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Ever tear your ACL?

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by TigerVols, Feb 24, 2010.

  1. TigerVols

    TigerVols Well-Known Member

    I have.

    I tore my ACL and my meniscus and sprained my MCL by pulling a Boy Scout act -- I stopped a guy who was beating the hell out of a woman at 4 in the afternoon in a parking lot at my office. Long story short the guy was later tackled by LAPD and in the process of that, I popped my knee.

    Surgery in two weeks. I know it's a very common sports injury (I'm talking to you, Josh Howard!) so I'm wondering if anyone has any insight/advice.
     
  2. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Shit. I am so sorry to hear that. Know people who have been through it, including my girlfriend who had surgery three times before many of the laproscopic advances that are now more common.

    As for what you did, I hope you feel good about yourself, despite the unfortunate result. I'd give you a hand, but it sounds like you need a knee. :(
     
  3. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    I tore one in 1983, so my surgery was much more invasive than what they do now. That said, do the rehab. Whatever they tell you for as long as they tell you.
     
  4. Rufino

    Rufino Active Member

    Assuming they are taking the repair graft out of your patella tendon, be very careful with your rehab. It's easy to get fired up and overdo it, but if you tear the graft out you're really screwed. It takes five years for the tendon to regerate enough to use again.
     
  5. YGBFKM

    YGBFKM Guest

    Sucks about the ACL, but kudos for doing what you did. I severed my PCL and tore the MCL in high school. Luckily, no ACL damage, so I was up and around in no time. But because I blew off the rehab, I've had lingering knee issues ever since. I'd imagine with an ACL injury, as was mentioned before, the rehab is crucial.
     
  6. Care Bear

    Care Bear Guest

    You are quite injury-prone. :D
     
  7. zebracoy

    zebracoy Guest

    My college roommate tore his playing a game of pick-up basketball. He was in moderate pain when it happened, but not a whole lot, and was able to walk a couple days later.

    Then the surgery happened, and he cursed everyone and everything for the next three months as he had to waddle around the world's dumpiest campus during the winter. I really felt bad for the guy and the accommodations he had to make.

    A noble battle wound. Good for you. Prepare for hell.
     
  8. expendable

    expendable Well-Known Member

    Hats off to you, TigerVols. Doubt many would've done what you did. I've been around enough people who have had the injury to stress what others have said about rehab. The ones who did their rehab are fine, while -- without a single exception -- the others are having issues.
     
  9. 2muchcoffeeman

    2muchcoffeeman Well-Known Member

    Sucks that you got hurt. On the other hand, I owe you a beer for doing it that way. 8)
     
  10. mustangj17

    mustangj17 Active Member

    LISTEN AND I REPEAT LISTEN CLOSELY!!!!

    DO NOT HAVE BOTH SURGERIES DONE AT ONCE! PLEASE!!!!

    Have your meniscus repaired first. If it is a bad tear in the meniscus, it could mean you will not be able to put any pressure on your bad leg for 4-8 weeks. This would seriously hinder your ability to rehab your torn ACL. If you can't even put pressure for say, 6 weeks, you won't be able to rehab for a while. It will also make life hell trying to get around.

    When I shredded my ACL and meniscus two years ago, my doctor said he would only do the procedure seperately. I had my meniscus repaired, and as it turned out, the tear wasn't so bad. I was able to then rehab it and build up my strength before surgery.

    Because of this, the day after my ACL surgery, I was able to stand on both feet. Not well, but I still could.

    Two weeks later I was able to start rehab.
    Four weeks later I was walking.
    Six weeks after MY FREAKIN ACL surgery I was jogging.
    Eight weeks later I running.

    Come to think of it, I had my surgery exactly two years ago yesterday. I was coaching track at the time, and the last day of the season (Mid-May) I was high jumping 4-8 to 5-feet with my girls.

    And this wasn't just Mustang recovering from a minor ACL injury. My meniscus flipped and doubled over, I shredded the ACL, tore all the cartiledge in my knee and had a bone bruise that lasted for months.

    Another thing that I would urge... go to a doctor that will put your knee in an immobilizer immediately after surgery. AND DON'T TAKE IT OFF.

    I see guys all the time walking around in these Don Joy Braces after surgery. Sure it protects you if you fall, but you need to protect your leg from trying to bend. It won't make sense now, but in two months when you can't straighten your leg 100 percent, you will know why.

    My doctor put my leg in this immobilizer. I did not take it off (but only to shower) for two weeks. No bending the knee. At all. Not once. Don't even try it.

    Because of this it was much easier to straighten my knee through rehab.

    You will learn it is easier to bend your knee than it is to straighten it. It took me a significant amount of time maybe 6 months to completely be able to straighten my knee. If I hadn't had the immobilizer to keep me from bending it, it could have been much worse.

    About a year after the surgery, when I would hoop with my brace on, it still locked up pretty good on me. I would have to sit on my butt and put a 20 pound weight on my thigh to get it to straighten out.

    Here I am two years later without it locking up. Haven't had any problems since I started p90x. All the squats built it back up and now I am 100 percent again. Of course, rehab, walking, trying to run again would all have been 10x worse if I had both surgeries together and if I had bent my leg at all in that first two weeks, it would have been hell.

    Like everyone said, rehab is crucial. I did 4 weeks after my meniscus surgery and 3 months after my acl surgery. It was all my shitty insurance would pay for. But, I worked out on my own 3 times a week for months and months and months until it got 100 percent.

    Get ready for lots of squats.
     
  11. mustangj17

    mustangj17 Active Member

    Also, my rehab place had a tool to help straighten the leg. It was called the excruciator.

    Good luck.
     
  12. billikens

    billikens Member

    Lots of good advice here, the only big one I'd stress again is, if it is a patella tendon graft, do not push your rehab too hard. I know it's tempting, but patella tendinitis is brutal and ends up hurting your rehab in the long run.

    Also, if the swelling has gone down, I'd spend the next two weeks on a stationary bike trying to build up as much strength and stamina as possible (definitely talk to your doc about this first to make sure it won't do any further damage). I tore my ACL/meniscus in college, but couldn't have the surgery for two months because I couldn't miss the classes. But when it came time for surgery, I was in such good shape, and the muscles around my leg were so strong, progress was much easier to come by in rehab.
     
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