ACL tear/rupture?

[Freakuk]

As some of you may recall I was punted off my motorbike 4 months ago, 2 broken legs and several compressed spinal fractures unfortunately. Anyway time has passed my recovery has been going well - lots of physio and exercises. Yesterday I went to see a specialist to give me the once over and progress my claim, however he thinks my ACL is knackered anc ould need surgery :-(

I'm hopefully going to get referred to a specialist and see what they say, the question to the PH massive is really about what's involved, how long is the typical recovery, will I fully recover and how bloody painful it will be?

[goldblum]

not very: Yes: Depends how much surgery you require.

[anonymous-user]

I had a bad experience with my ACL surgery. It wasn't so much the pain, more the swelling I suffered with which restricted the knees movement. It took me a long time to recover, probably 9-12 months before I was back playing sports. The good news is that I did make a full recovery and my knee is as good as it ever was.

It may be different for you - one mate in the US was back playing footy in under 4 months after his surgery!

[996 sps]

If you can ask about just giving sports rehabilitation a go first before surgery, closed chain quad/hamstring exercises calf work, there's a number of athletes out there ACL deficient with strong hamstrings, gastroc, quads reinforcing the knee without an issue.

How much sport do you do?

[bertieg]

ive had the operation. falling off a bmx left me with a completely ruptured ligament and torn cartilidge. i spent 4 days on crutches, within 2 weeks i was walking without a limp, but it took at least 9 months of rigorous physio to get back to normal. i had 2 x 1 hour sessions of physio every week for 6 months. it was long and irritating, and a huge inconvenience

the good news is, i now have no pain, discomfort, lack of movement or loss of muscle at all. its 100% as new. i dont even think about it anymore. that was only 3 years ago too

[Freakuk]

Strangely there was and is no pain I did break my knee so that was painful but nothing from that region, but it does feel loose now. Sport wise well there's general gym stuff, motorbikes, mountain bikes, snowboarding and squash which is the most concerning.

[996 sps]

Freakuk said:

Strangely there was and is no pain I did break my knee so that was painful but nothing from that region, but it does feel loose now. Sport wise well there's general gym stuff, motorbikes, mountain bikes, snowboarding and squash which is the most concerning.

Most the winning All Blacks team in the late 80's were ACL deficient so ask if there a non-surgical route/option to give a go, loads of closed chain exericses to begin with as you get "shear forces" on the knee with open chain type exercises i.e. knee extenstion work, speak to a physio/sports rehabilitator.

[anonymous-user]

996 sps said:

Most the winning All Blacks team in the late 80's were ACL deficient so ask if there a non-surgical route/option to give a go, loads of closed chain exericses to begin with as you get "shear forces" on the knee with open chain type exercises i.e. knee extenstion work, speak to a physio/sports rehabilitator.

This is daft advice. What happens when you get a bit older and your muscle starts to waste away?
That's right, you have major instability in your knee and you're now too old to be able to recover from the surgery.

OP - bite the bullet and get it fixed.

[996 sps]

Bandit said:

996 sps said:

Most the winning All Blacks team in the late 80's were ACL deficient so ask if there a non-surgical route/option to give a go, loads of closed chain exericses to begin with as you get "shear forces" on the knee with open chain type exercises i.e. knee extenstion work, speak to a physio/sports rehabilitator.

This is daft advice. What happens when you get a bit older and your muscle starts to waste away?
That's right, you have major instability in your knee and you're now too old to be able to recover from the surgery.

OP - bite the bullet and get it fixed.

I'm 37 and ACL deficient on my left knee, why is that daft advice?

If the knee is not giving or giving pain then exercise therapy is an option.

I compete and play most sport, if the hamstrings and quads (as well as gastroc) are worked hard they will prevent tibial translation.

If someone comes into a rehabilitation clinic they will be given the option of a sports rehab based exercises, if this does not work then take the surgery route - as ever if you see a surgeon they want to operate, my son was born with a club foot - guess what peroneals are not firing they want to move a tendon to replace this action - private clinic different advice we now have an electrical stimulater what fires the peroneal nerve and the muscle action is there. Take the surgical route if needed but try exercise first

Also if its a patella tendon graft for the ACL then a patient can end of with anterior knee pain on occasion however patella tendon is a stronger graft, if you're a sprinter explosive athlete then you need to avoid hamstring grafts to maintain maximal power - swings and roundabouts.

Edited by 996 sps on Wednesday 7th November 21:26

[z4chris99]

I'm 25 and had full ACL and MCL recon in May with a guy called Fares Haddad. had a hammy graft

recovery? slow...

I haven't run since (though starting this week)
I see a physio once a week (used to be more)
I do rehab in the gym a few times a week
my knee hurts if I do alot of standing around

I started a thread on it:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[996 sps]

996 sps said:

Bandit said:

996 sps said:

Most the winning All Blacks team in the late 80's were ACL deficient so ask if there a non-surgical route/option to give a go, loads of closed chain exericses to begin with as you get "shear forces" on the knee with open chain type exercises i.e. knee extenstion work, speak to a physio/sports rehabilitator.

This is daft advice. What happens when you get a bit older and your muscle starts to waste away?
That's right, you have major instability in your knee and you're now too old to be able to recover from the surgery.

OP - bite the bullet and get it fixed.

I'm 37 and ACL deficient on my left knee, why is that daft advice?

If the knee is not giving or giving pain then exercise therapy is an option.

I compete and play most sport, if the hamstrings and quads (as well as gastroc) are worked hard they will prevent tibial translation.

If someone comes into a rehabilitation clinic they will be given the option of a sports rehab based exercises, if this does not work then take the surgery route - as ever if you see a surgeon they want to operate, my son was born with a club foot - guess what peroneals are not firing they want to move a tendon to replace this action - private clinic different advice we now have an electrical stimulater what fires the peroneal nerve and the muscle action is there. Take the surgical route if needed but try exercise first

Also if its a patella tendon graft for the ACL then a patient can end of with anterior knee pain on occasion however patella tendon is a stronger graft, if you're a sprinter explosive athlete then you need to avoid hamstring grafts to maintain maximal power - swings and roundabouts.

[s2kjock]

I ruptured my ACL 11 months ago in an RTC - decided after discussion with the surgeon that reconstruction not essential for me (41 yrs old, minimal sport involving running and turning, knee seems pretty stable as it is, longer recovery period not worth it at my age) - I should be fine walking, jogging, skiing, sailing, motorcycling - good enough for me.

I have however still got problems - couldn't get full extension in joint so had an arthroscopy in July which identified a whole load more cartilage than had been thought was there - improving for a while, but flared up again recently after 400 miles over 2 days on a motorbike.

Very frustrating - can't really do any sort if impact exercise right now, and walking more than 1.5 miles I can't easily do for the pain. Sitting for long periods gets painful - you can forget a flight or theatre/cinema over 1.5-2 hours right now.

This is all after having physio continuously since the accident.

Looking like a long road back to normality at the moment.

[Freakuk]

s2kjock said:

I ruptured my ACL 11 months ago in an RTC - decided after discussion with the surgeon that reconstruction not essential for me (41 yrs old, minimal sport involving running and turning, knee seems pretty stable as it is, longer recovery period not worth it at my age) - I should be fine walking, jogging, skiing, sailing, motorcycling - good enough for me.

I have however still got problems - couldn't get full extension in joint so had an arthroscopy in July which identified a whole load more cartilage than had been thought was there - improving for a while, but flared up again recently after 400 miles over 2 days on a motorbike.

Very frustrating - can't really do any sort if impact exercise right now, and walking more than 1.5 miles I can't easily do for the pain. Sitting for long periods gets painful - you can forget a flight or theatre/cinema over 1.5-2 hours right now.

This is all after having physio continuously since the accident.

Looking like a long road back to normality at the moment.

Sounds very similar to me in terms of sporting activities, although I've been luckier I think flying, cinemas etc don't appear to be an issue or sitting for most of the day in front of my laptop.

Will see what next week brings when I see someone else about it

[anonymous-user]

996 sps said:

I'm 37 and ACL deficient on my left knee, why is that daft advice?

If the knee is not giving or giving pain then exercise therapy is an option.

What happens when you're 50 .. or 60 years old? Your knee is stabilized at the moment by maintaining good muscle mass and tone.
As you age this will be harder and harder to maintain and your knee will become more and more unstable.
The ACL is there for a reason.

I opted for the hamstring graft and was able to get back to playing a good level of competitive sports with no further issues

[996 sps]

Factually if the knee is not giving pain and not giving way patients are offered rehab before surgery - as for 60 plus what is the research on that? If its not giving you pain and the OP's activites are not high whats the point of surgery?

[z4chris99]

they say your calf and hamstring can grow to do a similar stability role

when your old and those muscles waste you will struggle

my op and rehab has cost more than a small car but is 100% worth it

[anonymous-user]

996 sps said:

Factually if the knee is not giving pain and not giving way patients are offered rehab before surgery - as for 60 plus what is the research on that? If its not giving you pain and the OP's activites are not high whats the point of surgery?

Did you go NHS - were they trying to avoid the cost of the operation?

As i said, things may be fine and dandy now... but you will deteriorate in later years.
I haven't looked for research, this is what the surgeon suggested when discussing options.
Its also kind of common sense. If you are currently making up for your lack of ACL through exercise and muscle development - what happens when you can no longer sustain exercise and muscle tone?

[996 sps]

As mentioned posts ago if you see a surgeon the only option you will get is surgery 9 x out of 10.

I was doing gymnastics when I was 24/5 and developed patella tendinopathy on landing from vaults/handsprings etc, had a private MRI shown ruptured ACL discussed options with physio - completed eccentrics for tendinopathy - job done.

Then I worked in sports rehab for 6 years and watched the advice sports medicine doctors offered athletes.

If the OP is not competing in sport, his knee is not giving way and he doesn't suffer with pain then you do not have to go the surgical route straight away. If his quads and hamstrings etc aren't excessively strong now then there is also another reason not to jump into surgery.

I see what your trying to say but its not evidence based.

[z4chris99]

here's my old ACL, I heard it tear
I'll find a photo of my new one, I got some good inside my knee shots

[996 sps]

z4chris99 said:

here's my old ACL, I heard it tear
I'll find a photo of my new one, I got some good inside my knee shots

I can't see the image but I gather from the fact you heard it 'tear' you ruptured MCL and meniscus? Was you twisting?