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ACL Surgery Survivors

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frickindarn
Posts: 2545 - Karma: 11,374
Hey guys,
This thread is for anyone who had their ACL Reconstructed. I'm at my 9th week post op and I'm still feeling quite a bit of pain.
Is that normal? I'm starting to lose all hope and not sure if I'll be skiing jumps, moguls or rails ever again and that scares the shit out of me.
Anyone else go through this? Or anybody have any advice to help heal up stronger with the 6 month release date.

I appreciate everything. Thanks fam.
Feb 26 2014 10:02PM
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Caucasian_Asian
Posts: 2447 - Karma: 1,665
Physio, physio, physio. Listen to the doc and do what they say.

I had a hamstring graft. It takes 6 months for the grafy to heal properly, so that meant no skiing until that time. It also meant that I wasn't allowed to swim until it healed. My surgery was in the summer, so that meant I got to watch at the beach.

It's only 6 months of your life. Take the time to let it heal properly and you won't have to worry about it.
Feb 26 2014 10:11PM
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notspoicey
Posts: 1167 - Karma: 1,706
ask wallnutz hes getting surgery right now on his ACL
Feb 26 2014 10:40PM
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bakedpow
Posts: 8770 - Karma: 10,462
first of all searchbar. this exact thread has appeared many times.




now for my answer, honestly it's up to you man. put in the work and you will be fine. and im not saying go to the gym once or twice a month. im saying 3-4 times a week if not everyday. if you ever want to get full strength and not have to worry about the knee you need to go balls to the wall.
Feb 26 2014 11:09PM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
My surgery is in 2 weeks. Not excited.
Feb 26 2014 11:24PM
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frickindarn
Posts: 2545 - Karma: 11,374
So far it's been a battle. More emotionally than anything. I've already got full range of motion and can squat weights and everything, including comfortably sit with my legs crossed. I've just always got a little bit of a stinging pain and i'm on week 9 of my post op. Keep that chin up, you'll be back in no time.
Feb 26 2014 11:28PM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
Yea I have been through a surgery before so I'm ready for the emotional battle that comes with it. Took a baseball to the face and needed reconstructive nose surgery. Fully collapsed septum. My body is ready.
Feb 26 2014 11:29PM
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Peter.
Posts: 23796 - Karma: 13,012
my surgery is may 20th. not too amped about it, but i do OK with dealing with pain i guess. everyone says the first week is the only bad week.
Feb 27 2014 12:59AM
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special-J
Posts: 1572 - Karma: 4,477
Everyone's knee feels different coming out of surgery. It may sound strange, but sometimes the joint needs to "work out a few kinks" as it's healing, so don't be discouraged about having some lingering pain. I'm sure your surgeon didn't miss anything in there so I wouldn't be concerned that something is wrong.

Like someone already mentioned, work your ass off with the rehab. I highly suggest also going a step further and doing some intense strength training after you "graduate" from PT. I went through an ACL Prevention program after my first one and it made a huge difference. I'm 3 weeks out of my other one getting fixed and I can tell it feels way better than the 1st one did just from focusing on even the simplest exercises.

Aside from rehab, the best thing you can do is keep a positive attitude and a strong mental game. Don't get caught up with how long it's taking or trying to follow a timeline, just know that if you put in the effort, you will get to where you want to be. It took me over a year and a half to begin feeling confident on skis again. Point is, base it off how you feel, not how you want it to or think it should feel.


Feel free to PM me any other questions, after 3 knee surgeries I have plenty of advice to give haha
Feb 27 2014 1:02AM
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gr4
Posts: 1499 - Karma: 945
don't lose hope. it takes like 3 months before your knee starts feeling close to normal. really to feel 100% confident on it without a brace most people need 9-12 months. if you are patient and work on your strength and flexibility and stuff you will be ripping hard again by next season. it took me a full year to feel totally confident but now i'm skiing harder than ever.
Feb 27 2014 1:23AM
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twin-tip-hero
Posts: 2896 - Karma: 277
been post op for about 4 years now. knee is still fucked and when running, at around the 3 mile mark my entire right leg goes numb.... I think I should get it checked out. Also don't have full range and I walk with my foot pointed out.
Feb 27 2014 4:23AM
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trill
Posts: 297 - Karma: 1,670
Tore my ACL and Meniscus on 3rd of March last year, Had the hamstring graft and only just got back to skiing normally. First switch 9 since surgery on wednesday there (with a knee brace on). Knee still feels stiff on occasion definitely does not feel like it did before it got hurt. Don't know if it will ever feel like it use to again. I was definitely in some pain some of the time at the 9 week point, I still had pain at about 5/6 months on occasion. Pain isn't there any more just stiff on occasion and I'm aware its not like it use to be.


Feb 27 2014 7:50AM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
Damn. Thats fucked, what type of graft did you get and all that?
Feb 27 2014 9:36AM
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twin-tip-hero
Posts: 2896 - Karma: 277
I forget the name of the procedure, but what the doc did was slice my hamstring in half and use that as my new ACL. I did my PT for 3 months after, 5 days a week and never bull shitted a workout. It's not like I tried to fuck it up more, but as the saying goes in the medical field, "Chapter 10 of the Doctors handbook states "SHIT HAPPENS" "
Feb 27 2014 10:13AM
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DR.SHRED
Posts: 2134 - Karma: 503
im on surgery #2 on the same knee for acl and i can tell you the second one has been much more of a process. the first one i had a cadaver for a graft and i was walking in 2 weeks. this time the doc used my quadricept tendon and it has been 3 weeks and im at 80degree bend.

after my first surgery i waited about 10 months before i was skiing hard again and going to the gym almost 7 days a week 5 for sure. my knee felt normal about month 6 out of surgery and at month 11-12 i was stronger than i had ever been.

op is your knee still swollen?
Feb 27 2014 6:24PM
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Lemuel
Posts: 14477 - Karma: 10,515
I at month 9 post op on my 2nd on the same knee. Started skiing around the 6 month mark, skiing as hard as I ever have right now (just not throwing tricks off jumps). Retore it almost exactly 3 years after the first surgery, everything felt fine then I went huge and it exploded.

The first bit after surgery is tough, it feels like you'll never be able to do anything again.
Feb 27 2014 7:02PM
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Deforestation
Posts: 1606 - Karma: 3,192
Never had a knee injury but I did tear a ligament in my ankle december of 2012. What I did was an extremely rare injury and luckily they didn't have to do surgery. I had it in a boot for i think it was 6 weeks after the injury and after i needed a lot of PE to get it back to working order.
I tried to play hockey but it still hurt like a bitch 3-4 months after the injury. I went skiing the last weekend of the season (sometime in april) and honestly (thank god) it felt fine. That summer I also played tennis competitively. It wasn't great but it was way better than it had been in the prior months and I worked through it as well as continuing PE.
After the summer (this past winter) I played hockey for my highschool team. It was honestly pretty bad at the start but as the season progressed it got better and better. Not just because of the injury healing but because I started to learn what I was and wasnt able to do with my ankle.
This ski year has been pretty good as well. I had no problem getting back into the groove of things after missing months last year and I didn't really hold back. I really havnt progressed greatly in the park but I'm still kind of cautious especially on boxes and rails. Despite that I do believe that other than the occasional pain, the injury has essentially resolved.
In summary: injury>cast>PE(very important)>hockey(pain)>tennis(some pain)>hockey(little pain)>skiing(no pain)>good luck bro
Feb 27 2014 9:17PM
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Deforestation
Posts: 1606 - Karma: 3,192
Shit i made paragraphs but they didnt come out :(
Feb 27 2014 9:18PM
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Gharf
Posts: 1390 - Karma: 983
got my acl reconstructed in 2011 and about to get it reconstructed a second time next month.

what procedure did you get ?

if you got a patella graft (like i did) you re in for a bit of pain for quite a while

keep working hard.

i did physio between 4 and 5 times a week and i still felt a bit of pain on the patella when i started skiing again 7 month after the surgery.

it s normal.

after a month of skiing pretty quietly just pow and small jumps my knee felt 100% alright.

i skied quite a bit on it and went really hard hitting 80ft jumps and skiing 5 days a week without any pain.
you have to be patient, work hard at PT, and ice it a lot !


i ended up tearing it again doing a 360 on a 30 ft jump a month ago. always some stupid falls...

let me know if you have any questions regarding PT or anything.

good luck man and work hard believe me it s worth it you ll be back in no time :)


Feb 28 2014 5:56AM
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Gharf
Posts: 1390 - Karma: 983
sorry for double post but i see a lot of people skiing with braces after reconstruction.

i am NOT a doctor or a physiotherapist but my understanding is that a knee is supposed to get back 100% after a surgery (or 90% at least) and that a brace shouldnt be needed.

i m a little bit curious to why you guys use one ? did your surgeon or pt told you to ?

when i started skiing again after the srugery i skied without a brace right away and it was a bit difficult at first but at least you get the confidence in your knee back when you ski without a brace.


Feb 28 2014 6:03AM
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trill
Posts: 297 - Karma: 1,670
My physio recommended i ski with a brace. I know it would be possible to ski without one but i really don't want it to happen again so having the brace it just feels a lot stronger and safer. Probably more for my confidence more than actually needing it but either way I'm using it.
Feb 28 2014 6:15AM
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arnie_grape
Posts: 3432 - Karma: 11,408
9 weeks is normal to still feel like shit I didn't get off crutches till like 7 weeks after surgery but I had both menisci done too. you should start to feel normal (walking around and stuff) at 3 months.
I'm just over 10 months post surgery and up until 3 or so weeks ago it would still have random achey days.
Feb 28 2014 9:52AM
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arnie_grape
Posts: 3432 - Karma: 11,408
9 weeks is normal to still feel like shit I didn't get off crutches till like 7 weeks after surgery but I had both menisci done too. you should start to feel normal (walking around and stuff) at 3 months.
I'm just over 10 months post surgery and up until 3 or so weeks ago it would still have random achey days.
Feb 28 2014 9:53AM
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frickindarn
Posts: 2545 - Karma: 11,374
I was off crutches 5 days post op. i also had both menisci and an mcl tear. thats unfortunate that you had such a long recovery time. Best of luck getting back out there asap!
Feb 28 2014 1:55PM
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Caucasian_Asian
Posts: 2447 - Karma: 1,665
I still wear the brace when I ski as a reminder to slow down a touch.

I also went through my gear and adjusted my bindings a little.  Plus I changed the way I ski. 
Feb 28 2014 2:24PM
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frickindarn
Posts: 2545 - Karma: 11,374
I figured I should ask everyone here, Ive developed a "pop" in my back when i straighten out my recovering leg. Has anybody else experienced that? Its not painful just really fucking annoying.
Mar 7 2014 10:10PM
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frickindarn
Posts: 2545 - Karma: 11,374
Im stoked to hear you recovered man! and no its not swollen anymore. i was back down to having no extra juice in there about 2 months post op.
Mar 7 2014 10:15PM
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