Recently had acl recon 4 months ago and I'm still having pain?

[Giantsbaby]

Hey guys a little info about myself. I tore my acl completely in December of 2009 training in muay thai. I had no medical insurance so I opted to go with the Va hospital in La Jolla California . My doctor who did the reconstruction is Dr. Mark Murphy, who has over 30 years in the orthopedic field. He graduated from the university of texas. Well my surgery was done on the 6th of April and I'm 4 months post opt and I'm still having pain when I flex my quadricep fully. Im getting pain in the fron of my knee cap. The kind of graft he used was my hamstring from the same leg. Is this normal or is this a sign of something went wrong? After reading these forums , I wish I knew about sanders clinic before I had this done. I shall be leaving for the border patrol soon and I feel I'm nowhere near ready to be fit for duty. Any info on some extensive physical therapy would be greatly appreciated.

[montanaskier]

sounds like your patella is the source of the pain. Probably because your quad isn't strong enough yet so the patella takes the brunt of force and not your quad. Hit your exercises harder...It'll come....give it time.

Don't believe or not believe about "the Sanders Clinic" just because you read some stuff from a Dr. that searches out business on a ski message board. He may be a great doc but posting here doesn't make it so.

[Giantsbaby]

That sounds about right because my quads and hammys are really weak. The quads are alot weaker for some reason. I will hit it harder because I have been slacking a little bit. I was just freaked out at the 3 month mark when they say your new acl is at it's weakest. You make me feel better about having the hammy graft. I guess to each his own about graft choices.

[Steeze Clown]

heyy, Im in the same vote as you 3 1/2 months out and its feels decent but ya when i flex as hard as I can it gets sore. I think it is just from not working out enough, but i don't think were to far off pace, because the reason I slowed down my work out routine was because I was really scared of over doing it and now that were over that hump its game time, Dude i know what you mean about not being in enough shape for you Job. I am going into a fire fighting program at school, luckly its based alot on fitness so im hoping to use it to strenthin my knee. Does urs click at full extension?

[Captain Anal]

had the same problem first acl surgery. patella was painful when flexing the quads for a good 7 months after. did not have that problem the 2nd time, for some reason.

[Steeze Clown]

Yo ANAL! did the same knee fail? and what did you do to make it fail?

[Mastadon]

yeah my opperated knee clicks when fully extended and flexed but I have full stabillity and it doesnt hurt so.. i guess I dont need to worry clicking might be a tendon or scar tissue

[Vinman]

a lot of things can cause ant. knee pain after ACL recon
1. scar tissue
2. tight hamstrings
3. restricted patello-femoral glide
4. weak quads
5. tight IT band
6. lack of full knee Extension
7. screw
8. other

tough to tell from here, find a good AT or PT to take a look at your knee. It is purely a guess without being able to put my eyes and hands on you.

[Endlessseason]

I'm 7 years post replacement. I just figure I'm one of those few unlucky ones who will never be back to the degree I'd hoped.

I have buds who can do one-legged squats and full marathons on their replacement parts. I can't even freaking kneel without pain. Oh well.

I may not be pain-free but I know I'm happier with one than without.

After tearing mine clean off at the end of May '03, I tried skiing a couple weeks later in June because I'd read that some people can function without an acl. It was instantly clear I'm not one of those people. I couldn't make even one turn on that leg.

I've now put more than 400 ski days on that sucker post-autograft. I figure it's worth the pain.

[Summitgirl]

ACL reconstruction is 9-12 month for full recovery, I had surgery at the end of January and I still get pain! Just keep doing your physical therapy! Best of luck to you!

[JHoback]

For most people, 3-4 months out is only the beginning of running (no trails) and probably still have some pain. You need to give it more time and keep the PT going, whether its in a facility or on your own. If you stop working out the knee now, you will just extend your recovery time. A demanding physical job like Border Patrol would be difficult for anyone only 3-4 months post. Also, the pain should diminish over time. Good Luck!

[Pudderhora]

1. Partial ACL rupture and what have you not, binder didn't release due to physics (strange crash), 6 months rehab.
2. Full ACL rupture. Freak accident, inner ski. 6 months rehab
3. Miniscus rupture. Hard snow in landing.
4. Reconstruction of ACL and miniscus suture May 20th 2010. Both successful, latter often not so.

Lots of physio since surgery. Top international surgeon. Still have pain / difficulty walking down stairs after sitting down. After warming up can run at 9 km/h (haven't tried faster, 4th run yesterday), can do fairly rough stability exercises. This is after 3 months of crutches, due to post-op unforeseen complications. My experience: Extremely important to train smart: Do appropriate exercises based on feedback (pain/swelling) of knee. Thanks for your input to me! If you want the exercises, PM. I'm not very frequently here.

Best of luck!