i've torn my acl

[igor biscan]

...has anyone else managed to similarly mangle their knee? i'm wondering what i have to look forward to over the coming months.

[kop]

What's "acl" then? I once tore my patellar ligament, which is the one going from your kneecap connecting your leg/thigh. Needless to say you're useless before you get it fixed...(my leg were just hanging there so to speak...).

[Dirk]

Anterior cruciate ligament. An injury that until the last 10 or so years would probably end a footballer's career.

[niallers]

its 1 of 2 very strong intertwined ligaments connecting you thigh bone to your shin bone, the acl is at the front hence the name anterior and the posterior or pcl is at the back(obviously). I have partially torn acl's in both knees but i can still run and play ball so it depends how torn it is, also brian o'driscoll has a partially torn acl and he has no problems.

[mattyq]

I thought you were talking about access-lists.

Fuck, maybe i'm a geek

[kop]

So you have torn it but can still walk/run? The only advice I can give you from my own experience is that if you're ever going to operate on it then get into the physiotherapy as soon as possible (even if it hurts). The muscle loss in the first days and weeks if you don't move your foot is dramatic, and will take a hell of a lot of time to build back up. I had to wait for 2 weeks before I could start training my quadriceps muscles, and my left thigh was half the size of the right one by then. It took me two years before it was back to normal (after 2 weeks of not moving the quadriceps muscles...). I didn't have the 8 hours a day follow up that the footballers have though, but I went to physiotherapy twice a week for the first 9 months, and did muscle spesific exercises almost every day else.

[Brod]

I've done it.

 

You'll need an op and some pretty serious rehab work.

 

I had the middle third of my knee cap tenden removed along with a chunk of bone from my knee and shin attached to it. This was then drilled into my knee to replace the severed ligament. The bone knits together and the tendon settles.

 

I was in hospital attached to a machine that bent my knee gently for 5 days and when I could bend it to 90 degrees i could go home. That's when the hard work starts.

 

The rehab is so painful and can be soul destoying if you're anything like me that went from being fit as fuck, playing footy 5 times a week to practically learning to walk and balance again.

 

My advice is don't slack on the rehab. You'll get out what you put in.

[igor biscan]

shit...well, i've been told i have to get my full range of motion back before they can operate...and then to expect at least 6 months of rehab work after that.

[kop]

shit...well, i've been told i have to get my full range of motion back before they can operate...and then to expect at least 6 months of rehab work after that.

 

6 months of rehab work isn't bad at all. You can function normally in ever day things, like walk relative normal, go to work, shop, the pub..., etc, so I wouldn't be to worried about it.

[Flathead]

...has anyone else managed to similarly mangle their knee? i'm wondering what i have to look forward to over the coming months.

 

I snapped mine in 1993.

 

Agree totally with Brods description of the operation, the rehab and his advice when he says "you only get out what you put in"

 

My surgeon told me that the success of the operation depends on the skills of the surgeon (25%) the advice and expertise of the physio (25%) and the remaining 50% on the commitment and mental and physical strength of the patient.

 

My advice to you would be to listen to what the physios tell you, follow their instructions to the letter and put in the effort. Never ever skip the physio sessions.

 

Hope you get it sorted soon.

 

Good luck.

[calvoboy]

...has anyone else managed to similarly mangle their knee? i'm wondering what i have to look forward to over the coming months.

 

I did mine a few years ago. Total blowout, tore my ACL, badly strained my medial ligaments, damaged my cartilage and tore my quadricep muscles in the process.

 

From my experience I would definitely recommend having the operation to replace the ligament, as a few years on I am still playing 5-a-side and 11-a-side regularly, and have been able to do everything that I could before without any real problems.

 

Mine was done by removing the middle third of my patellar tendon as a replacement, which has left a bit of a scar but doesn't look too bad. They can also do it using part of your hamstring or by using a donated (from a dead body) tendon. The surgeons on the NHS have developed a great deal of expertise in all of the latest techniques (keyhole surgery etc.) so unless you are a multi-millionaire you don't need to go and see Dr.Steadman in Chicago like all of our players did a few years back - you will get just as good service on the NHS. You may have to wait though, as orthopaedics is the one area where most trusts struggle to bring down waiting lists (too many old buggers needing hip replacements these days!).

 

My advice would be to put in as much effort as you possibly can down the gym in the weeks running up to the operation. Your leg muscles will waste away in the immediate aftermath of the operation, so the more you can build them up in advance the better. I was the fittest I've ever been in my life just before I went in, and I did seem to be a few weeks ahead of others at the rehab sessions afterwards.

 

When the operation is done, make sure that you listen to your physio and follow the instructions precisely. Don't skimp the physio, and put the effort in to building your strength and flexibility afterwards.

 

All in all though, listen to the docs, put the effort in, and you'll be as good as new before you know it.

 

Good luck!

[igor biscan]

thanks guys...hopefully this all turns out well.