[Threepointtwo]

Anybody out there had an ACL injury recently? I just found out I have a partial tear and will undergo an MRI tomorrow to see the extent. Anybody have experience with this?

Do I wait until the season is over of bite the bullet and fix it now? I did it in February and have been riding the whole time with no problems.

 

[bad mechanic]

my girlfriend went through this not even a year ago, so i know more about it than i ever wanted to.

in case you don't know, the acl and pcl are two ligaments in your knee which provide side to side support (i believe they form an x). if yours in only partially torn, they'll probably recommend against surgery and instead put you through physical therapy to strengthen the knee's supporting muscles to take up the slack. even if it's totally torn, it's still possible to live with it as long as you go through pt to make sure your body can compensate for it.

if you decide to have surgery, you basically have three ways to replace your acl:

1.cadaver - basically they take an acl out of a cadaver and put it in you. it works pretty well, except you're basically getting a older, more worn out acl.

2.patellar - they cut the middle third out of your patellar ligament (connects your knee cap to your shin) along with a bit of bone at either end, and replace your acl with that. the recovery time for this is pretty long and pretty painful since you're having to heal your new acl and you patellar tendon. this is what my girlfriend elected to have done.

3.hamstring - they take muscle material from your hamstring and replace your acl with that. this may be as strong as the patelar method, but it's arguable. this is the newest method and not all surgeons have done it. also, since you get better quicker, people often push it too hard too fast and reinjure themselves. people have also used a sample out of their quad.

if you have surgery, ask the surgeon use a "pain pump" on your knee. it's this cool little dodad that pumps pain killer directly into your knee via a tube. it lasts for about 2 days and really helps with the worst of the pain. also, don't go to sleep after arriving at home without first taking your pain medicine.

if you have surgery, expect to take about 6-12 months to recovery and to go through pt for about 6 months. if you don't do you pt correctly and fully, you might never fully recover.

 

[Threepointtwo]

Wow, thanks for the info. I had an MRI yesterday but won't get the results until tomorrow. I can get around and ride just fine right now and have no pain. If it requires a complete replacement, I think I will wait until after the biking season.

 

[SDH]

I just recently went thru surgery. It is going on the better part of 9 months now. I elected to have them take my patella because I was told that it was stronger. Recovery was tough. Ins. only paid for 3 months of PT, I had to do the rest on my own. Basically rode and did a lot of weights and are still doing weights. I did the injury in July ended up missing ski season and I am now back on a bike and racing DH. Granted, I still am not back. I am only about 80% and cannot run yet. But I remain hopeful in the coming months. Biking is the best thing for it.

If it is a partial tear I would recommend not having the surgery but have the doc right you a presciption for a custom brace. I have one and they are awesome


Good luck