ACL Class of 2017

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Originally Posted by mst1228

Thanks! Yeah I'm the same as you, never been one to exercise for exercise sake - i just like doing my activities and some of them happen to be decent workouts... I haven't started PT with a Dr yet, still just doing leg lifts and heel drags at home until my first appointment next week. I'm feeling psyched to work hard at it right now but knowing myself keeping that psych up will be one of my biggest challenges over the next 6+ months.

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You gotta be super careful you don't fuck up the ACL repair for 9 months, you can fuck it up just taking your shoe off using one foot behind the other, according to the stats I was given by the pt this happens to a lot of people recovering from ACL surgery

I ran into a random orthopedic surgeon on the chair last week ( good guy !) and he did a consult on the ride up, told me to do leg press/ hamstring (both directions) calf raises, you have to isolate the bad leg cuz otherwise you will compensate with the good leg

you might want to get a year membership at a gym cuz you are looking at a year or more likely 2 years of PT, a year at my local gym is 560$ but 3 times a week 52 weeks a year its works out pretty cheap per visit

if you can't afford a gym or its not convienient what you can do at home for leg press is load a bucket with heavy stuff hold on to the bucket while you do a knee bend, calf raises with toes on a piece of 2x4, for hamstring load up a bag with urgeryweight and do

22/23 club member. Tore ACL and meniscus Nov 30, surgery Dec 29 to fully repair. Took the pain pills first 4-5 days post op but only over counter Tylenol now. 8 weeks today post op today. Still in leg brace and using one crutch but can hobble. PT twice a week with home PT 3x daily. Micro improvements daily but for someone that is active, being stationary sucks. Will be joining a gym (I hate gyms) once I can walk in the door. Mainly for the stationary bike at first. Hoping to get a full pedal loop done this Friday at PT, just about get my leg flat at 3deg and about 105deg bend on knee.

Loooooooong road for sure but on the road.

I bought new skis, their sitting in the corner of my office so I can look at them and keep motivated. My buddies sending me pics of skiing pow sure hurts but I'll be back out there.

Some interesting takes the last few pages.

It took me 1/2 - 3/4 a season back to be 'back'. I hit PT hard for 3 months from months 4-6 post op, then again hard for 2 months preseason. Some PTs administer a 'back to sport' test. I would recommend talking to a PT that does this and doing a dry run and waiting 4 weeks and doing it for real. give yourself that time to do targeted workouts.

I think you'll get different recommendations based on where you are, how active you are, etc. A few PTs I talk with regularly totally tailor their comments to their clientele, others just give you generalizations.

As with everything in life YMMV

I hate going to the gym but for my acl in 2003 I definitely changed my mind and did all the PT and followed my therapist to a T. Was back in a year skiing and snowboarding, with a brace, and taking it easy all winter on groomers. The second season was still taking things gingerly, but started building more confidence and better strength. That year was more of a mind game trying to figure out if I could open it up more and not blow it again. But I didn’t.

Tore my left ACL 12-23. Been 11 years since I tore my right one. Had surgery on 2-22. Waited 2 months because I had a ton of travel to do before. Surgery was fine, no other issues besides the ACL. The day after was poor but I’ve improved slowly since then. First PT session I was 5 flat and 60 bent. Pretty happy with that. 11 years ago my quad didn’t fire for weeks and I had so much swelling I had to have it drained 3 times. So far so good on this one. No pain meds besides Tylenol yesterday. I do have a nerve block pump in my groin that is supposed to help. That comes out tomorrow. Onward!


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dam,sorry to read ms. already on PT < week after the knife is good.

i was 5 weeks before released to PT. my meniscus was torn and folded under itself, swelling is still around but saw my kneecap this week for the first time in a while. was able to jump on the exercise cycle and got in 5 mins with little pain.

baby steps

12 days post op and all is progressing nicely. 90 bent and about 2 flat. Can’t quite do a leg lift yet but it’s close….pain from the quad incision point stopping it so far.


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This Tuesday will be 4 weeks post op and I’m just starting to get into some positive changes in daily life. PT said my quad is firing enough now that I can unlock my brace and walk around the house without crutches. Sounds likely I’ll be able to drop the brace altogether at the end of next week as well as start driving again… finally.

It’s been a lot of exercises with the NMES and trying to cycle gently as much as I can. Cycling feels good these days, looking forward to adding some resistance and feeling a workout! Next update with the surgeon is in a couple weeks, hopefully everything looks good there.

Can’t wait for next season…


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3 weeks for me on Wed. Down to 1 crutch. Quad firing but still pain at the incision point. Straight leg lifts are the struggle bus but it’s getting better each day. Bend was 105 today so no cycling yet but another 5-10 degrees should
Get me there. Real test this week as I’m back traveling for work. 2 hour drive to be airport tomorrow then a flight to Albuquerque then driving around town. Gonna try and ice tomorrow night as much as possible. I’ll be exhausted by the time I get home on Friday evening.


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Was back to see the PT today, tomorrow is 4 weeks. He said I could stop wearing my brace and using crutches and start driving. Huge news, I’ve been so cooped up and dependent on others until now. I had some meniscus damage too, that’s why the brace until now.

Good luck with your trip MS! I would anticipate some definite stiffness and soreness from the sitting in car and plane, but bring whatever you can to do some exercises while you’re there. At least will be nice to have a change of scenery!


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So last week was the turning point of recovery

after only 112 gym visits I am ok skiing rougher piste, most of the time I am strong enough to lever my way into a marker Baron as opposed to kicking in and so i can see the end of the road

So my time line is I kacked it january 17/2020, surgery sept 29/2020, no skiing in 20/21, skied poorly hurt some 21 & 22, still hurt some skiing in 22 and its just skiing ok now

so thats like 2.5 yrs post op, no noises/ no pain/ it doesnt do anything funny while walking/skiing/ biking and i have never used a brace as per the surgeons rec's,

off to the gym

That's a hella long recovery compared to my experience.

well every knee is different and I am 66 also there was 9 months including covid lockdown just to get in the OR which was still pretty good for the Canadian system, but if you get a new ACL in sept/october there is no way you should be skiing that season I did ski the next season but so badly i almost quit skiing

its progress XXXer, thats good.

I get frustrated when I hear people walking at 4-5 weeks, hell, I was still trying to figure out how to take a shit with a straight leg brace for 8 weeks. BUT, we each have our own schedule.

Im walking, poorly, but walking and up and down stairs. I can walk well with a cane and take my time on form and think about it. Building every day. Squats with no weight, exercise cycle for 15-30 mins cardio/warm up is no prob. Can stand on ACL leg with full weight and do toe taps in off to sides (this one hurts for now). Office PT twice a week with pressure point massage (this helps alot) on the leg. 12 week check up first part of April.

All the home PT is helping ALOT. My only advice for others is to do al the PT, all the time. Be aware of your body, it will tell you when worn out, take a break and back to routine.

yeah the worst thing one can do is listen to guy who sez he was skiing in 6 weeks post op

IMO the main thing is to not push the schedule Cuz in the Canadian universal HC system if I fucked this ACL procedure up I go to the back of the line and do it all over again, at my age i ain't got time to do it again so fucking it up could be the end of skiing and bad for my health in general so I followed it 100%

I was seeing PT every month, buddy told me don't do anything for the 9 months post op and it will be 3 yrs to fully rehab an ACL ( next october ) the gym member ship was a REALLY good idea, I know I was walking before 8 weeks but I don't remember how soon, I just used crutches till I didnt have to,

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Originally Posted by XXX-er

yeah the worst thing one can do is listen to guy who sez he was skiing in 6 weeks post op,

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I am definitely not that guy and I meant no offense with my obseevation. I'm glad you are doing well now.

FWIW I was skiing groomers at 8 months and off piste at 10-11 months. Pretty standard timetable, and nothing was easy.

I really don't understand the anti brace advice from your doc. My surgeon and PT both advocated for the brace. Brace gave me support and confidence to ski harder sooner and made me stronger faster IMO. Just seems weird not to take advantage of that.

when I asked surgeon about a brace buddy said he had blown his ACL and had it repaired, said he quit using his brace after the 1st season, said " if i did this right you shouldn't need a brace " so a definate ambivalance on the brace subject from the perspective of an ACL patient but also a surgeon who had seen the inside of my knee

its more of a hassle up here to get a brace so i just didnt get one,

getting the muscles firing have been my problem the mechanics of the knee have never been an issue

Long shot, but has anyone had the new tightrope technique to repair a full rupture? It's been in play for only one year so relatively new. Wife's ortho (expert acl repair guy) is one of the first around here doing it, says so far so good on his first eight. It evidently shortens recovery and reduces post op pain. Probably pulling the trigger on it but it'd be nice to hear any experiences.

Also, did most/some of you wear a brace skiing the first two years after surgery?

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Originally Posted by Yonder_River

Long shot, but has anyone had the new tightrope technique to repair a full rupture? It's been in play for only one year so relatively new. Wife's ortho (expert acl repair guy) is one of the first around here doing it, says so far so good on his first eight. It evidently shortens recovery and reduces post op pain. Probably pulling the trigger on it but it'd be nice to hear any experiences.

Also, did most/some of you wear a brace skiing the first two years after surgery?

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Never heard of it, not given the option or mentioned at my consult about 2 months ago. I can Google, but any tldr on what the tightrope technique is and how it’s different?

Good luck!


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Originally Posted by yeahman

My surgeon and PT both advocated for the brace. Brace gave me support and confidence to ski harder sooner and made me stronger faster IMO. Just seems weird not to take advantage of that.

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Were you seeing your PT and/or surgeon up until you skied again or did they tell you that from the very beginning? Just curious, I’ve brought up skiing next season almost every time I see them and no one has said anything about a brace yet, but that’s also a ways down the road still.


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Originally Posted by mst1228

Were you seeing your PT and/or surgeon up until you skied again or did they tell you that from the very beginning? Just curious, I’ve brought up skiing next season almost every time I see them and no one has said anything about a brace yet, but that’s also a ways down the road still.


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They pretty much told me from the beginning that if I wanted to hike that summer and elk hunt in the fall and ski in the winter I should get a Don Joy custom brace. The surgeon got my insurance to pay for it. They did not say it was mandatory but seemed to strongly believe it was a good idea. Obviously opinions vary widely but it worked for me.

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Originally Posted by mst1228

Never heard of it, not given the option or mentioned at my consult about 2 months ago. I can Google, but any tldr on what the tightrope technique is and how it’s different?

Good luck!


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I don't know much about it other than it's a new way to re-attach the acl together without using auto/allo graph. It's an internal bracing technique that uses sutures that can be retensioned throughout the surgery. My wife's rupture is evidently the best scenario to utilize it as it's proximal to the bone.

Supposedly crutches for 10 days, biking in 30 and running in two months which is a much better scenario than a reconstruction and no skiing next season. The odd's of complications does go up though from 3% to 7% which I assume is based on a limited sample size as it's only been done on humans for a short time.

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Originally Posted by yeahman

I really don't understand the anti brace advice from your doc. My surgeon and PT both advocated for the brace. Brace gave me support and confidence to ski harder sooner and made me stronger faster IMO. Just seems weird not to take advantage of that.

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First thing buddy said to me in 1st video confrence is " do you know you have the knee of a teenager ? " apparently I have a great knee, it just no longer had an ACL, might be good genes , duno ??

I ran into one of the local long time ski racer/ ski coachs last week, she was sporting a Donjoy on the outside of her speed suit, sez she blew her ACL so she is skiing/ coaching with no ACL, sez it doesnt hurt to ski, she is not into pain, not in any hurry to get cut on and she has the same surgeon

so I think the answer might be every knee is different

Interested in the tightrope technique and found this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSCAN3amuSI&amp;t=1s

Hmmm.

My experience in brief: Full ACL tear a few years back. 2 weeks later, surgery with new ligament sourced from quad tendon where it attaches to knee area.
Pt 3 days later; 3 times a week for about 8 weeks. Wore a donjoy for about 3 days. Really only needed it for that long.
Had a 48 hr nerve block so that helped. Altho I went to PT religiously, I did not spend much extra time working out. Just went back to working and carefully worked it out in tiny bits.
Doc said no brace needed so long as I promised to ski very carefully and smart.
Might have tried the donjoy once and realized it was a no go for turns, for me.
Got a few sleeve type supports, found one I liked and used it on/off that season. Have had some issues at outside of knee so started wearing it again this season as it helps the pain stay minimal.

I had to wait >9 months to get under the knife in the Canadian system which was actualy pretty good as wait times go, I wonder if having to wait close to a year for an MRI/ surgeon in the Canadian system means the patient loses a bunch of conditioning which of course makes coming back that much harder ??

edit: PT said an ACL was 3 yrs to fully recover and I did it in 2.5 yrs so pretty happy with that, go to the gym folks