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I shredded my ACL at Meadows on 2-13. Just had surgery today. Dr got a nice 7.5mm hamstring tendon to replace it. There was an odd looking area in my meniscus in the MRI, it was fine no work on the meniscus needed. I should be back to the mountain in Dec/Jan.
rehab hard, good sir!
Back in 2010, I broke both bones in my lower right leg. An errant piece of a lawnmower blade hit me. It took about a year for a full recovery. But I had a bad bone infection and Splat hadn't invented his cream yet.
I hope your rehab goes well also!
Good luck! I am 7 weeks out of ACL repair and had my first (cautious) moves on the climbing wall this week. Physio is the key, even more with reconstruction than with repair. Hit the PT hard, but not too hard, and be prepared for a long journey.
jesus fuck that sucks!Quote:
Originally Posted by GSinister
hey k2 if you need help with anything let me know. i'm free after noon most days.
Yo K2, I had surgery on my acl 8 days ago. Took a piece of my quadricep tendon, my doctor's preference, as a replacement graft.
Blew it on the summit of Big sky on 4/4, had surgery in JH on 4/26, started PT on 4/30.
Starting to put some weight on it but easy to start...
Plan on buying my 19-20 ski pass by 5/31!!
I haven't heard of anyone opting for their own tendon for quite awhile. How's the second surgery site? What was your docs sales pitch for new is better than used?
Im going the same route 5/17. ACL had to have been partially torn most of the season, but i finished it off day1 in yurp. Put a bandaid on it and rallied for 20 more days and it was no prob in soft snow, but i have to be guarded while walking the dog.Quote:
Originally Posted by Djongo Unchained
Almost 30 yrs to the day since I tore it the first time.
Bear with me on the details here:
My local guy has a long stellar history here, so there's that. Most all are excellent here of course.
I think he said that most surgeons take it from the hamstring, and he felt that was more painful for recovery. And maybe slower to heal.
The incision point is tiny, under a bandage and not particularly painful at the moment.
I go in for a post-op visit on Monday and will ask for a better explanation.
I'm just glad to get a hurdle or two behind me.
edit: Dang, the ACL class of 2019 is really rounding out well.
Lone peak just eats knees for breakfast. Mine was a TPF on 3/8 on the summit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Djongo Unchained
Thanks. Almost all the people I know have gone the cadaver route so interesting to hear about this methodQuote:
Originally Posted by Djongo Unchained
My Dr used hamstring. Yes the hammy is killing me today. I may have moved it a little too much on the first day, but I was told to walk with crutches and start bending it right away. I think the nerv numbing may have given me a false sense of the pain. Plus I hate Oxy, makes me feel weird if I have more than 5mgQuote:
Originally Posted by Djongo Unchained
Quote:
Originally Posted by GSinister
Thanks! will doQuote:
Originally Posted by wyeaster
I skied BBI19 with 1 ACL. Thankfully the Volkls bindings didn't work or I prolly woulda tried to ski them...yes I'm that dumb.Quote:
Originally Posted by Djongo Unchained
I may pull the trigger on the Meadows Gold pass if there's any left, after my post op check up on the 20th
Gold passes all gone
Day 2 was some of the worst pain I've ever had. Day 3 is practically nothing
Yup, the second day after surgery seems to be the worst pain
Just noticed - You injured your knee on my B-day
So my anesthetist asks me before the surg, do I want a 1 day or 3 day pain block?
WTF is that exactly?
He says it numbs the whole leg with a needle insertion right at top of thigh at nerve. Unless PT starts asap, then 3 day is good.
I say PT will be a few days/week out to start so he gives me the 3day.
Combined with the hydrocodone every 4 hrs, I had very minor pain.
ANTI-JINX...
All the advice here was to stay ahead of it and I am surprised it wasn't any worse. I wish your surgeries were as low pain as mine. So far...
Mcski - Got an 11 am meetup with main doctor and will look into graft preference rationale...
10 days after surg, my muscles are struggling to come back. Had almost 3 weeks to atrophy. Each day is noticeably better but not as stable as I kinda hoped. Otoh, it's been a relatively easy week to regroup my faculties so that helps.
Positive vibes to you guys...
What kind of rehab are you dong at 4 days? My recommendation was flexing knee and ankle with some leg raises
Ok ,here's my unload of info:
My timeline for PT was like this...surg on fri. morn; In at 7 and home by 1pm.
hydrocodone every 4 hours without fail for fear of getting behind the pain.
In the full leg brace 24/7 until Monday noon, first visit to Dr. He says looks good, use the brace mostly in event of a catastrophic fall.
I'm not going far/moving much so I stop wearing it that day. too bulky and heavy.
Feels much better. Still on meds.
Go in for first PT meetup on Tuesday afternoon; have been trying to twist ankle in circles, fore/aft, just anything that will move on its own. Wiggling toes feels gooood.
My thigh, knee and calf/shin were not moving without assistance. Not at all...the muscles went from skiing every day for2-6 hrs to fucking nada for almost 3 weeks before the operation; torn on 4/4 and fixed on 4/26.
That downtime was good for me and the surgery overall, but bad for the leg muscles. And I think I might have damaged the muscles a bit as well but only just now putting it all together in my head.
The 3 day pain block may have lasted into the fourth, Monday. At the Tuesday session she told me how the program would go and we jumped into a coupla exercises, then she took a measure of straight and bent angles.
The next two sessions include some muscle massage to wake it up and then stretching and a final measure.
I'm 11 days from the Operation and am gonna put the brace on and see how much I can weight it later. Not overload, but I've only been weighting it a little with crutches or a walker as a support/backup.
I definitely feel that the muscles have recognized that it's time to stop sitting and start moving, they respond with a little pain and that good feeling one gets from stretching after a big day before.
Mcski - I asked about the graft options; Doc says cadaver stuff is no longer preferred. It was popular for a while because of less work to harvest one from the patient, than just have it sitting there, ready. Less intrusion and anesthesia time. Then their durability became an issue, maybe a 30% fail rate, roughly.
On which to use, My Doc prefers the quad over the Hammy because it's the bigger of the two and you lose some function of the HS when you deduct about a 1/3 of it's connection point. Less loss of muscle attachment means more return of functional mass.
He says osteo docs are getting away from the patellar tendon cuz it has more pain from kneeling potential as well as if it has a future rupture on the PT, it can be a real bad problem.
He pointed out that in general, the science is so strong and the numbers are refined enough that none have an outstanding edge on each other. The best Docs are all gonna have a preferred method based on their experiences. Mine somewhat helped developed the Quad approach and has had top tier status here in JH for quite a while now. He designed the special tools for the graft harvest and application technique. He's really pleasant and cool. The other top tier guy around here was a notorious douchebag to clients.
I am far from being a doc and can rarely remember too much, so bear with that info if something don't jibe for yas.
Good info. Thanks for the deets
I had 10 weeks to heal up and strengthen from injury to surgery. I averaged 4, nine hole rounds of golf a week to strength up the knee and leg before surgery.
My first post-op is in 2 weeks
Sounds like you may have done more damage than I did.
Heal up good my friend
Thanks to ya as well. Been motoring around with my new kinda friend, the Leg Brace. It was almost straight but the adjuster worked nicely and it's pretty cush now.
Interesting that you got back to healthy enough before surgery. I wonder how that might have worked for me. Or against.
I had a full tear of the Acl. not sure of where on the ligament. The meniscus had flopped from the outside in, towards the center of the knee, creating the 'Bucket handle' scenario. I was concerned about messing the cartilage up in there more so we went with sooner over later on the surgery docket.
Right after the Doc got back from a Caribe' vacation. He was very relaxed.
Mcski - Sorry,missed a coupla yer Q's. : the second site was tiny, really maybe an inch w/2 stitches. Super minor though I didn't stare at it. Some fresh tape after a cleanover wipe then a waterproof bandage and away I went. Then main Incision across the knee looked smooth, clean and healthy. Maybe 4 inches in a straight (ish) line...
The intrusion into the top of the Tib(?) to place the bone screw thangy is a tense point but trying not to antagonize it.
I have a partial tear on the Mcl, and haven't discussed it beyond that it heals itself as a blood flowing ligament. I gotta believe that's a part of the inner lower part of the knee pain areas.
There was no sales pitch and no pressure. Man, he was going to the Turks in the AM so he coulda cared less if I wanted him to do in that regard. In a 50 mile radius, you know there's quite a few great osteos and some have more mileage than others. I picked the older,and most active and highly regarded one I could find. He is likely considered the Ace in the Hole.
The other knee guys would have him do their knee.
I bailed on the offer for a re-up on the meds today. Might reverse course on that. Not that I'm digging them so much, never really been a pill guy, but now that I'm working the leg and joints a little bit, I can see pushing into a little pain, frequently. Not hurting, but not clucking around either. Ready to go, ya know.
I went from 4th gear to first in a heartbeat. My whole world just went over the handlebars.
Check out this thread:
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...-of-2017/page7
4 days after, looking good!
Attachment 281793
That does look reasonably good, considering...
You might want to think about getting your legs out in the sun for a bit :fm:
Just got about 2 weeks of golf in shorts before surgery. I gots the best golfer/farmer tan mid summer
Joined this club on May 8th. Went with a bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft with a bit of meniscus trim for an appetizer. My doc feels the patellar option gives the strongest connection points, most realistic "feel," and quickest recovery as long as you are active with the PT. Off the Oxy for three days now, so the words and shit are starting to flow. Walking (not really comfortably, but walking) without crutches as of today (7 days out). Doc warned me that at 6 weeks the bone connection points will be super solid, but the new ACL will not be; that's when people typically start feeling good and rupture it again.
My severed ACL looks like a sea creature that never sees light:
Attachment 282728
New ACL made from the middle section of my patellar tendon:
Attachment 282729
MRI of my meniscus showing "shredded" areas:
Attachment 282731
Mini-clipper device called the "toilet seat" trimming the meniscus (video was epic):
Attachment 282732
Today is 3 weeks outta surgery. I feel like I can put about 3/4 weight on it, no major pain, just tension from everything going back to normal distances. Using a Tylenol and an IB daily but nothing else.
Got my flexion to 104 degrees, up from 95 in 2 days.
Reading others experiences about not getting a full recovery because they got lazy with the PT, has motivated me.
My old bod was hanging tough at 53, so I really can't let it go downhill now. I ain't the most exercise oriented guy here so it's a challenge.
The muscle atrophy may be one of the biggest hurdles. I sat around for 2 1/2 weeks prior to surgery trying not to worsen the out-of-place meniscus. Most was saved so hopefully it helped there.
Scars are healing nicely and pain only really comes with the stretching. But then it mostly disappears and I get a little adrenaline bump for an hour or two.
Feeling real positive at the moment and hoping for a recovery more solid than I might have expected early on.
How's it going for you K2? GregL? Mofro went in today, right?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Djongo Unchained
Glad to hear Djongo, sort of key to hit the rehab solid, but like gregL said not overly aggressive.
Woozy AF at yhe moment so my phone typing sucks, but doc ended up going with bpb tendon graft instead of quadtrendon. I think the scar tissue clean up was a little more extensive than anticipated , that knee hadnt been scoped in 30yrs. Kinda sucks it hurts more right now than when it happened or the next 20 days still skiing on it bustered.
I started hitting my rehab prog as soon as I returned from euroland, at least 30-45 spinning along with closed chain strenghening exercises. Damn if I was this strong again when it happened it proabanly wouldbt have happened and my season wouldnt have ended 5 days shy of triple digits but such is life. I woke up and told them I could flex the quad still, and the doc asked me not to so ima kick back with the oxy and try to get the surgical trauma to heal before I start up again. See doc day 5 because doc always goes fishin in AK with his kid over Memorial.
:)
Mofro - good to hear you're out, up and at 'em.
I'm def tiptoeing with the rehab. As much as I want it to be normal, I'm not hurrying it for sure. I decided the PT sessions were better for me than being on my own recognizance with the homework so I upped it from 2 days a week to three.
For the first 3 days I just dosed up and lounged, hoping any pain would pass, mostly unnoticed. Which it did...
Both you guys heal up strong, you have many seasons of kicking my ass left to perform...
^What he said... T-minus six months.
missed this earlier, i guess. get well soon!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mofro261
Glad you all are on the mend...!
2 weeks yesterday. I did too much the first week, now I think I may have dialed it back too much
Monday I get to find out what the doc says.
Still quite a bit swollen. Started walking without crutches for small distances 1.5 weeks after. Mainly using 1 crutch and that's working well.
Today is my first day off opioids, 9 days oxy 5 days hydro
Yah, my doc insisted on getting strong enough that you start thinking "maybe I don't need surgery" before he cut. I did 3-a-days on the stationary bike right up until the morning of the surgery. He takes a pretty aggressive approach - BC skier, bike racer, former head physician for the Chargers - and works with an equally agressive but sensible PT crew.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mofro261
We'll see how it goes, but 12 days out I'm walking pretty well without crutches and the brace locked at 30 degrees, will try the bike tomorrow but I doubt I'll be able to get the crank all the way around over the top.
17 days after surgery, my first post-op. -5* full extension, but 100% extension achieved with supporting heel and quad flex. Flexation at 110* without straining.
Doc said for a 57 yo fucker I had excellent cartilage and was impressed with my flexation
24 days out from surgery. PT on M-W-F and got 95*,104*, and 111* increases in flexion and probably 3-5* from full flatout. Pedal almost went over the top today, they keep teasing me cuz it usually kind of freaks people out.
3 times a week for an hour, massage muscles then tweak to max distance before pain sets in. Never hurts more than 3/10. Then an adrenaline up...
Hardly take any meds, even IB's.
Using the sportsbrace when out and about.
Can't quite go it alone weight bearing so using crutches/walker, and single crutching a little. Feels like the sensations come back noticeably more each day and confidence in the knee grows.
Unlike some of you I didn't keep my legs in shape between wreckage and surg. Although my good leg has been getting a workout. Otoh, my legs were as strong as they were gonna be when this happened.
I feel good about the progress to time and pain ratio.
Some good advice I received was to not compare my pace with anyone else's. Each of our experiences is unique with some similarities.
It snowed here an inch today. So I had that going for me, which was nice.
Damn, all the best Greg.Quote:
Originally Posted by gregL
You need roughly 100-120 degrees of flexion for riding a bike. But if your PT has a stationary bike where you can shorten the pedals you can get on that earlier. (W shorten i mean the distance from pedal to axle).