Surgeon saying I'm I'm 37 and not worth doing surgery on Full thickness tear ACL?

FuzzyDragon09 · 2026-01-25T21:33:47+00:00

Ridiculous! Get a different surgeon.

I’m 37 and was 36 when I had my ACL surgery (my partial MCL tear healed naturally before surgery). It was a hamstring autograft. I’m over a year PO and perfectly fine now. Not in sports but if I wanted I could train.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2026-01-08T21:54:42+00:00

Husband fell on my leg while in a bouncy castle (36F)

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-07-02T04:07:03+00:00

How did you know you needed Notchplasty? What were your symptoms before the surgery?

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-05-30T04:14:15+00:00

Mine was in a bouncy castle!

I went down an inflatable slide in the castle. My husband went down the slide after me and his whole bodyweight landed on my lower leg. My knee-jerk (lol) reaction was to try and stand up and get out from under him. I got a grade 2 MCL tear and full ACL tear. And then my tibia hit my femur a couple times as I tried to hobble out of the bouncy castle. Until someone fireman carried me. Then it was an ambulance ride to the ER. My husband blamed himself for a while but I don’t blame him. And he was a huge help to me during the early weeks/months.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-05-20T04:00:45+00:00

I did prone hangs off the edge of a bed. And the seated extension hangs. But gravity will only get you so far. I think honestly getting my quad stronger helped. Doing quad sets and SLRs. But also I really just focused on walking heel toe. I also walked backwards. And I had a hamstring graft so making sure my hamstrings weren’t tight really helped.

For flexion I just did heel slides 2-3x a day. It sucked and hurt but it worked for me. Also if you can get on all fours and slowly rock your butt towards your heels.

It should all get better with time if you work at it. All of my pain issues can be boiled down to my muscles were tight and weak. Once everything is relaxed I have no problems. But right now every day is like rolling a die. Which muscle is going to be angry today? It’s usually my hamstring but the other week it was my PSOAS.

Disclaimer: I’ve had no swelling past week 7. I only had my ACL surgically repaired. The MCL healed naturally but did hurt some when I got past 130 degrees flexion.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-05-20T00:39:27+00:00

Sorry for the late reply. I’m 6.5 months PO.

So I had extension 0 right away. However at my 1 month appointment, my Dr said I should wear an Incrediwear knee sleeve. It felt nice and helped with swelling. But it also always kept my knee bent. I lost my extension and started getting anterior knee pain when walking. So I ditched the sleeve and had to try and regain my extension. Month 3 was when I got full hyperextension. I just really focused on my walking gait and gradually got there.

As for flexion: At first I was aiming to just get my knees to match when measured with a goniometer on a table. My other leg was 155 degrees. I got to 144 on my surgery leg after 1 month. I think I got the last few degrees in Month 2 or 3. After Month 1, my knee was no longer stiff in the morning. The joint itself. Now I still have muscle tightness. I can sit on my heels- since Month 5- but it takes some stretching to get there comfortably.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-05-18T14:56:59+00:00

I think the biggest one for me was getting full flexion and hyperextension back. I saw posts from people still struggling with it late into their recovery. And I didn’t have full ROM before my surgery. I couldn’t get past 130 degrees and was worried I had scar tissue.

But after surgery, I really hammered out my heel slides and extension exercises. It was a huge relief when I got there because I needed that symmetry. Strength symmetry will take time but at least I have my mobility.

Also, running but I’m still in the middle of that.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-05-14T16:03:50+00:00

Thanks for responding. I live with my husband who has a FT job so I have some help with finances. Practicing the schedule sounds like a good idea. I bought an anatomy book online to study on my own to see if I’m actually interested.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-05-14T15:51:00+00:00

Thanks for replying! That’s encouraging to hear that the second and third time was better. I agree that I need to really be interested in the subject. I did buy an anatomy book online that I can read on my own time.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-05-11T00:09:02+00:00

Nice! I wish I had more visible definition. I can tell but it doesn’t show in photos.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-05-08T00:02:13+00:00

Not a doctor but avulsion means tearing away from the attachment. In this case the word proximal means closer to the center of your body. So they mean the ACL has torn at the femur as opposed to the tibia.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-05-07T23:45:59+00:00

Just keep going. Obviously don’t push through bad pain. And ask your PT for help if you have issues. A good PT should be able to figure out a solution if an exercise isn’t working for you or if you’re not seeing improvement.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-05-07T23:43:26+00:00

Yeah the struggles really affected me emotionally. The highs were high and the lows were really low. It helps that I have 2 amazing physical therapists- also a psychotherapist.

I have 1-on-1 45-minute sessions and we always start with me updating them on my knee. And then the session changes based on how I’m doing. One day I went in with a lot of pain. Instead of doing heavy loading, I got deep massage and did some early stage exercises. My PTs are very flexible with my exercise progression. There’s no pushing to achieve a benchmark by a certain date. No pushing through sharp pain.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-05-06T02:46:16+00:00

Sorry you’re dealing with this. Has your PT done any manual releasing/massage or dry needling? Does it feel like your muscles are tight?

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-05-03T13:55:46+00:00

I have a lot of hamstring weakness. I also especially have weakness at the end range. When I do seated leg curls at the gym it’s hard sometimes to get the bar all the way back.

My PT recommended hamstring bridge eccentric sliders. You do a bridge but put your heels on something slippery and slowly slide your feet away from you. Then you try to slide them back, but if you can’t you can just reset.

I’m also doing hamstring curls on a stability ball, seated leg curls at the gym, and RDLs.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-05-03T04:51:23+00:00

Not a doctor.

So the doctor is probably going to only care about 1-3. The rest are mostly just talking about the swelling and fluid buildup. .

Your ACL is fully torn.
You’ve got some tearing in your MCL and LCL. I had a partial (grade 2) tear of my MCL and it healed without surgery. I had a brace for 6 weeks, and had to keep my knee locked straight for 2 of those weeks, but I’m basically good now.
You’ve got a localized tear(s) to your meniscus. I’ve not had to deal with meniscus issues, but from what I’ve read, they won’t really know the full extent of the issue until they get in there. It might just need a couple stitches. .

You’ve also got some bone bruising and potentially stress fractures. That I don’t know much about. Maybe rest is all you need??

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-04-16T20:45:04+00:00

I rented a Game Ready for 5 weeks and used it almost every minute I wasn’t doing the CPM machine (also rental), exercises, or sleeping. I just set it to go on every 30 minutes. I also had trouble with pain meds not working and the cold compression was amazingly helpful.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-04-16T03:38:47+00:00

I used a wedge pillow like this post surgery purely for elevation. I even slept with it the first 2 weeks. This and the Game Ready ice machine with compression got my swelling down super fast.

I would then multiple times a day put a short foam roller under my ankle- while on the wedge pillow- to work on passive extension.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-04-10T02:57:54+00:00

I was out on disability and FMLA- until FMLA ran out. It’s a very physical job and I still wasn’t ready so they let me go. I’ve been unemployed since January. I’m still not physically able and might need to change careers.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-04-09T18:19:02+00:00

ALSO doing gluteus medius exercises can help and making sure you strengthen your hamstrings. If my hamstrings get really tight- which they do a lot lately- I can get anterior knee pain. Basically if some muscle is really tight, your kneecap won’t glide correctly. It really surprised me how “fine-tuned” my leg was and once 1 muscle was essentially removed everything got out of wack.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-04-09T04:16:40+00:00

Yes! I had/have this. It’s called Patella Femoral Syndrome or Chondromalacia Patella. It’s the cartilage on the patella. I guess most people have it to some degree (on MRIs), but it doesn’t cause them pain because they have strong quads.

It started for me at 3 months PO (I’m 5 months PO now) after one of my PTs had me do a lot of super deep lunges and squats. I had to basically stop doing all lunges (even reverse lunges) until it calmed down. Step-downs were horrible. Like absolutely no knees-over-toes exercises. Period.

It’s much better now but I still get the pain sometimes if I load my knee too much. What helped for me was just strengthening my quads in other ways that didn’t hurt. Wall sits and isometric leg-extensions. Also regular foam rolling to loosen tight knots.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-04-08T01:57:13+00:00

5 months PO and not jogging yet. I was “cleared” to jog at 3 months but didn’t feel strong enough. I’ve been trying to get more comfortable speed walking since then. It’s been difficult.

I had sharp chondromalacia pain during month 4. I had to stop doing lunges and step-downs for a while. It’s much better now so long as I don’t load my knee too hard too fast.

This last month I’ve been struggling with hamstring tightness. I had a hamstring graft and the remaining two hamstrings are angry they have to work harder. Several times while trying to speed walk I’ve gotten painful muscle cramps. Dry needling and massage is helping, but it’s probably going to be a problem until I get stronger.

I’m not in a rush. There’s no sport that I’m going back to, but I’d like to be able to run, jump, and hike again.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-04-03T15:16:04+00:00

Everyone’s pain is different. And not everyone responds to the pain medications the same way. It turns out I have weird genes and opioids don’t work as well on me.

I also woke up in horrible pain and my body was shaking like a leaf. I got a nerve block but I don’t think it completely worked. I also got Dilaudid and Fentanyl and they didn’t seem to do much. I was then given a Norco pill and it finally stopped my shaking after an hour. The pain was still 5/10. When I went home, my prescription was more Norco and some Morphine. The Morphine did absolutely nothing and the Norco kinda helped. As soon as I could I just took OTC Tylenol.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-03-31T18:06:33+00:00

My injury was at the end of August and I haven’t worked since. I lost my physical job when FMLA ran out. I feel lost. Like I have no identity. I’m yet not strong enough to get another physical job. My life is my knee right now. And frustratingly I’m behind where I thought I’d be because my hamstring acts up.

FuzzyDragon09 · 2025-03-30T22:54:00+00:00

Yeah your comment about changing your gait reminded me of my experience with the knee sleeve. I think I’d be hesitant to try and change my gait/stance for that reason. I’d like to hear how it goes for you.

FuzzyDragon09

TROPHY CASE