If you have a torn ACL should you have surgery if you are 43 years old, and lead a somewhat active lifestyle?

Question

Somewhat active includes sno-skiing, jogging, bycycling, scuba-diving

Answer 1

you should be fine.. but ACL surgery does take about six months to recover from.. i had a similar.. but not as SERIOUS surgery on my knee in march... i'm good now as far as running and back at the gym and i know by this winter i'll be fine to go boarding again. as long as you complete your physical therapy that the doctor orders and stay active i think you should be okay. (= good luck with that. and if you DON'T have the surgery, you can look forward to a painful remainder of the rest of your life..

Answer 2

**LOL** ...43?!!!? r u kidding??????? **LOL** ...that's not old!!

yes, look into your options. do everything you can to avoid surgery. that only makes sense.

in my case, because of a pre-existing medical condition, i pursued all options before electing to undergo surgery. i even agreed to quit playing some sports i loved playing since a kid! Don't get me wrong, i was (and still am) not a fitness fanatic! but PT improved my condition only to a point and - when i could use a leg brace - it was cumbersome and didn't provide enough support.

before scheduled surgery, i scuba dived. ACL tear-related pain and limitations made me feel like a hazard out there - even with a dive partner! the situation only strengthened my resolve to go ahead with surgery and do what ever it took in terms of rehab.

though i don't regret my decision to have surgery, i am not a glutton for punishment. back to 100%, i am still concerned about re-tearing. i do everything when it comes to prevention.

good luck to you!

Answer 3

If you plan on staying active surgery is your best bet. Without surgery you knee will not be stable and give out on you unless you have a knee stability brace. In an ACL surgery they will either harvest the tendon from your patellar tendon or get it from a cadaver. You will probably not be able to resume your activities for about 8 weeks.

Answer 4

I had that injury and had it fixed. If you don't get it repaired, any lateral movement will cause it to pop out and hurt like a *****. I couldn't play volleyball, basketball, softball; Jumping jacks are a good example of what you shouldn't do with a tore ACL. Snow Skiing forget it. So even if it doesn't hurt at the moment, any sort of lateral activity will aggravate it.

Answer 5

Yes I believe you should have surgery to repair the torn ligament but you should rest before you do some strenous activity with it. Preferrably 6-8 months would be good without putting much stress on it otherwise you risk damaging your ACL once again.

Answer 6

Try rehab first. It depends on how bad the tear is, but a lot of times, if the tear is small, you can strengthen the knee and avoid surgery. If the tear is severe then surgery may be your only option, but rehab after surgery is going to be quite painful and doesn't guarantee against future injury to the ACL. Talk with your doctor and ask him/her to show you the tear on your MRI, then decide with your doc if surgery is a better option.

Answer 7

For the counterargument, consider consulting a neuromuscular therapist who is well versed in hypertropic muscle spasm therapy. They have a different school of thought on ACL and medial meniscus surgeries. Any surgery consideration deserves all options to be explored.

Answer 8

Two of my patients have got ACL repair surgery in India.Their pain and other symptoms due to nerve compression have totally gone.

Knee Surgery is very cheap in India.There is one company that is very famous in India that arranges spine surgery for foreigners in India.They are called the Forerunners Healthcare.I read a lot about them in the Newspapers and about their patient stories.I have also read that they arrange financing for american and canadian patients as some of the surgery is not covered by insurance.They also have photos pasted of their International patients.You can checkout their website.

The cost savings are incredible.As a doctor i personally believe that your knee surgery can be easily handled in India as the quality of healthcare available here is simply best in the world.The surgeons are USA/UK trained and facilities are 5 star.both my patients had gone to India through the forerunners healthcare company and stayed their for an average of 10 days.hope this helps

http://www.forerunnershealthcare.com

Answer 9

Yes, I would take the surgery. The active lifestyle implies that you'd be in good shape, and therefore should recover very well. It might take a few months to heal fully, but after that you should be able to get back to your life quite easily.

Answer 10

If you want to continue your life-style, yes. If you wish to become more sedentary, no. Having a knee scope done will only put you out of action for a day or so. I was back on the soccer field in 6 weeks.