i tore my ACL on march 1. i saw a doctor and they said i have a tear in my ACL. i don,t know if it is complete or not. i have a doctor appointment on the 27 with a orthepedic surgeon. i have read that if you don,t exercise the knee it will get stiff. i am currently exercising my knee. i have also read that if you want to return to sports you have to get surgery. my mother is afraid that there is a window of opportunity for the surgery. this type of injury usually ends seasons and takes a while to heal. its been 14 days since the accident and i am walking without crutches but with a knee stabilizer. i am healing much faster than i expected. i welcome everyones opinion on this but i would prefer a professional or someone who had this injury before. sense my appointment is so late in the month, do you think i am doomed?
2007-03-14 10:54:07 · 6 answers · asked by Riddles 2 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Injuries
I completely tore my ACL (also tore my MCL and meniscus... injury known as the "terrible triad").
I was given 2 options... 1.)surgery or 2.)quitting competitive sports and wearing a brace for sports for the rest of my life with a risk of re-injuring my knee.
I opted for the surgery because I was in competitive sports. I couldn't imagine a future without sport.
The surgery was painless. I had a great surgeon. It was day surgery. I walked out of the hospital.
The physio was quite painful. Although I was able to go running after a short time... it was 6 months before I was allowed to play any sports that involved jumping or twisting.
Be very careful right now!!! Your knee is very unstable. You shouldn't do any exercises that could involve jumping or twisting (intended or accidental.) Be absolutely sure to wear a serious brace that won't allow for any lateral movement. It's a good idea to do isolated physio stretches to keep the joint limber. It's also good to to do isolated quad and calf exercises o keep these muscles strong. But be very careful... Risk of re-injury is high right now.
Don't worry about a "window of opportunity for the surgery." Take your time reaching this decision. It's better to delay than to make the wrong decision.
Many people live a long and happy sports life with a torn ACL. If you opt for the surgery be prepared for some hard work in physio.
2007-03-14 12:08:56 · answer #1 · answered by s2pified 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My daughter was 19 when she tore her ACL (it was torn completely through). When we spoke with the doctor about it, his input was that she could live her whole life, and probably never notice that it was gone. However, he said that it would cause an increased risk for arthritis when she got older, and that if she had any plans for using her knee athletically, she should have the surgery to repair it. Since she had the accident skiing, and definitely wanted to do it more often, she chose to have the surgery.
It's not possible for the ligament to repair itself. The swelling will go down, and some of the pain will go away, but since ligaments don't have any blood vessels, they can't repair existing damage. When you see the orthopedist, and he or she can look at your MRI's, you can get better advice on how bad the tear is...If it's minor, and the pain & swelling that you have now is just because the injury is recent, then you can probably skip the surgery.
If you do this, though, and you're gonna be athletically active, you should talk to the doctor about the available options for support while you're playing. I see many college and professional football players on the field with knee supports that are apparently to keep the knee from bending in the wrong direction.
If the tear is major, you'll need to weigh the risks of surgery & recovery time against your desire to participate in sports. If you have the surgery soon, you can easily be in a place to start football practice in the summer (especially if you're really good about following through on your physical therapy)...More than likely, though, you won't be in any condition to participate in any spring sports, regardless of whether or not you have the surgery at this point.
As a point of reference...my daughter had her surgery at the beginning of April. She was back in school (which meant driving with her "bad" leg) and at physical therapy by the beginning of May...The snow doesn't fall during summer time, but otherwise, she would have been back on the slopes in July.
2007-03-14 11:11:49 · answer #2 · answered by abfabmom1 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I don't think you have to worry about any time problem between injury and repairing it. They didn't even used to repair them after a tear, would wait until the knee completely went out later.
I tore my ACL in December and just had the surgery in February (Worker's Comp isn't that quick). They had me doing physical therapy a few weeks before surgery, getting the leg flexible and strong going into it.
If you were on crutches for a bit you should check to see if your quads are firing, I guess it's pretty common for those muscles to shut down after an injury. With your leg straightened flex the muscles in your upper leg, make sure they flex on both inside and outside. Mine weren't after injury, and shut down again after surgery. I had to flex them like 10 times every hour for a few weeks to get them going. My leg was cramping up quite a bit walking without all the muscles going. Be careful in what you do for now, your leg is not stable, the major ligament in the knee is gone.
If you are active in sports you should have it repaired. You should know that it's no picnic, it will be months before it will be back to being able to do sports.
2007-03-15 08:34:01 · answer #3 · answered by Kevin 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
first know what is the degree of the tear. have it scanned through an MRI. I tore my acl last year, it's almost a complete tear. but i was able to walk normally despite the doctor's advice for surgry. i had episodes of slight pain on my inflicted knee. But just last month, it got stiff and swolled up a bit again, and the pain was like the first time i had it. everytime i walk long distances, it will swells up and hurts a lot. right now, i'm saving for that operation since the screws are not covered by my insurance. Yup, you will be sidelined for a few months, but that's ok compared to being sidelined for the rest of your life. so listen to your doctor....
2007-03-19 09:22:12 · answer #4 · answered by ryan 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You gunna be sidelined for a while buddy. Surgers a ***** and your out for 6-8 months after. If you try to play through it you have a great chance of making it worse. Then it could be 8-10. Sorry man
2007-03-14 11:03:11 · answer #5 · answered by Steve M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not doomed. A little bit dang'd and maybe somewhat darn'd, but definitely not doomed. Damn.
2007-03-21 18:21:10 · answer #6 · answered by rer348 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋