First and foremost, a little background. My brother plays a lot of sports. Karate, football, basketball, and also trains with me in jiu jistu and wrestling. He is only a freshman in Highschool and was hoping to start football and wrestling his freshman year. Then he tore both his acl and another part of the knee I forgot the name. Surprisingly, out of all the sports he plays, he did this in basketball.
On to the questions. The doctor told him he would need physical therapy and rehab and he would not be able to play sports for a year. However, those of whom I hear about tearing their acl are usually only out for 6-8 months, even none athletes. Does this have to do with his age or the fact he tore both the acl and the other part of his knee?
Secondly, he was given crutches but he does not use them. He says it doesn't hurt if he walks a specific way. (basically limping.) Is he further injuring himself by walking like this?
Lastly, prayers and/or advice would be appreciated. I have been training with my brother since he was very young and had high hopes for him. Being out of sports his whole freshman and half of his sophomore year is a devastating blow. 
You'll probably have to put him down.
priziesthorse - You should seek medical advice from a doctor, not people on the UG.The doctor said out for a year. I'm questioning this.
6-8 months for an ACL? Not everyone is Adrian Peterson. 
MCL?
Also, could it be that that 6-8 month time frame is for those who get surgery to repair their ACL rather than those who just let it heal naturally? And maybe it's because your brother is so young that the doctor is estimating a longer timeframe.
MillhouseMMA - 6-8 months for an ACL? Not everyone is Adrian Peterson.This
I've had ACL reconstruction once on each knee and I'm an Nurse Practitioner with extensive trauma and ortho experience, so I'll try and answer to the best of my knowledge.
1. He probably tore his meniscus, but it could have been something else. It's very common to tear the meniscus with the ACL. It's the cartilage pad in there and obviously the ACL is the worst short-term part of this.
2. You can certainly get back, with proper PT, in 6-8 months but expect it to not feel "normal" for well over a year. I remember for, almost a year, trying to run WR routes in the back of the endzone and ending up not being able to cut sharply enough to not go out of the back by accident. So, he'll likely be back to playing but, in my experience, not nearly 100%. With that said, I would not want to go to an Ortho who doesn't have a plan agressive enough to cautiously put him on track for the shorter time frame. He should be telling him a year is on the long end of recovery and that barring rehab issues like tendonitis or infection, he can foresee it being more like 6-8 months. Doctor selection can be paramount in these cases. Did you mention his age? I'm assuming young adult here.
3. The real issue not using the crutches is further damage to the other ligaments and the meniscus. For instance, many people tear their ACL without meniscus damange visible on MRI but in the time before the sugrery have some displacemnts (knee gives out from a twist or misstep) and then the complicate not only their recovery but their long-term joint health. The meniscus damage can be a cuase of arthritis down the road so he should be using the crutches and avoiding further damage.
This advice is not intended to replace that of any of your doctors.
zebers3 -I've never heard of anyone letting their acl hear "naturally". I'm pretty sure surgery is a must if u want to maintain a athletic career
Also, could it be that that 6-8 month time frame is for those who get surgery to repair their ACL rather than those who just let it heal naturally? And maybe it's because your brother is so young that the doctor is estimating a longer timeframe.
Also, PT BEFORE surgery can make a big difference. The more he can strengthen the accessory muscles before hand, the easier the recovery gets and the more likely he'll be to get full rang of motion. Also, DO NOT skimp on PT. He NEEDS to follow the PT schedule to get it back to as close to normal as possible.
OnlyPirateFan -zebers3 -I've never heard of anyone letting their acl hear "naturally". I'm pretty sure surgery is a must if u want to maintain a athletic career
Also, could it be that that 6-8 month time frame is for those who get surgery to repair their ACL rather than those who just let it heal naturally? And maybe it's because your brother is so young that the doctor is estimating a longer timeframe.
Ligamnets have no blood supply, they will NEVER heal naturally.
MillhouseMMA - 6-8 months for an ACL? Not everyone is Adrian Peterson.
This is exactly right.
Even professional athletes who have ALL DAY to dedicate to rehab and recovery take 8 months or so to get back to playing shape. IF your brother is a high school frosh there is no reason to rush back and chance him hurting the knee again. Do the rehab get his entire body stronger and focus on playing his soph year.
If the MRI shows that the ACL is torn he is getting surgery no matter what so getting a bunch of opinions while won't hurt it isn't quite as necessary. Now if there is only a partial tear or something else wrong with the knee that isn't cut and dry then other eyes looking at it would be beneficial.
OnlyPirateFan -zebers3 -I've never heard of anyone letting their acl hear "naturally". I'm pretty sure surgery is a must if u want to maintain a athletic career
Also, could it be that that 6-8 month time frame is for those who get surgery to repair their ACL rather than those who just let it heal naturally? And maybe it's because your brother is so young that the doctor is estimating a longer timeframe.
You're probably right, I don't know shit, just OP didn't mention surgery. I guess it should have been implied.
As someone who has had several ACL surgeries, yea the doctor is right, better or worse. Yea I felt better in fuck.... 4 months? Went back to sports as any young eager idiot would. I retore the ACL in less then a month and had to get it fixed again. Basically you will feel fine in 6 month or less but the new graft will not be fully integrated into the blood supply etc and will not be 100% ready to operate at 100% impact. There are exceptions to the rule like Peterson etc but they are literally hiring experts to rehab them every single day to get back in there asap and still taking months to do it. Trust me, get him to get it fixed, and ease back into things in 6-8 months, its not worth rushing.
Also lol at it healing naturally. Has he tried rubbing tree bark on it?
my friend healed his torn acl with physical therapy
ranier wolfcastle -
my friend healed his torn acl with physical therapy
Then he did not have a complete tear. A complete tear simply cannot reattach itself. A partial tear can heal, but it takes a LONG time.
Here's what you really need to do. Take him to the veterenarian. My dogs both tore their ACLs. You take the dog to the vet at 8am, swipe the credit card for $1,000 and your dog has a new ACL by LUNCH. I shit you not.
I needed elbow surgery, and my dog needed ACL surgery. I called his doc and mine the same day. Blue had a new ACL the NEXT BUSINESS DAY. I went through 3 doctors, 2 CT Scans, a dozen xrays and had surgery 3-1/2 months later.
Every since then I've joked that if I need and ACL and don't have insurance I'm going to go to my Vet's house with $3,000 in one hand and 9mm pistol in the other and say "Choose".
You should seek a specialists help, also do u know how bad his inury is? Is it partially torn or completely blown? I completely blew my acl out about 4 years ago, i also had meniscus damage in two areas. I was limping for the first couple weeks then it healed to a degree. I was functional but couldnt play sports. I put off the knee surgery for about 3 years until i felt i completely needed it. I had my operation last august and im still very much limited.. kinda lagged it on the rehab. But im trying to make up for lost ground..
I would tell your bro to wait till the inflamation goes down and he is functional... and just work on keeping his leg strong.. leg extensions and leg curls.. dont overwork it tho.. talk to a doc and possibly get an operation depending on how bad it is.
Yes. He will be out for a year or more.
Acl surgery for dogs isn't a reconstruction. It's a workaround because their knees are completely different.
Z NEDCMK1 -VTFU first thing I thought of as well.DirkH -ranier wolfcastle -
my friend healed his torn acl with physical therapy
Then he did not have a complete tear. A complete tear simply cannot reattach itself. A partial tear can heal, but it takes a LONG time.
Here's what you really need to do. Take him to the veterenarian. My dogs both tore their ACLs. You take the dog to the vet at 8am, swipe the credit card for $1,000 and your dog has a new ACL by LUNCH. I shit you not.
I needed elbow surgery, and my dog needed ACL surgery. I called his doc and mine the same day. Blue had a new ACL the NEXT BUSINESS DAY. I went through 3 doctors, 2 CT Scans, a dozen xrays and had surgery 3-1/2 months later.
Every since then I've joked that if I need and ACL and don't have insurance I'm going to go to my Vet's house with $3,000 in one hand and 9mm pistol in the other and say "Choose".
