ACL CLASS OF 2016

[mklemanski]

first time posting, long time following. love the forum - keep progressing everyone!

crashed on a fun straightline I had skied a few times before, on 4/1/16. Prognosis: full ACL tear, full MCL tear and damage to medial meniscus. rad!

had surgery on 5/2 using patellar tendon autograft. doc told me they were actually able to save my meniscus (originally were going to cut away) but the tear was on the outside, allowing for a suture repair. longer recovery but happy to save my meniscus - it was not ready to go quite yet. doc told me no weight bearing for 3-4 weeks.

7 days post op and feeling better. first 5 days were pretty brutal in terms of pain. assuming that is from all the bone work done with this graft. follow-up and first PT session tomorrow.

[uglymoney]

^Same accident I had. Shit snow. More speed than I anticipated. Ass handed to me. Humble pie served. First week is the worst. Good luck and welcome jong!

Mt PT lady cleared me to ride a road bike gingerly last week (7 weeks today) but I have just been increasing the intervals and resistance on the stationary bike so far.

[mklemanski]

@uglymoney, same injury too or just torn ACL?

[uglymoney]

Just the acl and meniscus cleanup. MCL was pretty sore but not torn.

[uglymoney]

Rode my road bike for the first time today. I was given the greenish light to ride last week but decided to build up to it on the stationary. I went a little farther and a little faster than I thought I would. Now enjoying the post outdoor exercise calm that has been sorely missing in my life for three months.

[happytimefunbox]

3 weeks post op. 120 degree rom. Started riding the exercise bike last week. Quads are firing pretty good. No real pain, swelling and bruising are about gone. My goal is to be wade fishing with brace on by july, riding mtb by fall and of course skiing by next season. Onward and upward c/o 2016!

[mklemanski]

I like where your head's at Fugitive. Those are my exact same goals. Heal up. Catch Trout. Rip singletrack. Shred pow.

Easy does it for now. 1 day at a time.

[nortonwhis]

Rode my road bike for the first time today. I was given the greenish light to ride last week but decided to build up to it on the stationary. I went a little farther and a little faster than I thought I would. Now enjoying the post outdoor exercise calm that has been sorely missing in my life for three months.

Such a good feeling!

[TeleMiriam]

I was going to start a new thread for those who are struggling but decided not to.

I didn't start driving until week 7 because of excruciating patella pain.

Despite 3 plus hours a day of PT, my quad didn't fully contract until week 8.

Normal gait returned week 10. Still waiting for normal pace to return and I am at week 12. Walking still feels weird and sometimes a little wobbly. Patella is still locking up. I can go up stairs but not down.

I'm not thinking about hiking, biking outside or skiing. Only walking normal.

I still do 3 plus hours of PT at home, the gym and formally. So I don't know what's up.

I'm just looking to share my experience so others who also are struggling and may read this in the future won't be discouraged by missed milestones.

[happytimefunbox]

Good luck telemiriam. I have no advice beyond that and + vibes. I feel kind of bad because mine has gone so well. The recovery period is one of the reasons I went with the allograft. My problem is to not overdo it. I mowed two yards yesterday at less the 4 weeks post op and the knee is sore as hell today. Still wearing my post op knee brace opened to 90 deg. Stubbed by toe on a root ball while mowing had a moment of oh fuck but it was all good. Doc says next week I can go without the brace except for any rough ground travel. Lite hiking is in play with brace on. He says I can fish with the brace on but I will give it a couple more weeks. Allograft takes longer for vascularization of the graft therefore it is weaker for longer, which is the downside of this graft. No running for 5 months. ACL brace for my first ski season. Time to go to the gym for PT.....

[uglymoney]

Do you get a special brace for skiing or just use the standard Breg TSCOPE that everyone has at first? My wife has a motocross friend who has a custom carbon brace.

Good luck Telemiriam. I am sure your post is appreciated. I am following someone on Instagram that is also behind the curve and it is tough. There is enough to worry about already. I did the patella thing and have no regrets at all so far... other than being a little tight and poppy until it warms up it feels okay but does like to remind you of its presence! Going down stairs still takes focus for sure.

[powdrhound]

I had two allografts in 2003-4. Was told by my surgeon and the PT's Not to wear my braces any more. The braces had given me 8 and 11 years without ACL's. But they told me to continue building the muscles and not rely on the braces.
So, no braces post-op, no braces now.
I don't miss them at all.

[snowgage]

Hey Ugly Monkey.. I'd definitely say get a brace for sports. I am at 6 months and wear mine when I am doing anything that could result in trauma.. For sure when I am riding my mountain bike and definitely when I am trail running downhill. I've heard that grafts can take up to 12 months to regain 100% strength. Why risk blowing it out again when your brace can protect you in the event of hyperextension etc. I wrecked on my MTB last week and landed directly on my knee. I was super glad I had my brace on.

I'll start next ski season with it on but hope to someday ween off it. My PT says that I won't loose any strength by wearing it so maybe I'll stay in it longer.

[Vinman]

I just had my ACL done yesterday. Double bundle hamstring auto graft with a cadaver augmentation plus a stem cell injection to the graft. Also partial menisectomy and chondral defect micro fracture. When I do things I do it right I guess.

It's been a long time since I posted regularly but but right now I'm on medical leave I'll be posting a bit more.

[uglymoney]

Hey Ugly Monkey.. I'd definitely say get a brace for sports. I am at 6 months and wear mine when I am doing anything that could result in trauma.. For sure when I am riding my mountain bike and definitely when I am trail running downhill. I've heard that grafts can take up to 12 months to regain 100% strength. Why risk blowing it out again when your brace can protect you in the event of hyperextension etc. I wrecked on my MTB last week and landed directly on my knee. I was super glad I had my brace on.

I'll start next ski season with it on but hope to someday ween off it. My PT says that I won't loose any strength by wearing it so maybe I'll stay in it longer.

What brand of brace do you have? Did insurance cover it? I see my doc this Tuesday so I plan to ask him about it. I will be 9 months out on December 21st. Today I am a couple days shy of 10 weeks and I feel pretty good and life seems to be returning to normal.

[HVskier]

I hit 4 months out last week. I decided it was time to hit some trails so I've been on 4 relatively short and easy mountain bike rides in the last 5 days. I'm making sure to take it easy too and everything has felt fine. I also went for a moderate 4ish mile hike yesterday and while I felt mostly fine during I did get some increased swelling and stiffness later.

My doctor gave me an Ossur CTI brace before surgery and I've been wearing that for most activity. Insurance covered most of the cost of the brace.

[snowgage]

I have a DonJoy Defiance.. It's pretty comfortable and I can easily wear it running and it doesnt really bug me. Insurance covered the whole thing.. I'll definitely be wearing it next year once I get back on skis. It totally helps with confidence..

[uglymoney]

I just had my ACL done yesterday. Double bundle hamstring auto graft with a cadaver augmentation plus a stem cell injection to the graft. Also partial menisectomy and chondral defect micro fracture. When I do things I do it right I guess.

It's been a long time since I posted regularly but but right now I'm on medical leave I'll be posting a bit more.

I thought I'd post a lot more but PT takes a lot of time and I became a full time soccer dad and kindergarten helper to my daughter. Good luck. Hit the PT hard.

I hit 4 months out last week. I decided it was time to hit some trails so I've been on 4 relatively short and easy mountain bike rides in the last 5 days. I'm making sure to take it easy too and everything has felt fine. I also went for a moderate 4ish mile hike yesterday and while I felt mostly fine during I did get some increased swelling and stiffness later.

My doctor gave me an Ossur CTI brace before surgery and I've been wearing that for most activity. Insurance covered most of the cost of the brace.

Thanks for the info. The brace they gave me before surgery is kind of burdensome. I wear it at work because of restrictions my Doc gave me and it sucks.

I have a DonJoy Defiance.. It's pretty comfortable and I can easily wear it running and it doesnt really bug me. Insurance covered the whole thing.. I'll definitely be wearing it next year once I get back on skis. It totally helps with confidence..

Cool thanks for info. I saw my surgeon today and he told me I didn't need a brace when I go back to skiing but obviously everyone has an opinion. I'm going to continue to think about it I guess and see how the knee feels. He also made it sound like I can get back on the water a little bit later this fall.

I also had a chance to talk to him about the surgery a little bit. He told me it was just a straight acl patella autograph. My meniscus was totally fine and he didn't touch it. Pre surgery he thought he was going to have to trim it and clean it up a bit but he didn't have to do a thing...maybe he told me that post op but it is all kind of hazy and I kept forgetting to ask him. That is the good news but he also said he thought that I have a bit more arthritis than most people my age (45) but that I shouldn't be too concerned or alter my activities.

10 weeks out and my knee is feeling really strong. When my FMLA ran out a couple weeks ago I went back to work pretty much full on (with brace) and that seems to really be helping. 10-12 hours on my feet walking and moving stuff around and I get no swelling and the knee feels a bit stronger everyday. 2 weeks till I can run around a bit hopefully!

[Vinman]

I thought I'd post a lot more but PT takes a lot of time and I became a full time soccer dad and kindergarten helper to my daughter. Good luck. Hit the PT hard.

I guess I'll have no one to blame but myself if I screw this up. In my real job, I'm a certified athletic trainer and I'm usually on the other end of these rehabs.......

[yeahman]

I got a Don Joy custom-fit brace on the recommendation of my PT. It's comfortable enough. I wore it skiing all winter. It didn't really provide much if any support, hence I don't think it was slowing my muscle development, it was just a backup (supposedly) in case of trauma like hyperextension of whatever. Not sure if I'll wear it next year. I'll probably start with it. Insurance ended up paying for it after some wrangling (they wanted to know why I didn't just get one of the off-the-shelf braces available as opposed to custom).

[mklemanski]

posting an update. i know i found other people's updates super helpful before and after surgery, so here goes.

30 days post-op today. I tore my ACL/MCL and meniscus. i had acl reconstruction using patellar tendon and meniscal repair with a stitch. MCL healing on its own. ditched single crutch on day 21 and walking with brace. cleared to walk without brace at home and work. Doing PT twice a week at a rehab facility and at home everyday. ROM is about 108 and i can make full rotation on the bike.

Overall, taking it one day at a time, playing it real conservative. My plan is regain full ROM by end of June, proactively start building muscle in July and sport specific training in August. Hoping to get back on some mellow single track this fall and ready to ease back into skiing this winter (decemberish, which will be about 7 mo. post op).

take this for what it's worth. everyone's recovery/surgery/injury is completely unique but keep your spirits up! positive mindset is probably the best therapy. heal up everyone!

[xcrunner97]

I originally severed my ACL snowboarding the second week in January 2016. I was jumping a set of 4, 5ft urban ledges. Completely overshot the landing zone (or whatever we had set up so we didn't die) and landed on iced over hard-pack snow.

I heard a loud pop and knew something was up. I got out of my bindings and tried to stand up but fell right back down. My knee felt like it was on fire, but there were people watching so i sucked it up and walked on it. Don't get me wrong it hurt, but not as bad as I would've imagined. So I wasn't very concerned with trying to get an MRI or anything. I went to a doctor the next day, he thought I hyper extended it, gave me a brace and sent me on my way. I was off snow for about a week and a half. during that time I focused on walking, taking advil, and not hurting it more. Then I rode out the rest of the season.

I'm at Grand Targhee btw. anyway, I didn't stop snowboarding. I was fine. There were times where I would land hard or twist fast and it would hurt really bad for about 3-4 minutes, then I'd get back up and keep shredding. I did that (hurt it while snowboarding) about 8-10 times. And towards the end of the season I had no problems at all. During this time I was also attending yoga class 4-5 times a week and swimming/ diving 2-3 nights a week. granted, during yoga class I had to pay special attention to my knee because my range of motion was not very good, but I worked on that and almost regained full range of motion. I came back home from college, continued working, and completley forgot about my knee. I had no pain.

Recently, second week in July, I was playing basketball and my knee completely gave out again. I finally decided to see a doctor for an MRI, and found at at that time that my ACL had been torn for the better part of 7 months (since the January incident).

I had surgery 12 days ago. I chose the Patellar Tendon Graft. and had a small medial meniscal tear. So far I can bend to about 83-85 degrees and am at 1-0 degrees extension. I am not walking with out the assistance of crutches yet. During my first pt visit (pre-op) my therapist said I had the best range of motion for any ACL tear he's seen. I was pretty happy about that.

Post op I am experiencing little to NO pain in my knee/patellar tendon/ incision sites. I am however having tons of pain on the inside of my shin. With a little bit of research I found this was because of my bone bleeding from the surgery? idk, but I read it goes away with in a few weeks. Hopefully towards the end of this week I will be walking.


cheers

[HVskier]

Not many updates here...How's everybody doing now that the season is almost upon us?

I'm nearing 9 months and have been feeling pretty fit riding the mountain bike. I just started a ski fitness class last week at the local rec center and overall felt better than I expected. Dynamic movements, strength training and running all felt good. I did find I was missing a little range of motion and had some notable hamstring tightness. There is definitely still a noticeable size difference in my quads and some lack of confidence so I probably should be doing more single leg exercises. I haven't done much training aside from the bike and some hiking and light jogging since PT ended in July.

Biking season has progressed pretty well on the xc side but I have been a little conservative and have avoided the more difficult freeride/dh trails. I have done some easier lift served dh and jumping though late in the summer. Probably would have hit the dh trails this month but the snow came in a little earlier than I've seen in the past.

The ski season started for many around here a little over a week ago with what looked like deep conditions. I did not partake, early season pow with no base didn't sound like a smart thing to try and I feel like I could use more gym time as well. Maybe do some skinning and testing of the waters when the next opportunity arises.

[wyeaster]

take care of those knees.

[uglymoney]

Not much to report and that is a good thing. I am 6.5 months and my knee is starting to feel solid. At 4.5 months I climbed a 14er. The route up was easy...the route down took me a while. At 6 months I was finally able to work without the brace (precautionary) and that really helped...That brace can go to hell. At 6.5 months it feels so much better than a month ago. My doc cleared me to waterski/ski but I am not going to do anything till December. Right now I am working on running better. Road biking and spinning in the basement. Forcing myself to stick with PT to get this quad built up. Not having to think about me knee every second is the best part. I have little to no pain after a short warmup period and the knee only gets wonky if I push it for 12 hours straight or try to run faster or longer than it wants to go. I'm a stronger person for having gone through this and it has also forced me to question and think about my future and the paths I am going to choose.