Blew up my knee :(

[Arthur]

Surgery is scheduled for next Thursday. Severe tear on my ACL and bucket handle tear on my meniscus. Anyone have experience with this type of booboo? I'm pretty bummed out... Surgeon said I won't be back to playing until Summer next year (at the soonest).

[DavidBoren]

That sucks. How did manage that?

My best friend blew out his knee in high school... but recovery is overnight at that age (comparatively, anyways).

[Arthur]

I dunno which fall or accident did these. I've done a lot of board sports over the years (stopping/starting suddenly). My left knee started hurting last year. I would stop my activities, rest it, wait 6-8 weeks and then resume my training. This would repeat itself for little over a year. Did some PT in between. My doctor unsurprisingly wasn't concerned about getting an MRI, like ever. Last Friday I was at Jits, was doing some light sparring, nothing crazy, went to stand up and my left knee cap dislocated. I was able to pop it back in before hitting the ER. Once I was there all of a sudden an MRI was now suddenly of intense interest to the hospital staff.

[punkncat]

One of my paintball buddies did this to his knee last year. In the meantime he had a baby and with the hospital mess, rona overload and reaction the doctor opted to wait. Without having it done he basically has very little range of motion, a notable limp, but no pain. Obviously running and things like paintball are part of the past for him unless he opts to have it done at this point.

[Cdn_Cuda]

My mom dislocated her kneecap as a kid, and has happened several times again over the years. You’ll always be aware of it, but she started playing sports in her 60s and hasn’t been too bad. I think the biggest think is take your rehab serious. Best of luck with the surgery and recovery and don’t push yourself too early!

[Arthur]

Thanks my dudes, I just need to stay positive and practice patience. I think I’m at the acceptance phase of all of this.

[Nish]

Find a good physical therapist, do what they say, and get used to sitting on an exercise bike.

No meniscus damage here but I did tear the ACL. I opted to use part of my hamstring to replace the ligament. I have full use of it again, I was back to all activities within 10 months. My12 month followup appointment scored my recovery at 100%

[Arthur]

That’s awesome, good job dude. The ACL part of this injury hurts more than the meniscus, so that’s good to hear.

[Grendel]

Both MCL and ACL tears on my left knee (different times thankfully) but the best advice I can give is find a good Physical Torture-ist and do the work. When they let you push hard push hard. The harder you work at it the faster you will get back to normal activates. PT hurts and if you are going it right you will hurt afterwards learn to live with it and do all of the work all of the time and you'll get back quicker then the doctor says. Their estimates are usually based on experience and most people will not really do the work so recovery takes longer but make sure you really understand what you can and can not do because you do not want to cause damage by over doing PT.

[Arthur]

Solid advice, thank you. I started PT this week to warm it up for surgery, then aggressive PT for the foreseeable future post-op. This is essentially the exact advice my surgeon gave me, so its good to hear it reinforced here.

[Carp]

Pick'em up and tie'em to your shirt, ya worthless "Profile Ranger".... seriously though, best wishes for a speedy post-OP recovery!

[Arthur]

Hahaha Thanks chief

[whyhelloofficer]

First time poster, long time lurker here.

2x Left ACL replacement here. Once in 2004 (Highschool Football) and again in 2009 (Obstacle Course Racing). I had a pretty terrible experience with my first ACL replacement, so I waited until 2017 to get it repaired again, and wish that I had done the repair/surgery sooner.

Comparing two replacements done by two different Orthopedic Surgeons, and two different recovery protocols, I would highly recommend finding an Orthopedist that does sports medicine, as opposed to (no offense to anyone specifically) knee replacements for geriatrics. In my experience, their recovery protocols tend to be a little more aggressive (see: getting you moving sooner) and the Physical Therapists they work with tend to be more athletic and proactive. It becomes a positive cycle that gets you moving sooner, better and feeling great.

My second surgery was September 2017, and I was back to Overhead Squatting/Snatching by March 2018 with full range of motion and no pain.

My best advice is: Stay positive. get your nutrition dialed in. Stay within the guidelines/limitations that you have been given, and most importantly: Follow ALL of the instructions and homework that the Doctor and PT give to you.