Had ACL Recon/Meniscus Repair July-14...finally rode last week..

[marcg]

Had my ACL and Meniscus repaired over the summer (July 14th)....finally went snowboarding last week...6 days straight (last day was Saturday)...wore a Cti2 brace the whole time....holy crap my knee feels WEAK now...I am hearing a lot of cracking/popping in the knee when I bend it now....I feel a pain in the middle of it when I put a lot of compression on it (e.g. walking up stairs)....overall it feels like it wants to give out now.

Anyone who had this procedure done experience this after the first time putting your knee to the test???

I guess I just overdid but I traveled all the way from Florida so I ride all week/every day.

The Dr. gave me the greenlight to go....but damn...I am thinking of going back to see him next week if it is still like this :(

[drmark]

That sounds pretty bad. Its is likely that the graft is ruptured. Did you have a hamstring or allograft repair. Those grafts really aren't strong enough to be involved in sports before a year.

[marcg]

Hi Dr. Sanders....thanks for reply!...not what I was wanting to hear :(

I had a Hamstring Autograft and overall my knee was very strong the past few months (doing lots of strength training with that leg)....actually from the beginning it was very strong...I was actually a textbook perfect rehab with the PT being a cakewalk for me.

I believe the medial meniscus had a bucket handle tear which he was able to fix at the same time.

Basically it is my left knee that had the surgery and I ride goofy footed so that is the leg that was out of the binding when having to skate/push around on the flats/getting off the chairlift...that sideways pushing motion I believe put the most strain on the knee...and of course the overall jarring/impact from riding off the groomed runs and the overall steering/sliding that is done with the rear leg.

There was no defining one time pain/moment etc. where I would say the pain started....just an overall soreness starting from day 1. I continued to ride through the week and I guess it just compounded over the days.

Could that grinding sound just be a lack of synovial fluid or something??

I came back Sunday...last Saturday (the 20th) was my last day on the mountain....should I give it a little longer or you think I should go to my Dr. ASAP?

Main symptoms:
-Grinding sound when I bend the knee.
-Slight pain behind the knee cap when I walk up stairs or balance on that foot and slightly put pressure/bend my knee (Important to note that I remember on my rehab about 3 months out I had this exact same type of discomfort)...so that bit of pain causes me to be a little wobbly on it because my natural instinct is to back off/straighten up so the weight is not as heavily placed on the knee.

Thanks.

[drmark]

Yours will be the third torn out hamstring reconstruction that I have seen or heard of this week from boarding.

Hamstring repairs just are not heavy duty enough for extreme sports.

When to go to the doctor is up to you. Now that the roof is burned off the building and the fire is out, when the call 911 is up to you.

Here is more from our website on what our clinic specializes in: salvage of failed ACL work

http://sandersclinic.net/common_salvageacl.html

[marcg]

Saw my Dr. last week....ACL is fine....I had lost quite a bit of my medial meniscus on my injury last year (damn wakeboarding)....so I guess the skating motion with my rear leg as well as the overall off piste riding/jarring/bumps didn't agree with my new lack of shock absorber......hope it isn't going to do this everytime I ride...its been only 6 months as I said.

That said I don't think I am going to push it with another trip....I might be done for this season.

[BestofShow]

I had my ACLL done in June '03, skied by Feb '04 and also rock the CTI2 brace. 11/14 I had a medial meniscus repair from a bucket handle tear too. and rehab was slow at first, but quickly accelerated to make it on the slopes for the first time on 1/27 at mt snow (little over 10 weeks post op).

As for the pain you're describing...from my own rehab experience it sounds like you may have just overworked the knee. The joint not only needs to build up muscle from rehab, but stabilization and a tolerance to impacts. Each time my rehab progressed and a new agility/jumping exercise was added, I had extra soreness, and def. did not feel stable until a few times completing the drill. Ice and stretching is a must. I know the road back from an ACL recon is a lot longer from meniscus alone, so stay dedicated and it will pay off.
some extra ice and stretching will help too.

Just made it back to nyc from skiing 6 out of 10 days of a trip to vail, JH, Grand Targhee, and Snowmass last week. Knee reacted great, and was able to push hard for 2 day on, 1 day rest throughout the week.

Good luck on the road back+++