Torn ACL

[Reaper 0]

On Wednesday night at hockey I folded my leg up beside me so my heel met my hip.

After getting checked out today I was told that I tore my ACL but they couldn't perform a a complete examination because my knee hurt too much.

I have to follow up on Monday to see if I'm going to need surgery. If I do, I could be waiting months just to get it done and then another 6 weeks before I can even skate again.

Anyone have any tips on staying "up" while I recover?

[mojo122 530]

For starters take things one step at a time. You really don’t know anything for sure just yet. I’ve seen some guys twist their knees and think their done for months, only to see them go through a couple weeks of physical therapy before getting back on the ice.

If it does wind up that you need surgery, then see how that goes. With a good PT trainer you may be back on the ice a lot sooner than you thought possible.

[freq019 0]

I posted in the other thread, but I echo what Mojo said. A good physical therapist goes a long way towards speedy recovery. It helps to have a goal and getting back on the ice is a good as any, so when you're rehabbing just keep your target date in mind and do whatever you can to meet it or beat it. good luck!

[thejackal 46]

;) Get a PS2 (if you dont already have one), and buy GTA: SA, the 6 months will pass like nothing.

[all-star 0]

i have my knee injury too, gta san andreas, and halo 2 isnt making it go by much faster. i miss hockey.

[D3nZ 0]

I think my broken rib ended up to be a almost complete torn muscle in my lateral muscles, it still hurts, can't sleep on my left side. I feel like a 80 year old grand-father who can't get out of bed sometimes.

[Fletch 219]

I banged my left ACL against the edge of our coffee table last night (it was 2am and pitch black). It's a good thing I don't have any hockey coming up this week because I can barely walk. :(

[mikebu 0]

My brother tore his Acl last November and was out 6-8 months after surgery. If you need surgey get the operation as quickly as you can and then start rehabbing as soon as you can. Use this as motivation to work out and come back next year stronger and quicker. Good Luck...

[Oilpatch 0]

My advice: make completely sure you have actually torn the ligament! You can do this yourself by leaping down a large set of stairs (a ladder may be substituted where there are no stairs avaliable) from the top and trying to twist your knee as you land and fall forward- preferably on a concrete pad. Make sure to wear a good HECC certified helmet when you do this ;)

But seriously, a piece of advice is to check with a really good physio and if you can by any means get an MRI done! I hurt my knee playing basketball (of all the sports to get hurt at...) and checked with my dad (who is a physiotherapist) and he was pretty sure that I tore my PCL... meaning surgery and then no hockey for a long time. To make sure though, I got an MRI and although from physio the knee responded like it had a torn PCL the MRI showed that what happened is it got stretched out of shape but there was no actual tear. Because of this I was able to get the right kind of physio treatments and back on the ice in 2 months with a soft brace to help with stabilization. Anyway sorry to hear about the injury! hope its not as bad as it sounds and you can get back out there soon.

[joshy207 15]

I banged my left ACL against the edge of our coffee table last night (it was 2am and pitch black). It's a good thing I don't have any hockey coming up this week because I can barely walk. :(

How'd you do that? Your ACL is in the very center of your knee joint!

I've torn both of mine. Both were a little fluky, I got caught off-balance and I went one way while my knee went the other.

Your rehab will depend on what procedure they use to replace the ligament. The first time, I had a patellar graft... they took the center 1/3 of my patellar tendon (the thick one right below your kneecap). It's very strong, so it holds up well as a replacement ligament, but my knee was extremely sore during rehab. Tendons regenerate while ligaments don't, but until the tendon healed up, it was very sore. The second time, they used a cadaver tendon, from the front of somebody's ankle. While rehab is much easier, you run the risk of your body rejecting the graft.

[all-star 0]

actually the mcl and acl make like a V around your knee cap \0/ sorta like that. mcl is on the inside. and acl is on the outside.

[Hobbes_86 0]

I had ACL surgery last august . i got on the ice in feburary but it felt awful and had to wait to mid june before i could skate pain free. BUT i had to have 2 surgerys because my doctor wasnt too concerned with sending me to PT.

my advise if you do decide to have surgery:

start research now on the surgery. do you want a cadaver, patellar, or hamstring graft.

start doing therapy now...get your quads super strong.

find a good sports medicine program. one that deals with competitive level hockey players will be able to give you sport specific therapy and even get you on the ice after a few months as part of your therapy.

as soon as you get outta surgery get into PT...dont wait for 3 weeks. by then youll have scar tissue forming and thats a pain in the butt to break down.

stay in PT as long as possible, at least 6 months.

one last thing stock up on video games...i became a total junkie. its not a replacement for hockey but hey its something to pass the time.

good luck!

[Hobbes_86 0]

oops should of looked at the date

sorry guys...not used to the cool search feature

[JR Boucicaut 3777]

It's okay - I'd rather have someone pull up an old thread and add something meaningful to it rather than to make a new one.

[jrhky36 1]

reaper,

how was your recovery time, and how are you doing now?

[Dangles 0]

Reaper, I'm in the same boat as you. I just broke my arm playing hockey on Sunday. Out 8 weeks with another 4 for rehab/physio. If I'm lucky, I'll be back in Feb.

[TMD#89 0]

I have a friend that tore his hamstring about two years ago and he used to be one of the top players on our team but now he has trouble just making it passed the first tryout. I feel really bad for him because now he has no drive in the game and probably wont be playing much longer... :(

[fatwabbit 93]

been there before... tore my ACL in 97, doc said it was about 95% gone. Had a recon done on it, patella tendon graft. Nowadays i think they do the hamstring graft.

anyway, words of advice:

1) make sure you get a second opinion before getting surgery

2) take the physio therapy seriously, but dont push yourself too hard. I felt like crying every physio session i had for the first month, the pain was just too much

3) once you are cleared to do weight training, make sure you bulk up on your hamstrings and quads... so people have even gone back to sports without an ACL as their hamstrings and quads are really strong

4) see whether your insurance covers you for a customised knee brace. I've gotten the CTi2 Hockey knee brace by innovation sports... www.innovationsports.com

5) take it easy, know your limits...

[tokes 0]

Yeah, for mine they used a Hamstring graft, but I need surgery again and they are using a cadaver for grafting, since my own ligaments are very, very loose. I was told the patellar grafts are not being done as much as the hamstring grafts. It was about a year after my last surgery that I could play hockey again hard.

[Reaper 0]

reaper,

how was your recovery time, and how are you doing now?

After seeing a specialist I did the whole x-ray routine and had the results evaluated. The x-rays revealed a thickening of the MCL indicating a partial tear that had ended up scarring over. Since he didn't do surgery for partial tears the Surgeon had no further treatment plan for me other than to build up my leg and core strength. I was relieved that the tear was not to my ACL and that I would not require surgery as it would probably have meant the end of my hockey playing days because I'm an old fogey with no disability insurance.

I still wear a neoprene brace on my knee for a little added support I returned to playing in late December 2004 with some achiness in my knee. I played pretty tentatively for a while to try and avoid injury. I admit I was rather gunshy at first but now I feel much more confident as I tend to fall better than I did at the start of my hockey career.

[jrwarrior16 0]

Reaper, I'm in the same boat as you. I just broke my arm playing hockey on Sunday. Out 8 weeks with another 4 for rehab/physio. If I'm lucky, I'll be back in Feb.

i also broke my arm on september 25 but i am able to come bak this week luckily i need no pt. The doctor says that it is stronger than it was when i broke it so im lucky i wont miss tryouts.

[jrhky36 1]

Yeah, for mine they used a Hamstring graft, but I need surgery again and they are using a cadaver for grafting, since my own ligaments are very, very loose. I was told the patellar grafts are not being done as much as the hamstring grafts. It was about a year after my last surgery that I could play hockey again hard.

the reason why patella tendon grafs are not widely used any more is because it weakens the knee cap. when this has been done hte likelyhood of a broken knee cap rises signifigently(sp). the best best option is a hamstring graft. i had my acl replaced on 12-29-97 and was playing hockey on 6-23-98. the recovery i credit to pt and going aggresively through pt. the dr. used a hamstring graft. was walking the day after sugery (accually limping). the part i hated the most was around week 20 hit the "wall". i had to fight hard to get past it but my trainer really "motivated" me. a good dr and good trainer will make rehab go alot faster on you'll be back on the ice quickly.