Blown ACL

[Greg]

So during Spring Break we go skiing and I manage to blow out the ACL in my left knee. Now it comes down to living with it or getting it reconstructed. Surgery should fix the problem but will be a big bill obviously and will also require downtime. Anyone here opt for not getting surgery and live with it without major problems?

[Punx Clever]

I destroyed (and I mean destroyed) my right ACL my freshman year of HS... 10 years ago ish.  It was reconstructed with the platellar tendon.  While therapy and training CAN minimize the tendency for your knee to slip, rigorous activity will be limited if you don't get it fixed.

That being said, whether you decide to go under the "knife" or not, your knee will never be 100%.  The meniscus is almost certainly damaged as well, and last I checked they still can't repair that.  I'm looking at some bad arthritis in 10-15 years, and any more than 200 miles on the monster requires preemptive ibuprofen.

In the meantime, by the numbers my repaired knee is in better condition (tighter) than my non-repaired knee.

My brother did his PCL when he over-wheelied an XR600 one day... but only partially.  He had no surgery, and continues to over-do the dirt bikes and snowboarding to this day with no problem.

Personally, I'd go under the knife again if I had to.  But, that's also because my ACL was completely gone.  If you only have a partial tear, then therapy would be an option in my totally un-professional opinion..

[Slide Panda]

Yeah, can you give some details on how bad it is? A tear is a lot different than what Punx, or I did. I turned mine into two pieces as well about 21 months back.

[Privateer]

when I did mine I was told partial ACL tears are exceedingly uncommon.

Pretty much what Punx said is true.  If you have an active lifestyle it will always be a problem (and even then you might have a problem just going down the stairs).  I played 2 hockey teams and a soccer team when I tore mine so I opted for the surgery.  I still continue to be active, but I wore my brace for a long long time, and still do for some activities.

If you don't get the surgery, I would recommend first you sign up for some physical therapy to strengthen the stabilizing muscles in your thigh and hip.  Second, i recommend you get a athletic brace.  A good one, not one you get from Sav-On.  My orthopediest uses Ossur CTI braces almost exclusively.  http://www.ossur.com/?PageID=13881

Both of those things will cost money, but less than the surgery.

[Greg]

Thanks for the replies. It's been about 2 weeks and the Doc is putting me in touch with a therapist and he also recommended a custom fitted brace, not sure if it was an Ossur or not. Right now it does feel wobbly and I'm not sure stairs are going to be a good thing. That said I don't do sports that put a lot of side load on my knee like basket ball, so it shouldn't crimp my life style too much as long as I can build up the muscles and strength to give me "acceptable" stability in day to day life.

Anyone else have any experience with this?

As for how bad it is, he said it was torn, but I'll call him back tomorrow to see if that means partially gone or completely blown out. I do remember him saying that he didn't think the meniscus was torn.

[Punx Clever]

I had an off-the-shelf brace... not as spendy as a custom made one, but got the job done while the graft fused to the bone.  It was, however made by the same company that makes the bad ass custom fitted ones.

Forget side loads... imagine walking down the stairs and your knee slips backwards, IE the tibia moving forward and the femur going backwards.  Thats what my knee was doing as I walked back to the truck from the med-shack at the ski resort.

I'm not a doctor, so I can't really refute what your doctor said... but what I've been told, and what everyone I've ever talked to who blew out their knee says, is that it's almost impossible NOT to make the beast with two backs up the meniscus when you do your acl.

Have you had an MRI yet?

Also, who else had to use the knee bending machine while they slept after the surgery?  I've got some weird percocet-induced dreams involving that thing.

[sugarcrook]

My gf had her ACL replaced about 3.5 years ago.  Best thing she ever did and it's stronger than before the event.  She had a custom brace made and did physical therapy before and after the surgery. 

Oh, it was a cadaver donation. 

[r_ciao]

Here's my story.

Partial tear of my ACL snow skiing.
More tearing jumping down a flight of stairs.
Years of tennis with compression bandages.
Outfitted with a heavy duty brace with aluminum supports and lots of straps for tennis and skiing.
More years of use/abuse results in complete tearing.
Years of slight pain and increasing instability.
Surprise failures, i.e. falling down when walking on level ground.  This was NOT fun.
Complete reconstruction before my first born so I wouldn't drop her when walking.
Now my knee is sufficiently good enough (but not at 100%) not to worry about it giving out on me.

If I had to do it again, I would have done the surgery sooner than later to protect the meniscus.  Listen to a competent orthopaedic surgeon.  Good luck.

[IZ]

 

Sorry to hear the news!! 

[RAT900]

When we were 18 & 19 playing football...my brother blew out his knee...

cartilage damage....had it sort-of fixed at the hospital

40 years later he had both knees replaced...

the original injured one and the other one

that took 40 years of compensating for the weak one

[DW]

Do the surgery and max the rehab. It either hurts in the short term or the long term. Your choice. Buy a good bicycle and use the hell out of it. 8 years later and I'm stil running and biking with minimal issues.

[77south]

I blew left ACL out in 1998 as a result of an ill advised ski jump.  It took two surgeries and 8 months of physical therapy, but as long as I exercise it is nearly good as new.  When I slack off on exercise, that knee gets weak and painful.  So, I recommend becoming a serious bicyclist.  I plan on doing four century rides this summer and a 90 mile race. 
   The one piece of advice that I have, is to make sure your surgeon is more sports oriented than geriatric.  A geriatric surgeon is more focused on age related knee and joint injuries, and I am positive the sports medicine specialists would have done a better job on my knee.

[Greg]

I did have the MRI done, so the Doc has a good idea of what is going on in there. He said to come back and see him in 6 weeks, so I'll probably just do the therapy and brace and see how it goes until then. If it seems like it is going to be a pregnant dog I'll go ahead and get it fixed as I will have covered my medical deductable by then.

Bleh - this sucks