My ACL story

[rpress]

I thought I'd post up my ACL story so far as I appreciate reading others as well.

About 1.5 years ago I crashed on my dirt bike; front end washed out and my lower leg was trapped between the ground and the handlebar while my body rotated outward. I heard a loud pop and of course my knee was fubar.

Went to Kaiser and they said give it a few months of rest. They said it didn't feel too bad in their hands but to me it was very wobbly. After 6 months there was still pain inside my knee and they scope'd it. I specifically asked about my ACL and the doc said he'd check it out while in there. He ended up removing 25% of the lateral meniscus. I was awake (albeit on some good drugs) and I didn't remember him looking at the ACL on the video screen. I asked after and he said the ACL was fine.

The pain inside the knee went away but it was still popped out occasion, and also after a sprain or two of my MCL, my doc said to give it more time. I asked for another doctor. This other one (also at Kaiser) said that my knee wasn't wobbly, and that it was psychological, aka it was all in my head. I mentioned that I think my ACL was damaged, and I also showed how when I pushed on my leg it came apart (kind of a pivot shift test.) Give it more time they said.

At that point I asked Dr. Mark on the forum and he said my ACL was most likely bad and he could fix it. Unfortunately I couldn't afford it. It was great to actually talk to someone who believed me though! Thanks Dr. Mark.

So sprain after sprain I went back to the doctor. After a year had gone by since the initial injury and a dozen or so MCL sprains they agreed to go in and check it again and do a possible ACL reconstruction. I also now had PFS on that knee so we both agreed a patella graft was not a good idea. I mentioned an opposite patella graft and the surgeon was not comfortable doing that because he thought it silly to screw up both knees. I didn't want to go against what my surgeon wanted so we agreed on the quad hamstring graft. Problem is I had to wait 4 months for a surgery appt!

So here I am today. Post-op 1 week with a new hamstring-tendon ACL. He said the old ACL was torn off the tibia, just a stump in the breeze. Hmmm, why didn't he see that on the first scope? Probably cause he forgot to check. A little more damage to the meniscus too. Graft dia was 7mm which is a bit on the small side but should be ok he says.

Pain so far post-op has been a 1-2 level, not bad at all. I am gently testing range of motion and it looks like I get about 110-0, which is good I think. I am pretty flexible to begin with. I am also walking in the house w/o crutches, keeping the leg elevated and iced, mostly staying in bed. I changed the dressing today and the swelling is not bad either. By far the worst pain is in my back from laying in bed.

In another week I get the staples/sutures out and start PT.

[rpress]

Here is a pic of my legs 1wk post-op.

[whisky]

Guess I'm not the only one with a little muscle atrophy.

Glad to hear things are progressing for you.

[airborn]

I'm confused. Why would a doctor put his reputation on the line when all he had to do was have a MRI done. My MRI was checked by a Doctor at Bronson then the Doctor I was seeing. What lead him to the the MRI was he compared both kneees after a 8mo follow up on my collar bone. I don't recall the test but I believe it starts with a L....... Any way a week later I followed up and the 1st two words he said were torn acl.

Now I'm 4wk with a new ACL. I'm told that for the next 2 wks I must be careful to not to jump or do any thing kicking. I'm kicking recovery in the but compared to most patients my PT has seen. I haven't been allowed to do a full quad stretch yet due to my medial meniscus reapair. 10 miles a day on bike though. Speeds of 12-22mph depends on wind.

[rpress]

I'm confused. Why would a doctor put his reputation on the line when all he had to do was have a MRI done. My MRI was checked by a Doctor at Bronson then the Doctor I was seeing. What lead him to the the MRI was he compared both kneees after a 8mo follow up on my collar bone. I don't recall the test but I believe it starts with a L....... Any way a week later I followed up and the 1st two words he said were torn acl.

Now I'm 4wk with a new ACL. I'm told that for the next 2 wks I must be careful to not to jump or do any thing kicking. I'm kicking recovery in the but compared to most patients my PT has seen. I haven't been allowed to do a full quad stretch yet due to my medial meniscus reapair. 10 miles a day on bike though. Speeds of 12-22mph depends on wind.

My doc said he didn't trust MRIs. He did eventually have one done, but at that point the ACL surgery was already scheduled. After looking at the MRI, he still wasn't fully convinced the ACL was torn, but he said it was a possibility.

Glad to hear you are recovering so well. My guess is the test he performed was the Lachman's test. Mine was negative (good) but my pivot shift was positive.

My pain is actually a bit worse now, my shin is very sore and throbs if I stand up for too long. Can't wait to get back on the bike! The doc said stationary bike after 2 weeks is ok.

[rpress]

Guess I'm not the only one with a little muscle atrophy.

Glad to hear things are progressing for you.

Yeah the atrophy sets in pretty fast. I rode my mountain bike a bunch in the previous weeks; I did 50 miles the week before surgery.

My hamstring and quads are working ok now, but the hamstring isn't too happy missing two of it's tendons.

[georgebizpro]

I had the same injury a few months ago. Good luck with rehab. One piece of advice, have your doctor look into a dynamic splint to speed thing up. http://www.dynasplint.com

[SkiBrain]

Thanks for sharing your story and good luck with the rehab. Mine also got misdiagnosed a couple of times, but now heading under the knife in about 3 weeks.