ACL Recondtruction with the hammy

[45hill]

I got to 141 today and took my first hike yesterday. Like a dumbass I forgot my shoes and had to wear some Tevas that were laying in the back of the van. The hike is only about a mile and a half but it's 90% off trail and a long way down a granite slope. My feet got blisters pretty quick and I walked most of the granite in bare feet. My quads are still very weak on a downhill as were my calves on the uphill ( I carried my four year old most of the way up ).

We went to the slides in Yosemite but all I did was sit in pool at the bottom. The kids had fun and it was nice to get out on a family hike. I took a little heat form the PT because I didn't wear my brace. It fits weird with the swelling but I got the OK to start hiking as long as I wear it. Biking and hiking has really opened up a new world.

Next week I am going to the doc and will ask if I can put on some skates. My kid is going to a goalie camp and I would like to tool around on the ice a bit. Just scooping up pucks and maybe a little passing. Not much skating but it'll be nice to be able to get on the ice. I really think it'll be a no go but it doesn't hurt to ask.

I sold my sled and damn near bought a downhill bike yesterday. A friend of a friend is selling a VP Free for $1500 and it's mint. He just had a kid and needs the cash but I just can't do it. There is no way I should be riding that this year and I know I would if I had it. Too bad because it's a damn good deal. Anybody in the market for a DH bike?

The knee feels great but my legs are still weak and like bigskyguy said now is worst time to get nuts. Come on 12 weeks.

[45hill]

145/-7

Feeling great and even better that I haven't done a thing in a few days. Ortho follow up on Thursday. Hopefully I squeeze two more weeks on disability so I can go on a nice family vacation

[45hill]

Full range of motion today at PT. I went for a twelve mile bike ride this afternoon gaining about 1250 feet in elevation and seven miles of single track. The downhill sections I went slow and even got off and walked a bit.

After that I hit PT and felt great. After all the exercises I got on the bench and worked it a bit. Without much resistance my knee went all the way back into position. If it's not too swollen tomorrow I am going to go for a five mile, one way, hike. If it holds up after that I plan on going on a small, three day backpacking trip with my wife and kids. Not too much elevation gain and the majority of time will be spent fishing.

Feels good to feel good. I though this day would never come. I am still wearing my brace and being extra careful so I don't tweak it but I am done favoring it. Thanks for all your posts about your knees and replying to this one. I hope everyone who is not as far out as me gets well soon and keep up the PT.

My ortho said I can start skating in three weeks. It'll be on roller blades but I skate around town with a hockey ball and stick. I hope I can keep my elbows down.

[Ridgehippy]

I always look forward to hearing the good news in your posts; I'm 3 weeks behind you and have kinda been stuck this past week. Guess if probably happens to almost everyone and seeing where you're at now gives me something to look forward to.

Looks like you hit the Slides at a good time; that looks fun I gotta time that trip right one of these years. Glad you're doing great.

[45hill]

How long did everyone go to PT? I am feeling good and tired of going. I will continue to ride my bike and hike but I am going back to work tomorrow and don't feel like juggling the schedules.

I am 11 weeks out and have done nine weeks of PT. I have full range of motion, although it still hurts, but that is to be expected. Today we are stepping it up but it has been boring me to tears. Lift weights, stretch, balance, and agility exercises. If I have to pedal a bike a look out the window one more time I may jump out of it.

What else is there to do at PT that I can't accomplish by walking up a mountain or pedaling uphill?

[ma79f8]

My PT "discharged" me after my 12 week Dr. visit. Sed there wasn't much more she could do for me. I'm about 15 weeks post-op now, full ROM, no pain, doing weight machines at the gym 2/week, road biking about 120 miles/week and occasionally doing the pliometrics my PT gave me. Dr. doesn't want me mtn biking or trail running until 6 months. Glad to hear you're doing so well!

[Woodlandclown]

OMG--I want to go there!

[45hill]

20 weeks out this Wednesday and I feel great. Leg is strong and the knee is incredibly stable. I've been hiking and biking a ton and never notice it unless it hyper-extends.

When will the hyper-extension pain go away? I am about two inches from touching my heel to my but but my calf seems to be in the way. They have gotten huge since the surgery. My main concern this winter is falling while playing hockey and jamming the heel of my skate into my ass. Not the blade but getting full range of motion. And, hyper-extending it while snowboarding/skiing.

Who knows maybe the pain will go away in another month. I have spacer I can use in my brace that will limit the hyper-extension but I don't want to use them keeping the brace locked at 0 degrees instead of 5 degrees.

Do any of you have the same issue?

My legs and knee feel really strong but I have a lot of muscle memory to overcome. I still do things like I have no ACL. Yesterday at my kids soccer game the ball came flying out of the playing field and I lifted my leg instead of stopping it for fear of my knee popping out. My kid and my ortho's kid play on the same team. He was standing a few people away and said, "you can stop the ball now". I feel like I let him down by not trusting his work. I know it's fixed but still have a ton of muscle memory to get over.

Here's two backpacking trips I got to do before it snowed.

[ame="http://forums.mammothgear.com/showthread.php?t=315"]Piute Pass 9/15 - 9/17 TR - Mammoth Gear Forums - Mammoth Mountaineering Supply[/ame]

[ame="http://forums.mammothgear.com/showthread.php?t=316"]Lake Ediza to Minaret Lake 09-26 to 09-28 - Mammoth Gear Forums - Mammoth Mountaineering Supply[/ame]

[ma79f8]

I'm 4 weeks ahead of you, having the exact same issue and haven't been able to make progress. May talk to my Dr.

[montanaskier]

I had my surgery on Jan 19th. I still worry about the leg. My knee is solid and I feel fine. My quad isn't back to normal yet despite 4 days a week in the gym. I have a friend that is 2 years out now and just now at a confidence level prior to the tear.

The last two weeks my quad has felt as strong as it has yet and my confidence is getting stronger. I'll be on skis this week and that will help.

Keep on keeping on, as your quad gets stronger the hyperextension deal will go away.

[45hill]

Cool thanks.

I went over the bars today after jamming my front tire into a rock. I cleared the bars and landed pretty hard on the repaired leg. It was ll in slow motion and I kept saying please don't hyperextend over and over. I had my CTI brace on, landed hard and everything held together stronger than ever. If I had done that before surgery it would have definitely collapsed.

This was my first real hard test and the knee passed with flying colors. I can't wait to try and hockey stop on ice skates.

[mac19]

Another notch on the confidence board!!!

[FreakofSnow]

Keep it up man, it just keeps getting better. Here was my blog on my ACL at 9 months

[45hill]

Six months post op last Wednesday and I went snowboarding today for three hours. No pain whatsoever. I think I'll try some skiing (with the kids) in the morning and go mountain biking in the afternoon.

The first month or two sucked but I am so happy I got this done. One footing it in line was a treat. My knee used to be sloppy and move all over the place but not any more. The stability actually felt strange.

I am so stoked.

[45hill]

After receiving a little beta I went and found some ice today. The lake is a 3.5 mile hike in and located at 10975'. My kid is still into skating even though he doesn't care much for hiking. This is the only thing we both share a passion for. I can ask him a hundred times to go hiking, fishing, biking, or skiing and he would come up with some lame excuse ninety nine times. He has yet to turn down an offer to go skate.

Here's a few pictures.

My boy





The view to the north



The ice was four inches thick and perfect.





Some scale



More scale looking south. You can see a person in the lower right just off the shoreline.



My kid again trying to spray me.



Me



Leaving Gem Lake.



The knee held up just fine but I am definitely favoring it. I can really tell when I try to stop and when I push off with it. Looks like I need more practice to gain strength and confidence.

[45hill]

7 months out and I am playing hockey five days a week, snowboarding three to five days a week and have been snowmobiling the last three days. Te only thing I notice about the knee is that I can do stuff that I haven't been able to do in a long time. It's incredible how stable the knee is. There has been multiple times where I did something and was expecting the meniscus to pop and lock or the knee to slip all together and it doesn't.

My only regret is waiting as long as I did to get it done.

Still having a few hyper extending issues and I can't touch my heel to my butt. I try all the and get within an inch or two depending on hard I pushed it during the day. I'm sure it'll happen sooner or later.

Tomorrow I am going to try and ski some groomers. It'll be nice to let them run and not have the ski wobble from a loose joint.

I hope you all are having success with your repaired body parts. Once again thanks for all the encouragement and information. It really helped.

[KimD]

I am glad to hear you are doing so well!

[45hill]

11 months out and I did everything and anything I wanted to do this year. I started skiing seriously, without the kids and all over the mountain, in January and never had a issue with the knee. I never really skied before but it's was very addictive and I barely took out the board at all. I had a few really good crashes where I though the knee would explode but it all held together just fine. Crashing on skis is a lot scarier than crashing on a snowboard.

Here's a few things I have noticed about the knee after playing all winter. It is incredibly noisy. If I flex it all the way back and release it straight it makes a crackling sound the whole way. If I straighten it all the way and bring it in it cracks when I begin to bend it. My scar is tender and the outside of my leg is still numb. I hyper extended it while crossing some snow in Bryce Canyon last week and it feels a bit puffy. Does any of this stuff go away or is this the way it is going to be?

Other than the noise it is bomber and I am glad it is done.

[mawree]

My first winter back after ACL surgery I had a lot of popping, swelling, and pain after every day on snow. My surgery was Feb 18 and I got on snow late November. My doc prescribed some anti-inflammatories to take the day before, day of, and day after days snowboarding, and those helped a bit. But, I would still limp around a bit after a hard day on the mountain.

5 years after surgery, I still have the numb spot on top of my shin and my knee still tells me when it's going to rain. The issues with swelling and popping though are pretty much gone. The popping and crackling is likely fluid still working its way out of the knee, and I had that for about a year and a half following surgery.