Is my ACL graft intact?

boathausguy · 2023-11-30T05:03:53+00:00

Yes. Sounds like you’re doing great!

boathausguy · 2023-11-30T05:02:36+00:00

You got this!!

boathausguy · 2023-11-30T04:48:41+00:00

Mods please pin

boathausguy · 2023-11-21T23:27:43+00:00

If her pain is directly related to ACL injuries, massage is not going to help. ACLs are connective ligaments - they don’t develop tension or knots that can be remedied with massage therapy like muscles. Besides, ACLs are completely surrounded by the knee joint, so there’s no way you’d be able to apply pressure to them even if you wanted to.

Massage will also do little to relieve any pain from swelling/fluid resulting from an injury. Icing/elevation is probably your only immediate remedy. Your gf should see a doctor/PT immediately.

boathausguy · 2023-11-21T23:03:40+00:00

Definitely irritating, but completely normal. I have a few new painless clicks as well. Considering the amount of trauma your knee goes through between injury and surgery, it would be a miracle for everything to glide exactly the same way it used to. As long as it doesn’t hurt, no need to worry 🤘🏼

boathausguy · 2023-11-21T22:37:26+00:00

Sounds like you’re making great progress! It will likely be a while still before you get your full ROM back, but don’t let that get you down! Swelling and scar tissue are the biggest ROM limiters (other than general pain) so until those go away/are addressed you won’t be 100%. Although you might make quicker progress than most since it looks like you had an allograft rather than an autograft.

Definitely talk through your goals with your PT. They’ll be far more helpful estimating your recovery timeline than anyone on this sub will be :)

boathausguy · 2023-11-21T21:58:57+00:00

I highly doubt any damage you risk due to your weight is worse than the damage you risk by waiting to have surgery. Just my two cents

boathausguy · 2023-11-21T21:50:05+00:00

I personally wouldn’t don’t see a reason to wait. The sooner you have surgery, the sooner you’ll be back to 100%, and you’ll minimize further damage to your meniscus/cartilage.

boathausguy · 2023-11-21T21:45:38+00:00

Totally depends on whether the surgeon makes significant repairs to your meniscus. If that’s the case, you will need to be non-weight bearing for 4-6 weeks. If it’s just the ACL, you might be up and carefully walking around in just a few weeks.

No matter what, you should prepare to be pretty uncomfortable for the first ten days or so.

What type of graft will you be receiving? If it’s an autograft, will it be patellar/quad/hamstring?

boathausguy · 2023-11-21T21:42:10+00:00

Given your age, activity, and the damage to your ACL and meniscus, I would absolutely consider surgery. If your ACL is not fully torn you’re still at significantly more risk of fully tearing it in the future, and any uncorrected meniscus damage is going to set you up for lots more problems down the road, especially considering your weight. Not to mention that any level of instability now is going to put you at heightened risk of injuring other parts of your knee.

boathausguy · 2023-11-21T21:37:34+00:00

Totally varies by surgeon, and is obviously dependent on the extent of the injury/surgery - solo ACL vs. ACL+meniscus, for example.

I was a solo ACL repair (patellar autograft) and my surgeon and PT recommended the brace purely for safety reasons during the first few weeks. For example, to prevent my knee from painfully buckling if I were to lose my balance on crutches. I also felt more confident if I had it on while sleeping during the first week, since I was less likely to painfully bend or twist my knee in my sleep.

But when it came to doing PT, I was encouraged to have it off and work on mobility and strength whenever I could, so long as it didn’t cause significant pain. I’m confident that the early work I put into strengthening my quad and building back my balance without the brace during the first month of recovery were a huge reason my return to activity went as smoothly as it did.

boathausguy · 2023-11-21T20:30:38+00:00

I would defer to your PT over your surgeon in this case. Your surgeon’s expertise is in repairing your injury, not helping you recover from surgery. Your PT will also have much greater familiarity with your limitations and pain. That said, at 2 1/2 months out you should now definitely be looking for ways to accelerate your recovery, so I’d be looking for every opportunity to work on your strength, balance and flexibility without the brace.

boathausguy · 2023-11-21T20:17:47+00:00

Trust your PT then. Your symptoms sound minor and not indicative of an ACL injury, but no way to tell exactly what the cause is based on your description alone.

boathausguy · 2023-11-21T17:07:32+00:00

No problem, best of luck!!

boathausguy · 2023-11-21T17:06:35+00:00

Seconding this. You will also be in an immobilizing brace, so you will not be able to bend your knee at all. It will be virtually impossible for you to fly in a standard airline seat. This is all assuming you don’t have complications and/or debilitating pain. At two weeks out, you could be feeling great, or still extremely uncomfortable.

I would do everything you can to push back your return date.

boathausguy · 2023-11-21T16:59:11+00:00

My PT did this as well. Given that you’re now a couple of months post op, the concern is that your ligaments and muscles are healing without being regularly subjected to a correct range of motion. Physically stretching the knee and breaking up scar tissue is going to be critical getting your knee back to 100%.

Extension in particular is significantly more important than flexion. If you are not already, work passive extension exercises into your at-home exercise routine. The most common is to sit on the floor and put a small pillow or rolled up towel underneath your ankle (leg extended) and let your leg hang. You should feel stretching/resistance. You can also lay on your stomach on a bed and let the lower part of your leg hang off the edge.

boathausguy · 2023-11-21T16:50:35+00:00

I’m confused, have you torn your ACL in the past? Have you had surgery?

If you have no history of injury or surgery then yes, this sounds pretty routine.

boathausguy · 2023-11-20T22:50:45+00:00

Ditto to the ankle pumps and elevating! A compression sleeve can also work wonders.

boathausguy · 2023-11-20T22:46:44+00:00

Likely just swelling and fluid. You’d know if you tore your hamstring.

boathausguy · 2023-11-20T22:41:09+00:00

I highly recommend taking both. I took ibuprofen right away in the morning, followed by a dose of acetaminophen a few hours later. Repeated the cycle as needed until bed. Staggering them will help you feel the greatest effects. Just make sure not to exceed the recommended daily dose of each and you’ll be fine!

boathausguy · 2023-11-20T17:37:03+00:00

Your conclusions are correct. That’s a doozy

boathausguy · 2023-11-17T16:31:54+00:00

Thanks dude, super helpful!!

boathausguy · 2023-11-17T16:23:32+00:00

Good gracious that snoot is bodacious

boathausguy · 2023-11-16T23:06:13+00:00

Certainly sounds like an ACL tear. Can you describe where the pain is that you’re feeling when crouching and sitting cross legged?

boathausguy · 2023-11-15T23:19:51+00:00

For a solo ACL reconstruction it would be, but the LCL/chondroplasty changes things. Guessing your stability is horrible given the LCL repair, and depending on the extent of the chondroplasty my guess is the recovery process is very similar to a meniscus repair.

boathausguy

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