Thread started by illafilla at 09.3.09 - 1:19 pm

Tore my ACL (and MCL). That sucked.

I got the surgery to repair it 3 weeks ago, but the doc thinks it will be another 6 months before I can ride a (non-stationary) bike.

DO ANY OF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH THIS? ... Anyone recover from this kinda surgery in less time?

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it depends how torn it is but guessing since you had surgery to have it reattached it was pretty severe.

listen to your doc, better safe than sorry again.



_iJunes
09.3.09 - 1:28 pm

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Six months is the conservative timeline for when a Doc typically feels fine telling you to get back into whatever activities you do. But plenty of people get back into things sooner. Plenty of football players and other athletes are back in the game at three months. Some docs frown on it, but plenty of them seem to do fine. But that's just for ACL, not MCL too. But the MCL heals faster so that won't necessarily add much time. You can probably get on stationary bike and go real easy after 1.5 months, then maybe ease back in around month 3. Don't ride fixie.

BTW, I had my ACL repaired but I had major complications so my recovery period was totally different. I almost lost my leg because of a staph infection from the knee surgery. I was on IV antibiotics for seven weeks. Scary, but now I'm 99%. So be happy you didn't get a staph infection from the surgery.



0gravity
09.3.09 - 1:33 pm

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What 0gravity said.

Talk to your physical therapist. Doctors are awesome for fixing stuff, but they usually are less than knowledgeable about recovery.

Wear your leg brace. Go to EVERY physical therapy session. Do EVERY exercise they tell you to do at home, and you'll heal up pretty quick.

Your PT will tell you when you're ready to go. Just don't jump the gun. I've got a coworker who had the surgery and ended up wrestling with his kids a few weeks later and retore it, which is a total drag.



JB
responding to a comment by 0gravity
09.3.09 - 2:50 pm

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I got my knee blown out during a hockey game. I had a new ACL (from a patelar tendon graft) and my torn meniscus was cleaned up and "nailed" down again. I was also advised of the 6 month period. I pushed hard to get a sport therapist assigned to me (I was going thru insurance, you gotta fight the bastards to get what you really need) I did not just want to be able to walk, I wanted to be able to run, play hockey, bike etc. I totally did all the rehab and sometimes did it twice just to make sure I got back to the rink. I played my first hockey game three months after the surgery, took a big hit, but all was well and have been great ever since. Definitely do the rehab, it it the crucial step to recovery. The orthopod is just putting everything back together, it is the subsequent rehab and strengthening of the muscles that will bring you back. One of the best things to rehab? Biking! Isn't it perfect? Best of luck, rehab like crazy! It hurts, but just keep in mind that if you don't do the rehab right, the rest of the knee and leg will not be the same.



marleydog
09.3.09 - 3:11 pm

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My bro back in High school tore his playing football in training camp and the Doc told him the same thing. He still played because he thought he was cool and tore it again ... was out even longer ...



OsnapsonJC
09.3.09 - 3:32 pm

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coo ... good advice.

i guess the fixie will have to stay locked up for a while tho ...



illafilla
09.3.09 - 3:35 pm

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I've had the same graft surgery to replace my ACL and I'll add the importance of hitting every physical therapy session and actually doing what they tell you to do at home.
I havent had any problems, though I never fully recovered from the atrophy and have a barely noticable difference between my lower quad muscles. Strength is equal in both legs though. I think riding brakeless fixed actually helps strengthen those muscles.



bike punk
09.3.09 - 5:04 pm

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Also, if you have access to a gym, doing reverse curls with your leg to strengthen your hamstring is really important. The hamstring is the opposing force that protects the knee when you have a deficient ACL. Ease into it very slowly, and do it under PT guidance at first, but that's supposed to be a very good idea.



0gravity
09.3.09 - 5:15 pm

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wow ijunes actually said something nice..lol



Huey555
responding to a comment by _iJunes
09.3.09 - 8:36 pm

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Listen to your doctor and physical therapist.

I had an ACL repair two years ago. It sucked. But it'll suck worse if you fuck it up by trying to do too much too fast. Let it heal.

And this is the hard part. It's not like a normal body part that has blood flowing to it and can repair itself. No, the ACL is inside your knee joint, which is more or less a sealed ball with no blood supply - ergo, nothing inside it is going to heal quickly.

The ligament itself is a floppy piece of collagen with nothing particularly "you" in it, genetically, which is why they can do cadaver grafts of these things (like I had) with no worries about tissue rejection.

Recovery is going to take time and you will have frustrations. Try to be patient. Not riding now means you can ride a lot more later.

Major gotcha: your muscles will lose a lot of strength. You can and will get this back with physical therapy, HOWEVER beware that muscles will grow back faster than the ligaments which support them (since they have more blood) so be CAREFUL, you new muscular strength can overtax that slowly healing ligament.

BTW the propioception and stability exercises and stretching are a BITCH but it is extremely important that you do them religiously.



ephemerae
09.12.09 - 1:18 am

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talk to your doc about how important cycling is and what the potential risks are. It may be possible for you to get back on sooner, maybe with some limits.

I had ACL reconstruction + 3 stitches in the meniscus about 16 years ago after I tore it playing ultimate. I was pretty direct with the doc about needing to bike for transportation and exercise, and he told me unlimited cycling 30 days post-op. Because of my insurer, I had to go to their PT, not his, and she didn't have any of his current protocols and was totally worried about the unlimited cycling part. She put me on a stationary bike about 3 weeks post op, and I did a couple hours a week on the statiionary until I was free of the immobilizer. The first week I was allowed to ride I did about 100 miles, and cycling helped get the muscles back in shape *much* faster than not cycling would have.

And like everyone says-- do your PT and don't do things that will re-injure it again while you're still healing.





bitingduck
09.12.09 - 7:28 am

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