Serious knee injury questions!!

Shitty deal. Super Painful. I've had about 10 to 15 dislocations on each knee. mostly due to the patella groove being too shallow. I've only had 1 with tears & shattered my tib / fib plataue. It wasn't till the break that I really took PT seriously & to be honest, it makes all the difference. The muscles play such a hug part in stability, you need to be very agressive with the physical therapy. The one leg I shattered is much stronger / stable than it ever was before, so yes I think confidence is completely possible, but don't wait for it to come to you,

I also ruined my knees also. Faceaz is right, rehab the shit out of it. The only problem I have is a little arthritis and my heel does not touch my butt like my other leg. That gets kinda uncomfortable sometimes. But I got back on the bike and its pretty much like it never happened- Im leaving for lorretta's in the am

I've had 3 pretty good knee injuries over the last 8 years, all to my left knee. Even after repair I feel it every step. It's not painful, but obviously different even after some time. I'm able to run again, and it feels pretty strong. Getting back on the bike was the easiest part for me really. By then it was strong. Hobbling around for months sucks balls though, and any lateral movement would hurt pretty bad for a while. Take recovery seriously, do some strength training. When it's somewhat normal you won't even think about it on the bike.

Last march I tore my acl, mcl, pcl, menicius. Similar to you. I opted to have it repaired. It was tough at first being stuck on bed. First 2 weeks after surgery was the worst ever.. do as much physical therapy as possible.. when you first start really bending it there it hurts soo bad cuz the skin is stretching and just feels soo uncomfortable. After awhile it will start feeling normal. Like I said I got hurt late march and didn't start riding till about late Sept, early Nov. It's not something you wanna rush so make sure its something you talk to you doctor about.. its now been a year and several months after surgery, it nags me sometime. Often the first step I take I hear a, crackk, from my knee, not painful just weirds me out sometimes. I've ridden every weekend since march amd still able to work during the week fine. Took me alittle but I'm actually way faster then I was before I got hurt so hasn't really affected that.. after a long day of riding my knee is alittle sore but then again so is my whole body!

My advice, let it heel properly and long enough, do a lot of physical therapy, wait till your doctor gives you the go ahead to ride, take it slow at first only pushing alittle more each time. Give it time, can't rush it!

Also ask your doctor later when its almost healed if he can write you a script for a knee brace. Obviously you dont have to but why not, I got my custom cti brace for the cost of a 20$ co pay..

ACL, LCL, QCL, Physical Therapy the shit out of it and maybe it will be good as new, 4 months out and mine still doesn't feel right, no pain but very weak

Dammmm kinda makes me wanna go find the pics they took with the orthoscopic cam.. nottt I still hate looking at it.. it will never be good as new but more like 85-96 %

I've had ACL reconstruction on both knees. They didn't start feeling normal until after a year. It takes a long time to get all the swelling out and for the graft to heal completely. No matter how much rehab you do, it won't feel normal until everything inside your knee has a chance to settle down.

Get it fixed. It will be a long road of rehab but it's better to get it fixed than to let go.

www.mxsportsmed.info

Of all the numerous broken bones I've suffered, the knee ligament surgeries were by far the worst just because of recovery time.

I will say the most important thing is to follow the doctors time frame for rehab. Your knee might feel like it's OK after a few months out, but undoing all that fancy doctor work is pretty easy to do before you're fully healed.

Good luck with everything.

Not trying to pimp thumpertalk but their is a Orthopedic Surgeon on that forum that answers questions and comes highly recommended by those that have made the trip to Texas for surgery. Dr Sanders I believe it is.
Both of my ACL are torn with the classic meniscus tears, I was supposed to have the repairs done after the trama wore off and rehab but have never gotten them done due to other things always taking priority. I should taken my own advice but I would go ahead and have them repaired by a reputable Doc and as stated rehab properly. My knees are a constant issue now and I regret putting off the surgery for so long.

I see you are in Aus so I don't know how things work in Aus. But, in America, the best advice I can give is... If you currently have the means and opportunity to have a sports injury fixed, you do it and don't postpone or you will likely never get it done and wish you had.

I screwed mine a few years back and strangely, it has gotten much better since I took up Yoga. Almost full flex after years of not being able to fold it back...... Apparently, some of the poses cause the small muscles in the knee to strengthen....not through weights, but balance corrections. Between that and the stretching....

I have a bad knee injury and it was never the same, Tore my ligaments in 1978 and they healed later but my knee is always weak to this day. Walk with a little limp. Torn minisus and side ligaments. Never healed.

You got some time - that's good. 2 things: try to get as much strength in it before hand, muscles atrophy really fast - will make a huge difference for you. Afterwards strength is important, but takes a back seat to flexibility - that is key. You have a narrow window (check with your doc - I believe 6 to 8 weeks) to get back your range of motion, after that you'll see negligable gains. I used to have a skateboard with a rope tied to it, would put my foot on the board & pull the skateboard towards my butt till the pain was unbearable. Push it till the tears come, you'll be happy you did.

You're only as good as your rehab!
Don't rush it unless you're racing for a living, it doesn't pay!
I've had ACL, MCL on both and tore my Patella on one.
Get with a good Doc or PT cuz there are exercises you can do pre-op, that can help later in the re-hab process.
You're only as good as your rehab,...did I say your only as good as your rehab?

D

I got my new parts 6 weeks ago:



And I'm already released to start riding (non-moto)

Get serious about PT

Not as severe as yours, but I asked about ACL a while ago and got good answers...

http://www.vitalmx.com/forums/Moto-Related,20/Preferred-ACL-reconstruct…

Two weeks ago I wadded up in a whoop section, wrecked my left knee pretty bad; ACL rupture, MCL tear, PCL tear, meniscul root injury, fibula plateau fracture, and a grade 2 vastus medialus with disruption of the medial patella retinaculum. Get to see my orthopedic surgeon today to discuss how we are going to fix it. This riding season is over for me, I just want to get to the point where I can start cycling again. How long does it take to at least get on a stationary bike?

I had mine rebuilt 3 years ago with cadaver pieces. I rented a knee motion unit. 4 hours after surgery i had my knee in the unit doing cycling motions 3 hours on it, 3 hours off, for the first 72 hours. I started my physical therapy after 72 hours out from surgery. I was supposed to have 16 weeks of PT, i was released after 8 with my knee at 100% extension and strength. I was back on my bikes, both mx and bmx after 16 weeks. Have had ZERO issues with it since.

1, its paramount you have a surgeon who knows what he is doing.
2. Its even more important you follow your PT and watch your diet. Post surgery, your body is using everything you take in as fuel and nutrition to tebuild what was damaged. Very very clean diet and PT.

Got it, Thanks. I am very careful about my diet, one of the first things I googled after I realized what I tore up is what I could do as far as nutrition to help this heal up. It's been nuts, berries, lean meats and loads of vitamin C, copper and zinc.
As far as the surgeon goes, he worked on a buddy of mine's knee a couple months ago (less serious injury list) but he is legit. He is the ortho for the Toledo Mudhens and Toledo Walleye, Dr. Paul Fenton.

Thanks for the advice!