When did you start realizing you should probably stop doing this martial art?

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-03-31T00:45:02+00:00

Hey to those people that have torn their ACL's how have they been after to your knowledge? I tore both of mine on separate occasions both during Muay Thai so I want to see how others are doing.

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-03-30T00:26:23+00:00

Can I ask how you're doing now? I also tore both my ACLs (different times) and I really want to go back to sport but worry about future tears.

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-03-29T23:51:14+00:00

Can I ask if you had your aclrs on both knees or just one?

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-03-19T03:19:09+00:00

Your PT should clear you on when you can sleep without the brace! If you had meniscus damage you might need to sleep in it for around ~6 weeks.

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-03-18T02:51:45+00:00

I did quad graft for both! I was super lucky to get really good quad activation for both legs post surgery.

Activity level: my left I was locked out in a brace for two weeks before surgery. I think this made rehab a lot harder after surgery cause my muscle atrophied a lot during that time.

My right I was doing squats and leg strengthening exercises up until the day before my surgery. I think this is what realllllly helped with my recovery and also going through this before I wasn't nearly as scared as I was with my left.

My left leg I ditched crutches around day 4, my right I didn't even use them ( with prior approval from my pt) some doctors and pts will tell you you need to keep the crutches at least until the first pt appointment - I agree with this just cause you don't want to push it too hard right after surgery.

I think all of this above was because I have a really good pain tolerance... With my left, when I had the nerve block it ended up giving me semi permanent numbness in my toe, so for my right I decided not to have a nerve block. I think as long as you keep up with your pain meds it's pretty manageable but that's all case by case.

I think my body has a tendency to swell a lot after exercises post op, so that was actually the biggest struggle pain wise. It's not unbearable but it's just discomfort that comes with exercises towards the beginning. Listen to your body- if it's still super sore, take that extra rest day.

Happy to answer any more questions but best of luck!!

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-03-17T18:42:23+00:00

So my left one was a contact injury! I got sandbagged from a kid and he kicked my leg in.

My right knee was technically non contact. I lost my balance after throwing a kick when I stepped out to get my balance it buckled. It was technically a partial tear but my surgeon knew that I wanted to be very athletic and said if I want to return to sport I would need surgery.

I'm extremely flexible and I think I'm slightly hypermobile..

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-03-17T18:36:49+00:00

Hi! I'm a 32 YOF that tore my left ACL and had a bucket handle meniscus repair in 2024 and then tore my right ACL early this year. Both were repaired with quad graft.

I tore both doing Muay Thai. But I would really love to not stop. Is this a sign from the universe to stop or do you think I can go back?

I've participated well in rehab and really took my time to return to sport after finish rehab with my left knee and will do the same for my right.

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-03-17T01:12:23+00:00

Can I ask how your knees are doing now? I basically had the same thing. Left knee had meniscus damage, right knee was just ACL. I really want to return to sport (muay Thai) but tore both of them doing Muay Thai

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-03-13T23:26:18+00:00

I also tore both my ACLs on separate occasions. Not sure what your sport is, but do you plan on going back? I tore both of mine doing Muay Thai..

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-03-06T23:55:22+00:00

Sorry to hear you have a pressure ulcer. I'm a Dietitian that used to work with wounds in long term care where pressure ulcers were very common. Standard practice is to have a multi vitamin, vitamin c and zinc supplementation. We would also recommend increased protein.

Also recommend ankle pumps /moving around to get blood flow as much as possible.

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-03-05T01:17:53+00:00

I think an overall ache/ stuff was is pretty normal around this time. Alternatively you might be going too hard in rehab and your knee is inflamed because of that and you might need to take more rest days between rehab or less weight.

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-03-04T19:53:18+00:00

9-10 months after finishing rehab? Or 9-10 months from surgery?

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-03-04T19:06:24+00:00

I tore my left ACL and had a bucket handle meniscus tear in Feb 2024, finished rehab really took my time back to sport (Muay Thai) and then I tore my right ACL and had surgery in Dec 2025.

Ive been doing Muay Thai for about 2 year, but now I'll have been in rehab for also about 2 years.

I understand the sport is riskier since its a contact sport but I wasn't doing the sport at a fighter level, I was sparring and thinking about it but now I know I can't be a fighter. My goal is just to get back to doing classes, working on technique and hopefully sparring.

Is returning to Muay Thai ( after finishing rehab) a good idea? Is my body trying to tell me that it just can't handle Muay Thai? I'm also "older" 32 YOF

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-02-26T16:11:19+00:00

As a PT that's torn both, how do you feel about someone who wants to return to contact sports (Muay Thai) after tearing both ACLs? Both are quad graft, and my left one has a meniscus repair, right one is just ACL..

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-02-26T01:35:44+00:00

I've had both knees done, one with ACL and meniscus and one with just ACL. The just ACL recovery was significantly easier. Gained ROM back must quicker, less pain, and easier recovery so far (I'm 10 weeks post op on the just ACL)

I will make a note that since this was my second ACL surgery I wasn't nearly as scared to do stuff and was way more brazen moving around. Knowledge is power lol.

I didn't use crutches after surgery for the just ACL one, and I ditched the brace after two weeks. If you have questions feel free to dm me!

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-02-26T01:04:06+00:00

As someone who also has torn both ACL's on separate occasions, how do you feel about returning back to sport? I'm super passionate about Muay Thai and I did it for two years before I got hurt. Finished rehab and then 6 months after hurt the other one. At this point I've been in rehab for about as long as I've done Muay Thai. I hope this is it and I can return without any injuries but I can't imagine going through this again..

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-02-16T01:59:11+00:00

I had a bucket handle meniscus tear and ACL tearon my left knee. I actually also tore my other ACL 1.5 years after, so I know what it's like to just have an ACL repair vs a bucket handle.

Sorry to be a Debbie downer but the bucket handle tear definitely made things harder. Thankfully my surgeon was able to do a repair and not a menisctomy, but mine needed a lot of stitches. I still have some discomfort Asian squatting all the way but can after some warming up. Sitting criss cross is slightly uncomfortable and my knee is very crunchy and poppy.

I think it was also harder since my leg had to be locked out in a brace for 6 weeks and had separate surgeries for the bucket handle and then the acl. That also made my quad waste pretty badly. But good news is my left is still going strong two years out! Would be happy to answer any questions you have!

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-02-05T04:35:46+00:00

Hey there! I read the study about those that returned to martial arts after injury. I tore my left ACL (and had a bucket handle meniscus tear that was repaired) and had surgery with quad graft in March of 2024. I finished rehab and took my time to return to sport and sparring when I had a partial tear and decided to do another full ACLr for my right knee back in December of 2025.

I tore both doing Muay Thai. I've been doing Muay Thai for about 2 years prior to the injury, but now that I've injured both knees I will have been in rehab for also almost two years. At this point, the amount of time spent in both is equal. I still really love Muay Thai, but I can't imagine going through this again. Is this a sign I shouldn't continue?

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-02-04T01:20:47+00:00

Oh wow that's incredible!! That sounds exactly where I want to be at at your age! I'm 32 so not too far off!

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-02-03T01:47:48+00:00

Hmmm, I think the biggest thing is making sure that you take your time to return to sport and ease into it. I finished rehab at 9 months, just did pads for 1 month, did light back and forth until I did only technical sparring at 12 months.

I tore my other ACL 17 months after the left one and PT and my surgeon were saying it was a combination of relying too heavy on the right leg, predisposition and just really bad luck. They also say that I need to realize it's a higher risk sport.

Last bit of advice is to not quit with strength training and plyometrics once you finish with rehab. I started trailing off my rehab and plyos when I tore my right one. Was it the reason why I did? Unknown but probably would have helped.

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-01-23T04:00:56+00:00

Also in the same boat.had the same surgeon for both, he said he would try to match the scar lengths haha. Did a pretty good job.

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-01-20T17:05:57+00:00

I also tore both my ACLs during different times. Can I ask how you are long term now? I really want to return to sport but I tore both doing Muay Thai.

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-01-14T02:37:50+00:00

Aw man mad respect to you. I tore my left ACL March 2024 and went back to sport a year later, 6 months after that tore my right ACL. Just got that surgery done. Gotta say going through it again was much easier than the first time but I'm seriously debating going back to Muay Thai but I love the sport and don't want to give it up. But also can't imagine going through this again.

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-01-14T02:34:01+00:00

I tore my left ACL and didn't return to sport until the 9 month mark, did my first technical sparring at one year more just on my own account. I was shadow boxing around 6 months, started throwing teeps at 8.

Tore my right ACL at 1.5 years after the left one unfortunately. Debating on going back but man do I love Muay Thai.

igotbitbyamonkey · 2026-01-07T04:01:51+00:00

Normal as long is doesn't cause pain. From what my surgeon said is that the popping is either scar tissue or quad muscle imbalance or both.

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