ACL Class of 2017

[pfluffenmeister]

Back at yah pfluff

Hawk is the man!
Sent my broke ass out a new ice machine.
Ice, ice baby ...

Damn brother! I hate to hear that. Not sure where you are located, but if you are anywhere south of Denver let me know if you need anything at all. I would not have survived my knee explosion with compartment syndrome last year without a lot of help from friends and neighbors. Seriously happy to help if you need a hand with anything at all. Hope the ACL heals quickly!

Thanks CS!
Surgery is scheduled for 5/22.

Anyone hear about the new Bear technique?
ACL repair as opposed to reconstruction.
Apparently has a high rate (not sure on %s) of rerupture.

Probably go with a hamstring graft.
Hamstring graft is 3% rerupture rate with ~6% loss of hamstring strength. (~7mm diameter graft)
Cadaver graft 6-8% rerupture. (~9-10mm graft)

[hawkgt]

Ice, ice baby ...

sweet, glad it showed up

I had the cadaver hunk of meat myself, got someone else to blame this time if it goes again.

After an active weekend I could barely place weight on my leg last night, dam it hurt. Today, feels great, better than ever. So fucking odd with the ups and downs

[XXX-er]

dam, sorry to hear pfluff. hope recovery goes well.

you need an ice machine? I got a new don joy iceman clear3 with the universal pad. never used, out of package though. they sent me home with a Bregg from surgery

I was able to borrow an ice machine from a biking/ boarding OR nurse buddy, I only used it once and I was underwhelmed by the amount of cold it put out so i went to ice packs of course YMMV

[yeahman]

So fucking odd with the ups and downs

Yah it fucks with your mind because you want to make progress so badly, but it's just part of the process. Don't let it get you down.

[mst1228]

I’m just at 12 weeks and day to day is feeling really good. ROM seems almost back, trying to sit on my heels is the only thing that still hurts a little though not too bad. PT seems to be all about quad strength and trying to catch back up to my good leg. It’s almost an annoying stage because mentally I feel like I could do more but PT still says running and skiing is a ways away. Cleared for climbing on a top rope and biking without clips so at least some activities to do again, but the better I feel the harder it is to stay motivated for the “basic” PT exercises, no matter how much I know how important they are. Still seeing PT twice a week which is the best part, gotta do it there. 12 week meeting with surgeon next week and I’m interested to see what he says. So ready to get back to it!


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[CallMeAl]

Lots of great info here, thanks all.

I'm 3 weeks out of ACL reconstruction. Went the quad tendon route.

Hitting/exceeding flexion and extension benchmarks, but struggling with quad strength (not shocked since they took a "nice piece of crab meat" out of the adjacent tendon.

However, my biggest issue is sleeping. I haven't slept more than 3 consecutive hours due to night pain. I'm comfortable most of the day. My PA prescribed Ambien, which helps me fall asleep quickly (not the issue), but I still can't stay asleep/fall back asleep once I wake up- usually around 1am.

I've been icing/taking NSAIDs before bed and messing with pillow configuration.

Any tips? Or does it just f'n hurt and that's the way she goes?

[XXX-er]

Any tips? Or does it just f'n hurt and that's the way she goes?

I think this ^^ and it gets better, I skipped the Tramadol and went to extra strength IBU within about 6 days after the hydro morphine bottle was empty

I think maybe folks are meh cuz so many people get their ACL done but according to the orthopedic surgeon I met on the chair " the ACL is major surgery "

[Djongo Unchained]

Lots of great info here, thanks all.

I'm 3 weeks out of ACL reconstruction. Went the quad tendon route.

Hitting/exceeding flexion and extension benchmarks, but struggling with quad strength (not shocked since they took a "nice piece of crab meat" out of the adjacent tendon.

However, my biggest issue is sleeping. I haven't slept more than 3 consecutive hours due to night pain. I'm comfortable most of the day. My PA prescribed Ambien, which helps me fall asleep quickly (not the issue), but I still can't stay asleep/fall back asleep once I wake up- usually around 1am.

I've been icing/taking NSAIDs before bed and messing with pillow configuration.

Any tips? Or does it just f'n hurt and that's the way she goes?

I had the quad tendon repair done too.

Some impressions: It's gonna hurt for a while because it's a soft tissue repair and on top of that, you've had a separate surgery for the tendon.

It complicates the overall repair as both have to heal. I found a large but soft pillow helped me sleep, putting it beneath the leg overnight. Take the tension off.

My biggest gripe about the quad graft is that I let my leg get smaller and it's been a bitch to bring it back. Fwiw, I'm not a workout/gym guy so My rehab was a fair amount of ladder work. Careful ascents became stronger and it took a while to use the weaker leg to push me up to the next rung.

As I understood it, the advantage is that it's a blood replenishing tendon so it has the potential to kinda regrow/heal itself better than some other options.

Give yourself some reasonable timeline marks and be flexible. Be careful and don't put yourself in reverse gear.

[CallMeAl]

I think this ^^ and it gets better, I skipped the Tramadol and went to extra strength IBU within about 6 days after the hydro morphine bottle was empty

I think maybe folks are meh cuz so many people get their ACL done but according to the orthopedic surgeon I met on the chair " the ACL is major surgery "

I think you're right. I mentioned the pain points to my PT and she said, "Oh, that's where they went through your IT band to drill a hole and put a rivet in your femur." When she put it that way, makes sense that it's just going to fkn hurt for a bit.

I had the quad tendon repair done too.

Some impressions: It's gonna hurt for a while because it's a soft tissue repair and on top of that, you've had a separate surgery for the tendon.

It complicates the overall repair as both have to heal. I found a large but soft pillow helped me sleep, putting it beneath the leg overnight. Take the tension off.

My biggest gripe about the quad graft is that I let my leg get smaller and it's been a bitch to bring it back. Fwiw, I'm not a workout/gym guy so My rehab was a fair amount of ladder work. Careful ascents became stronger and it took a while to use the weaker leg to push me up to the next rung.

As I understood it, the advantage is that it's a blood replenishing tendon so it has the potential to kinda regrow/heal itself better than some other options.

Give yourself some reasonable timeline marks and be flexible. Be careful and don't put yourself in reverse gear.

That seems to be my main hang up too. Been spending time on a shitty old stationary bike an ACL '20 alum buddy gifted me to increase blood exchange and using EMS to encourage that quad to fire, but retaining muscle mass/control is a struggle for sure.

I'm going to rob the obnoxiously soft mattress topper we've got on the guest bed tonight to see if that helps alleviate pressure.

Ditched the Ambien after two nights. It gave me a ripping headache the next day, and I'd rather be tired than hungover.

Instead I jumped on the bike for 5 minutes last night when I woke up at 1am. Getting some circulation going got rid of most of the pain and made it much easier to fall back asleep.

Thanks for the tips, guys.

[montanaskier]

12 weeks on Wed. I’ve done a TON of traveling for work the last 3 weeks so no PT. I have been riding the bike at home and the hotels daily and doing my exercises. Felt good to be back in PT today and I’m in good shape. Flexion and Extension are fine. Finally can do leg extensions. Cleared to ride the bike outside and man did just a spin around the block feel amazing! Quad strengthening is the name of the game from here.


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[hawkgt]

12 weeks on Wed. I’ve done a TON of traveling for work the last 3 weeks so no PT. I have been riding the bike at home and the hotels daily and doing my exercises. Felt good to be back in PT today and I’m in good shape. Flexion and Extension are fine. Finally can do leg extensions. Cleared to ride the bike outside and man did just a spin around the block feel amazing! Quad strengthening is the name of the game from here.


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FKNA!

[XXX-er]

At 2 or 3 months I wanted to ride fat bike on snow so my PT told me any bike you fall off could fack the surgery and suggested a stationary bike, FAT bike on snow is kind of sketch so I didn't do much of it

So IME a whole bunch of bike riding last summer muscling an E-enduro bike up & down the bluff didn't really strengthen the leg post ACL repair FOR SKIING cuz at some point I would feel the leg backsliding by just the biking so it was back to the gym for > 100 visits,

just doing the leg press didnt do it completely either so on advice of a orthopedic surgeaon I thru in knee extension, reverse curl, calf raises and the leg finally came around for the skiing 2.5 yrs post OP which was about 3 months ago

but YMMV

[CallMeAl]

12 weeks on Wed. I’ve done a TON of traveling for work the last 3 weeks so no PT. I have been riding the bike at home and the hotels daily and doing my exercises. Felt good to be back in PT today and I’m in good shape. Flexion and Extension are fine. Finally can do leg extensions. Cleared to ride the bike outside and man did just a spin around the block feel amazing! Quad strengthening is the name of the game from here.


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Nice! Stoked for you. Riding a bike must feel great in a light at the end of the tunnel kinda way.


Data point per night pain- When i mentioned to my PT that the bike relieved some of the pain, she suggested sleeping in compression socks (not the full sleeve, just CEP ski socks).

Tried it and slept through the night for the first time in 4 weeks!

[Djongo Unchained]

Damn, I forgot about the compression sock. I'd say yeah, that had a positive feel to it.

[CallMeAl]

Made some unexpected progress on my circulation/night pain issues yesterday:

PT thinks the quad graft site is too weak to hold my patella up where it should be, and as a result my infrapatellar fat pad is getting squished and enflamed by my patella that's sitting lower than it should be. This was not only limiting circulation, but also making extensions way harder/more painful than they needed to be.

We taped my patella in place (upward) yesterday, and it's a night and day difference. Extensions/lifts are a breeze compared to what they were, and all excessive discomfort in my lower leg is now gone.

Got a follow up with the doc in 2 weeks to discuss further.

[grskier]

Tape can work. It helped my patella tracking after my surgery. I had patellar tendon graft. Happy to hear you have some relief. Pain sucks.

[montanaskier]

4 months tomorrow. Doing fine but never as fast as I’d like to be. Doing about 100lbs single leg presses. Step downs are a BITCH still. Not cleared for full swings but played a little par 3 golf this week which felt great! Slow and steady. Did a 12 mile 1300 vert road ride that felt good. Itching to get in some dirt.


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[mst1228]

4 months tomorrow. Doing fine but never as fast as I’d like to be. Doing about 100lbs single leg presses. Step downs are a BITCH still. Not cleared for full swings but played a little par 3 golf this week which felt great! Slow and steady. Did a 12 mile 1300 vert road ride that felt good. Itching to get in some dirt.


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Good progress montana! Keep it up. Sounds like we’re almost the exact timeline. 4 months today for me. Feeling good too, no presses but we’ve been measuring on force plates at PT and Monday he said I was just a few percentages off asymmetry where they normally clear for skiing so feeling good about next season. Still can’t run or climb boulders but feels like it can’t be far…


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[montanaskier]

This is the grind part for sure. I feel pretty good. Can’t run but I don’t run anyway. Can’t cut yet and can’t fully swing a club or ride dirt yet but feel pretty good. These next 4-6 months of just grinding getting stronger are gonna be tedious.


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[XXX-er]

This is the grind part for sure. I feel pretty good. Can’t run but I don’t run anyway. Can’t cut yet and can’t fully swing a club or ride dirt yet but feel pretty good. These next 4-6 months of just grinding getting stronger are gonna be tedious.


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Right now is just the refrain from being a dumbass phase

YMMV but IME its a lot more than 4-6 months to get everything firing right

[mst1228]

Right now is just the refrain from being a dumbass phase

YMMV but IME its a lot more than 4-6 months to get everything firing right

Exactly. I feel pretty good and in my mind I’m ready for more, but need to listen to the PT and keep building back before doing more intensity and risking a stupid reinjury. There are definitely things I want to do this summer, but I’m trying to just come to peace with the fact those might not be a good idea and focus on being healthy as I can for next winter. Grinding…


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[pfluffenmeister]

A bit over one month post op (ACL reconstruction with hamstring autograft).
I have 0°-120° range of motion and can alternate steps, both up and down.
Have done a little bit of time on a stationary bike (kind of sad when that sounds exciting).

So far easier than the 2015 ACL; and muuuch easier than having surgery for a ruptured Achilles.

[cspringsposer]

How is the knee doing Pluff? My wife tore hers and had the same surgery/graft around the same time as you. She is starting to be able to alternate steps, walk more normally, etc. Still a struggle but she saw huge progress from week 8 until week 12.

Hopefully life is getting back to normal. I am in the Springs and happy to lend a hand to you or anyone in the area that needs it during recovery. The help I got when I had my TPF was huge and I am more than willing to help anyone that needs it!

[pfluffenmeister]

How is the knee doing Pluff? My wife tore hers and had the same surgery/graft around the same time as you. She is starting to be able to alternate steps, walk more normally, etc. Still a struggle but she saw huge progress from week 8 until week 12.

Hopefully life is getting back to normal. I am in the Springs and happy to lend a hand to you or anyone in the area that needs it during recovery. The help I got when I had my TPF was huge and I am more than willing to help anyone that needs it!

Hey!
Thank you for asking.
I'm feeling pretty darn good; this my third surgery in the last 8-9 years (2 ACLs: right in 2015, currently left; and left Achilles tendon in 2021) and I feel like a veteran (of the psychic wars!).
Got my heartbeat down to a low of 44 prior to surgery, was generally in the 50s.

Currently about 130° ROM in the left knee (right @140°).
Mainly playing with my 1.5 year old German Shepherd Sadie Mae for PT (PPT: Puppy Physical Therapy)!

PS I couldn't even read your compartment syndrome thread.
PPS I'm glad your good now.

[cspringsposer]

Great to hear you are recovering so well and quickly! Hopefully you will be ready to make some turns this season once the snow starts flying. PPT sounds so much better than traditional PT!

The compartment syndrome was pretty frightening but some really good doctors patched me back up.