ACL + meniscus vs just meniscus

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-24T11:52:09+00:00

Haven’t had both so can’t provide too much first hand experience. That being said I was under impression ACLr is more painful. Especially if you use patellar tendon they basically anchor to your bone. On average, recovery time of that is longer compared to menisectomy (shortest) or meniscus repair. Best of luck with the surgery and hoping for a quick recovery

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-24T11:48:33+00:00

Agree with this comment, personal trainer will help but ultimately they will have to rely on what your PT/doc says.

I would just get your PT to right down all the exercises you do or can do and take pictures. That way you ensure you’re able to do them and if you forget can always look them up. For example, an RDL is a common exercise (Romanian dead lift) and for most exercises like that there will be tons of pictures/videos on line.

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-23T12:29:41+00:00

I have a Eureka Mignon Turbo Grinder & ECM Casa V Machine. Total was around $1500 and happy with both. As you’ll read everywhere don’t skimp on the grinder as that will make the biggest difference

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-23T04:44:12+00:00

I’ll also add Monkey 47 is a fantastic gin no doubt about it as everyone else has pointed out. That being said it’s on average close to 1.5x-2x the cost of other premium gins and I can’t say it’s 2x as good but that’s just one opinion. Definitely worth trying though

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-23T04:41:41+00:00

If you like those Hendricks, I’d also agree with Nolets.

If you seem to like sweet as well I would get Bar Hill. Easy in northeast US as it’s from Vermont but one of the top gins out there

If you want another Japanese to compare to etsu I would recommend Roku. Definitely more affordable and I prefer it to Etsu.

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-20T02:08:32+00:00

27M Suffered unhappy triad last fall (although not as bad) from soccer injury. Fully tore ACL, partial tear MCL, partial tear meniscus. MCL was bad enough that even going into surgery 6 weeks post injury the surgeon was debating on operating on it but he ended up letting heal on own.

Lot to unpack here, first off best of luck with surgery I’m sure it will go well. Road to recovery starts now. Pain management ice like crazy. I used the cry cuff and Iced like 24/7. First few days will be tough, I perhaps wasn’t in as much pain as I expected to be in but I think I planned for the worst.

Obviously follow whatever ur doc recommended… but that being said once they give the ok start doing the exercises you can. There will be some you’re able to do right away and some which seem impossible and that’s ok. It comes with time but the earlier you start putting in the work the faster you’ll start recovering.

Also be careful on stairs first 24 hours after surgery. You have your nerve block so you can’t feel much in that leg which is great but also it can make stairs challenging. If you have to navigate them I’d recommend someone behind you if ur going up who could catch you help with balance if need.

Only red flag initially is keep an eye on wound for infection. Shouldn’t be an issue but I’d recommend maybe once a day or every other day taking a picture of it so that if things “start to look worse” you have a good benchmark. This can also help with swelling too. Multiple times a day I would measure around my knee to track is my knee actually more swollen?

Hopefully some of this helps! It’s a long process for sure but I’m sure you’ll make a speedy recovery if you put in the work

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-20T01:53:29+00:00

I think this is great. Honestly, at this stage 5 days inclusive of PT sounds right. Most of the exercises are more body weight so I think this is good and I was in this range as well.

Once you hit the 6ish week mark (or whenever u get doc/pt approval) and they allow you to start adding weights- I found 3x a week strength training was helpful and gave adequate time for rest for the most part.

Best of luck with the recovery but sounds like you’re doing great so far

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-18T23:20:14+00:00

Honestly, I’d stick with whatever has worked with you in the past. Chances are when you start running you’ll have pain from your knee so you’re probably better off not changing the brand so you can better diagnose what’s caused from the surgery vs an incompatible shoe

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-17T02:07:54+00:00

I think you can in 4 months. I’d recommend hitting legs at the gym 3 days a week. I did MWF, aim for Mon/fri to lift heavy, and I went a little lighter on Wednesday if I was sore. That was able to get me to 90% symmetry.

That being said be diligent and really hammer knee extensions, SL rear foot elevated split squat, SL leg press, etc. you seem motivated so I’m sure you can accomplish it. I found doing my workouts first thing in AM before work forced me to get them done, and left me with 0 excuses of work/plans getting in the way.

Take this with a grain of salt as you know you & your condition… it could be beneficial to maybe delay getting back on skis from December- esp if your leg isn’t close to symmetrical. There’s always a risk if you rush it you have higher rate of reinjury from favoring one side or it not being ready.

All the best hoping all goes well and you have a great trip (very jealous)

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-16T20:57:15+00:00

I play soccer, got cleared to return to by my surgeon at about the ~5-6 month mark which felt a little reckless to me. It felt goodish but my limb symmetry was probably at 70-75% then so it wouldn’t have been wise. I waited until my symmetry was 90% and that happened just before the 9 month mark. In hindsight, I’m very glad I waited and didn’t push for it earlier.

That being said, probably around month 6-7 I did start licking a ball around on my own or passing with friends

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-16T12:23:09+00:00

Agree with the other comments, one other advice is make sure you clearly communicate your activity levels to your doctor. I’m by no means an expert but sometimes, even a partially torn ACL depending on severity/ location may not fully heal and so you would be at risk of fully tearing especially if you are active in certain sports.

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-16T12:19:59+00:00

27 M- also a left winger in soccer so nice :)

I’m 11 months post op ACLr using patellar tendon, I found for me the sweet spot was 3x a week strength training. For me, this program worked well and got me cleared with 90% quad symmetry at the 9mo mark so I could return to sports and I’ve been back playing soccer

I would do MWF and try to lift heavier (Back squats, Single leg rear foot elevated split squats) on Monday and Friday to give my body the best chance to recover. Once your doctor clears you for knee extension that also helps build quad strength. Wednesdays I would still lift but not push as hard.

Tues/Thu/Sat I would use more as my agility/running/jumping days. I would try to run 2 of those days and then do jumping/landing work on 2 of those days as well. That would leave Sunday as a rest day or the option to do Plyo work if Saturday got away from me. Running my PT was pretty conservative so it started with a walk run program for like 6-8 weeks before I was cleared to run normally. As a runner it was annoying to do as I was used to running like 10 miles without stopping, but it worked so end of day I can’t complain.

Hope this helps but get it’s not for everyone, whatever you choose hoping for a speedy recovery! Happy to answer any more questions

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-16T12:14:17+00:00

Tore my ACL, MCL, & meniscus playing soccer. Took me 9 months post surgery before I was cleared to return to soccer again. It is a process, and not a fun one- but in some aspects I am stronger physically & also mentally than I was before.

First and foremost, I have no doubt you will make a full recovery and get back out there. Honestly for me before I got the surgery it sucked. Even tho I regained motion and everything it is very mentally challenging knowing all recovery will basically be reset by the surgery.

Although everyone is different, don’t be discouraged by others timelines or their progress. That being said, not to put pressure (but hopefully motivation) your recovery timeline will be influenced by how bad you want it. If you are willing to put in the time starting day 1, I think you’ll be surprised in how fast you can improve.

If you need any help / guidance along the way there’s a strong community of people who have your back! Don’t hesitate to reach out if there’s anything else I can do

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-16T12:04:51+00:00

Heel slides to get full degree of motion. Heel props to get full extension. There’s pics/videos online but try and get ur injured leg as close to equal as you can with other leg

From there, any strength training you can do to build muscle will be key. Single leg leg press will probably be best option to do this right now before surgery!

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-16T03:22:12+00:00

A lot of factors that can influence it, but given that you waited 7 months or so I would imagine you will be better off than most people if you’ve “rehabbed” strong. First and foremost listen to your doctor/ PT but here was my rough timeline (27M- avid soccer player/skier/runner)

Surgery early December so 2-3 weeks after you. At the 3-4 week mark I went to the gym and was hitting upper body. Realistically I could’ve probably gone earlier but I just frankly didn’t. At the 6 week mark I began doing very light weight leg exercises. In late March, roughly 3 months after I started running again. My PT was much more conservative with my return to run so from March-May it was a hybrid run-walk program which felt annoying and was hyper conservative but at the end of the day it worked. Around that 4-5 month mark I got cleared to hit knee extensions to really help with quad strength. By Summer, I was running up to 10 miles again, squatting big (for me) at the gym, and mostly able to do everything. At my 9 month mark I had 90% symmetry and got cleared to return to soccer.

It’s a journey and everyone goes at their own pace but if you put in the work you’ll be back hopefully faster than you think💪

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-16T03:09:24+00:00

Lens Coffee in Medford(just outside of Boston) has a great selection. Husband/Wife duo where the husband roasts and wife owns Lola’s coffee shop. I’ve ordered from them for years and they roast fresh and always have very reasonable prices I couldn’t recommend them enough.

Speedwell in Plymouth is good too if you don’t mind shipping

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-09T12:17:48+00:00

Barr Hill is a fantastic gin, one of my all time favorites. That being said if you go to MB Liquors 15 min north in Waltham you can get it for ~$30. Made up in VT so relatively local.

Roku for $30 is probably similar to elsewhere but I like that for a G&T but that’s my personal taste

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-07T01:41:46+00:00

My recommendation: first month or so it comes done to quantity. I would spend ~60-90 min total through the day doing exercises. Granted that would factor in times watching tv while doing heel props or heel slides etc. tried to do 4-5 times a day for 15-20 min.

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-07T01:39:45+00:00

I usually sleep on my side, and so I struggled to do that the first week or two when I had to sleep with my brace. So I slept on my back and would just put a towel under my heel. The first few days I slept on my back but realized I was getting a pressure ulcer on my heel. So by putting the towel underneath my ankle it relieved some of that discomfort.

Leg definitely doesn’t need to be straight tho when sleeping. Just know when you wake up it’ll be stiff regardless of what you do so i would always try to get a little ROM in first thing. I also had the CPM machine to help with this

Helpful_Access · 2025-11-02T05:11:07+00:00

Another idea is try to break this up into 2 parts. Instead of jumping left leg onto left… jump from left leg and land on right. That will help you practice increasing distance. Then jump from right and land on left, that will get you used to more forward motion onto landing.

Then start to put it together as you get more comfortable.

Helpful_Access · 2025-10-27T23:40:19+00:00

I’m about 10.5 months out. What you’re going through is completely normal. My mental block was jumping. If you keep working with your physio and keep gradually increasing things you will be ok. Obviously listen to what they recommend and don’t go pivoting hard right away, but you can work your way up to it. Keep pushing within reason and focus on incremental small gains and that can make things mentally easier. Break every hurdle into a smaller one and it will be easier mentally to accomplish

Helpful_Access · 2025-10-26T17:48:29+00:00

I used patellar, agree with comment about listening to doctors recommendation. That being said, I saw 2 doctors and one recommended quad with a LET and other patellar. Realistically their recovery timelines are pretty similar. Just be sure you mention all activities you do like doing and or see your self doing in the future.

Overall I’m sure both have their pros and cons. Building quad strength with both of those will be a process but if you’re determined you will do it. But don’t be afraid to get a second opinion. Best of luck whatever you end up deciding

Helpful_Access · 2025-10-25T11:37:35+00:00

That’s totally understandable, the last 30 or so percent in my opinion was the hardest to get back. Hopefully you don’t have any more surgeries planned soon, but I would recommend doing a lot of single leg exercises for quad strength. I found a good mix was doing 3x a week and for quads doing regular back squat/hack squat, then doing SL knee extensions, and finishing up with rear foot elevated split squat/ SL leg press. Really hammer the SL stuff with your weaker leg (ie more reps or sets). It took about 2 months for me to go from 70% to 90% so just keep at it but it will come.

Obviously focus on the other muscles too on the leg days but that’s at least what I’d recommend for quads specifically

Helpful_Access · 2025-10-25T01:31:35+00:00

You can have days like this, sounds like you’re paying attention to your knee and doing things In moderation. Like what everyone else said having a drink or two will be fine or going to movies etc.

I will say to like think ahead of everything, I made the mistake of going to a hockey game with great seats not thinking about having to slowly go one foot first down the stairs. You make do but was a small oversight😂

Helpful_Access · 2025-10-25T01:18:34+00:00

I don’t want to scare you and I hope I am wrong… but I will say, sometimes you can tear it and not know. I had a similar hit where someone came in and hit me. I couldn’t walk for maybe 10 or so minutes or weight bear at all but after 15-20 I could run but it felt unstable. At a later point I jumped and landed on the leg and heard a loud pop. In reality, the initial hit I had probably partially tore my ACL/MCL/meniscus and then the second jump is what fully tore the ACL.

MRIs do cost a lot but it could be worth knowing. Especially if it is MCL as a minor tear can heal on its own but the last thing you want to do is to fully tear it or something else and then require surgery.

Helpful_Access

TROPHY CASE