[chevilicousParticipant]

   Hey I’m just wondering if there is anybody on this site that has had this injury at all, I tore mine in June of this year playing ball just on a simple stop and pop that I’ve done a million times before. However i have yet to reconstructive surgery and thinking about getting it soon. I’ve played on it a couple times since, and although the pain is very minimal I can’t explode like i used to, and there is a constant shifting in the knee area which is to be expected. But i was wondering 2 things #1 how long your recovery period was until you could actually get out and play a long period of time without any problems and #2 How the knee itself felt afterwards, if it was weak, stiff , or anything of that nature. I know allot of this has to do mentally after recovery and trusting your body, but I was just curious.

[Bmore_DCParticipant]

yea man i feel your pain…i tore mine about 4 years ago and i play ball 2-3 times a week now…

to answer your questions: 

1 – the recovery time seemed like it took forever…i think it was around 6 months before i could walk and/or jog

2 – sometimes my knee gives me some problems, stiffness, pain…but the more you play and the more you lift weights and strenghten the knee, the better you will feel…sometimes if i dont play for a couple days or weeks, it will give me some problems after running on it.

 

my biggest advice is to do the physical therapy…it sucks, its terrible, it hurts, and its boring…but its the best way to stenghten your knee and get your stride back…do it!

oh and dont get hooked on the pain meds! thats actually a big problem

[ProudGrandpaParticipant]

When I opened this thread, I was praying it wasn’t about Robbie Hummel. 

[chevilicousParticipant]

Good stuff man, I was really curious cause I’ve heard mixed stories on it and I’m just plain itching to start playing again, and i did plan on taking the physical therapy, it just sounds like a crazy process to get back to where i was before the injury, and just the simplest of tasks will take months to get back to doing!

[Bmore_DCParticipant]

 yea but everything happens for a reason and this is just a test…theres nothing you cant handle 

[Mr. ChicagoParticipant]

I tore everything in my knee over two years ago. I would definitely recommend surgery sooner rather than later (I had patella surgery, where they shave the patella tendon to recreate an ACL). http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/aclrepain/a/aclgrafts.htm.

Definitely go into physical therapy right away afterwards, and the most important thing to know is it is higly debilitating recovery. Getting discouraged is easy, especially when your mobility is low. Follow your therapists/trainers/doctors advice, and just keep at it.

Good luck. Definitely been there.

[Bmore_DCParticipant]

also, i forgot to add…hopefully you will schedule your surgery (soon) but what really helped me is not only the physical therapy AFTER but also the physical therapy BEFORE surgery…

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I tore my ACL quite awhile ago, but just had surgery this past April. Here’s my advice… Stop procrastinating and have the surgery! That way you don’t risk your knee continually slipping out of place and creating more wear and tear/scar tissue.

Pre-Surgery Advice:

– Go to a great doctor, who’ll go the extra mile. Not one who’ll  just cut you open, stitch you up and put you out.

– Have them use a cadaber ligament instead of just taking a ligament from your patella tendon. The ending result will be better using a cadaber ligament and your knee will be stronger.

Post-Surgery Advice:

– You’re going to have A LOT of pain and swelling. Take your medicine, ELEVATE (as high as you can) and ICE. Be consistent with it. Live by it.

– AS SOON as you think you can at least move your leg a little, START doing it. I mean, do foot pumps and circles. Trust me, it’ll help. Don’t be a lazy bum.

PHYSICAL THERAPY

– This is sooo important. It hurts like a b*tch, but be consistent and stay positive. You may not have a lot of range of motion at first, but it’ll come. You just have to work at it, despite the pain. And when you are well enough to walk and pick back up the regular things in life, don’t get comfortable and satisfied. Keep doing your physical therapy. Whatever you do though… Don’t let that scar tissue build up. And make sure you massage your patella and push it side to side.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

To add to what I wrote above…

It takes time. Even when you’re off of the crutches, etc you’ll still feel stiffness from time to time. Make sure you go to your doctor appointments, etc. I just had one not too long ago and due to stiffness, they did a X-Ray just to make sure everything looked right. They’ll check out the alignment of your kneecap, etc. They’ll give me a MRI at my 1 year if I’m still feeling stiffness.

I’ll also have the option of removing the screw (they put a screw in your knee to hold up the ACL graph), because that could be causing the stiffness.

But you really just have to stay positive. Some days are better than others for me. I’m not running full speed yet… Just jogging. I even still have problems walking downstairs at times… I just feel a little pain/stiffness. It takes time. This is honestly a two year injury to heal 100%.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

Never tore my ACL or had a knee injury to that extent, but I hear a lot of doctors online saying that you won’t lose any ability if you rehab right, or you may even become better because your knee will become stronger. Is this true, or a myth? Because I’ve seen many people that have torn there ACL and have never been the same.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

It depends on a few things…

Age – Youth is always good.

Your physical fitness before the injury – IF you already have great quad strength, etc you’ll have a much higher chance to get back to 100%. That’s why athletes are able to return faster than regular people… Because their quads are jacked.

Work ethic – How hard you go at it in physical therapy is the key.

And then just regular things like like being responsible and taking care of the knee the right way during the healing process, etc.

[chevilicousParticipant]

@ IndianaBasketball

Thanks for the advice man, I’ve been dreading getting it done for like the past 5 months due to the fact i didn’t really know the total effects of the surgery, and literally went from playing pickup games 3-4 times a week to barely being able to sit in the gym and put up jumpshots at a jogging pace. I’ve had multiple ankle injuries over the years since middle school ball and have been able to shake them off quickly, but this has been a whole other monster, it just sucks having an unstable feeling of the knee going out it’s the weirdest thing ive ever felt.

[iguapops420Participant]

 Tore my ACL in 08 and never got it taken to the docto9r and while it did heal somewhat, it’s still not any form of corrrect. Tries to pop out of place on me, i have quick bursts which are good for the halfcourt, but my end to end speed has become limited as has my ability to explode to the rim. My advice, get it taken care of bro, before it becomes a constant pain. I wish i hadn’t been so stubborn, but i was able to jump and stuff still so i thought it wasn’t bad enough. Again, 3 years later, here I am, wishing i had made a more mature decision.

[OhCanada-Participant]

I tore mine as well. You may think it will never heal, although it will. Took me about a year before I could walk properly without thinking about how I took my step. I laid in bed for months with an ice bag constantly on my knee which I was later told was the wrong thing to do for the swelling. Build up strength within that knee ASAP, dont be afraid to push the knee a little bit. The pain is normal, the swelling is normal, and you may get a little down and feel hopeless. The good thing is you can stay positive, you will be fine. If you take the rehab your knee should be able to get back to about 95%. Some things you may realize as well is that during the morning you really have to stretch or you will be very stiff. Dont shower with water too hot or it will cause your knee to be kinda shifty. During rainy weather your knee could feel like it is under alot of pressure, or stress.Reconstructive surgery is a big gamble without the right doctor. Remember your not getting the same surgeons NBA players get. Rehab or physio therapy would likely be the best way to go

[OhCanada-Participant]

Iggypops I did the same thing, just thought it would heal didnt go to the doctor and ended up regretting it. Now I walk with a twitch in my step. I always feel it, like there is a rope tied around my knee. Feels like shit, I’m 5’8 and used to be able to grab rim with ease, now I struggle to touch back boards lol. Ignorance is supposed to be bliss damnit!

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