to rugby I'll be looking closely at private insurance etc. I'll probably get it in the ear from my wife with a baby on the way... Do't think 2 bad injuries in 20 odd years of skiing and playing rugby is too bad!
Interesting comments about the ski injury getting immediate surgery, my experience is that in UK they like for things to settle down before operating. I suppose there are porbably pros and cons/risk in doing it either way.
If I go back to rugby I'll be looking closely at private insurance etc. I'll probably get it in the ear from my wife with a baby on the way... Do't think 2 bad injuries in 20 odd years of skiing and playing rugby is too bad!
Interesting comments about the ski injury getting immediate surgery, my experience is that in UK they like for things to settle down before operating. I suppose there are porbably pros and cons/risk in doing it either way.
utgjon said:
jodypress said:
Both times (France and Switzerland) ski resort doctorswwere pants and thought I'd bruised my knee, wrapped it up and gave me pain killers.
The hospital then absolutely insisted on doing the repair themselves immediately (before it swelled too much), pointing out that the NHS would make me wait 6 months-1yr for the knee to 'settle' again.In the UK we will step in and reconstruct immediately on rare occasions when the swelling is mild and immediately controlled with cryotherapy etc. There is still a risk of a seriously stiff joint (Arthrofibrosis) after immediate ACL reconstruction, whereupon you have a nice new ACL and the knee never bends again properly.
In the UK I will reconstruct a ACL at about 4-6 weeks when the swelling is gone. My waiting list and the busyness of the NHS makes the timing into something else. Nevertheless I will mandate a wait of 4-6 weeks to avoid the risk of arthrofibrosis.
Science: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12690864
Edited by The_Doc on Thursday 7th January 17:50
The_Doc said:
If you go back to the UK they can't bill for the op (Eu10,000 )
In the UK we will step in and reconstruct immediately on rare occasions when the swelling is mild and immediately controlled with cryotherapy etc. There is still a risk of a seriously stiff joint (Arthrofibrosis) after immediate ACL reconstruction, whereupon you have a nice new ACL and the knee never bends again properly.
In the UK I will reconstruct a ACL at about 4-6 weeks when the swelling is gone. My waiting list and the busyness of the NHS makes the timing into something else. Nevertheless I will mandate a wait of 4-6 weeks to avoid the risk of arthrofibrosis.
Science: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12690864
Doc, I guess from injury to op time was about 4 weeks to be fair. I saw Professor Fares Haddad who came very highly recommended and I'd thoroughly recommend him. In the UK we will step in and reconstruct immediately on rare occasions when the swelling is mild and immediately controlled with cryotherapy etc. There is still a risk of a seriously stiff joint (Arthrofibrosis) after immediate ACL reconstruction, whereupon you have a nice new ACL and the knee never bends again properly.
In the UK I will reconstruct a ACL at about 4-6 weeks when the swelling is gone. My waiting list and the busyness of the NHS makes the timing into something else. Nevertheless I will mandate a wait of 4-6 weeks to avoid the risk of arthrofibrosis.
Science: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12690864
Edited by The_Doc on Thursday 7th January 17:50
The GP in Saas Fee and my local GP were useless. As this was my second knee injury I had a sneaky feeling I needed an ACL repair.
Lucky I had private health care tbh.
Time for an update!
I had the ACL reconstruction last week, I was worried it would be cancelled due to the junior doctors strikes but glad to say it went ahead.
Out of hospital the same day, spent the first 2 days using just the one crutch to hobble around the house getting to the toilet etc then dropped using it and started trying to get on with the physio exercises. Removed the outer bandage swelling isn't too bad, been using a cryo cuff and while I've dropped some of the pain medication sticking to the ibuprofen to help with the swelling. The pain and discomfort is less than the cartilage repair I had before Christmas, it certainly helps I can put weight on the leg as previously I couldn't as I had to let the repair take.
Little twinge and discomfort in the hamstring but otherwise OK.
Will see how the rehab goes but everything I read online seems to suggest returning to normal activity (back to twisting sports etc) takes 6-12 months, the doctor I spoke to that morning (not the surgeon) indicated he'd expect I won't be playing rugby this calendar year, will just do as I'm told and see how it goes!
I had the ACL reconstruction last week, I was worried it would be cancelled due to the junior doctors strikes but glad to say it went ahead.
Out of hospital the same day, spent the first 2 days using just the one crutch to hobble around the house getting to the toilet etc then dropped using it and started trying to get on with the physio exercises. Removed the outer bandage swelling isn't too bad, been using a cryo cuff and while I've dropped some of the pain medication sticking to the ibuprofen to help with the swelling. The pain and discomfort is less than the cartilage repair I had before Christmas, it certainly helps I can put weight on the leg as previously I couldn't as I had to let the repair take.
Little twinge and discomfort in the hamstring but otherwise OK.
Will see how the rehab goes but everything I read online seems to suggest returning to normal activity (back to twisting sports etc) takes 6-12 months, the doctor I spoke to that morning (not the surgeon) indicated he'd expect I won't be playing rugby this calendar year, will just do as I'm told and see how it goes!
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