Not sure if I'm looking for advice or just sympathy while I'm laid up :)
On Thursday I had surgery to repair my torn ACL, I had the patelar
tendon procdure BTW. While in my knee the Dr. found my meniscus to
be torn all the way through (pan handle tear) and removed the torn
piece....
So now the fun part starts: Rehabilition. They had me go
in a day after my surgery to try and straighten and bend my knee as
much as possible. Bending my knee seems like an impossible task
right now. For anyone that has ever seen me fight or compete in NHB/
BJJ/No-Gi I have had a torn ACL all these years...I've gone my whole
career in this
sport without knowing what a strong knee is like and more importantly
how to train with one. My biggest concern is getting past the mental
block of trusting my knee. Prior to surgery, I've known exactly what
positions I could and couldn't get into. Will I be able to push through
those positions now without fear of my knee giving out and buckling?
How long will I be out of BJJ for? I hope I'll be able to get on the mats
soon and at least be able to teach.
Another fear would be
reinjuring the knee. I have a buddy that had his done and he said his
feels stronger than before....Hope that applies to me.
Now is where
I take any advice people would like to share that have been through the
same situation. Thanks for any personal advice or stories anyone can
share. Hope to see some of you again real soon! :)
Stephen...Thanks!! The site was very helpful, I liked reading all the
personal accounts...helped me be realistic in what I could expect in the
weeks and months to come.
I been there. I feel for ya. It sucks. You have a lot of pain coming into your world for a long time. Be smart and don't push yourself into another ACL surgery by doing too much too fast.
A good physical therapist can reduce your recover time quite a bit. A bad one, like the one I got, can make things very dangerous for you.
Good luck. A year from now it will still hurt but you will be fine. 10 years from now you will remember this like a bad dream.
I too had the patella tendon graft. Six months before I was back on the mats, a year before I was back on the mats "hard," and almost three years before I felt like it was 90%+
Glucosamine and Chondroitin are your friends. Those RIDICULOUSLY SLOW-PROGRESSING protocols of your physical therapists should be adhered to 100% as well - you just had an extremely invasive surgery to your knee that will take 2 to 3 years to fully recover from. Push it too hard too soon and you'll NEVER recover completely. Go slow and follow protocols and you'll be good as new in the end........ minus a little wear on your patience. I pushed mine a little hard a little soon, and now have to wonder if it played a part in me re-tearing it in an accident at work that left me with a permanent disability rating in that knee. Before the re-injury, I DID feel like my knee was 100% (took 5 years), but maybe if I had followed instructions better it'd healed faster and been strong enough to survive instead of getting partially torn again.
I suggest while you rehab that you take up reading and chess in the meantime, the cryo-cuff icepack for your leg will become the BEST friend you have EVER had, and if you take any long car trips get out and stretch your leg often or it will cramp up and make you cry like a little baby. Just hang in there bro, and you'll be fine......... eventually.
(On a side note, I personally know quite a few people who had the cadaver graft, and EVERY ONE OF THEM has completely re-torn it and had the patella graft for their second surgery. The Patella graft takes the longest to recover from, but is the most stable of the three options. The cadaver graft is a quick recovery, but tends to re-tear easily. The hamstring graft tends to lead to a lot of muscle pulls in the hams later on, and a friend of mine has it "slip" out from time to time just playing softball. He wishes he'd had the patella graft instead of the hamstring graft, now.)
Thanks Adam...My doctor was well aware of me doing BJJ and knew what
it was (not Karate)...He said w/ my situation and age, the patelar graft was
the best option...I guess time and patience is going to be my best
prescription for the time being. Sound like there are good and bad
stories for each option, and the best thing to do it take it slow and stick
to the rehab...I biggest priority right now is getting my flexibility and
strength back.
I am 5 weeks out from my ACl surgery (had meniscus and OATS bone graft done). Are you on a CPM motion machine?? I used that for 2 weeks after and it greatly helped with range of motion. According to my therapist I am way ahead of most people which suprises me at my age (37).
In addition to glucosamine I recommend Cissus RX for healing. Go to synergymuscle.com or bodybuilding.com for info. Also do a Google or PubMed search for more info.
My PT was telling me that the Doctor for the Indianapolis Colts had athletes running 2 weeks after ACL surgery (cadaver). It was extremely aggressive therapy to get them back on the field quickly. He didn't know about the long term results.
Any way I am hoping that I will be back training in 6 months. Good luck with your rehab.
Angelo,
Hang in there! I had the patella graft in 2001. I was running in several months (jogging) and light rolling/drilling in 6 months. In my case it was a year before I strarted rolling for real as it takes that long for the nerves and vasculature to regenerate (at least that's what my doctor told me).
Long term I feel better and have fewer problems with the repaired knee than I did before the surgery.
My doc told me running in about 2 weeks, cutting side to
side and running in about 4 weeks, and able to jump/shoot hoops in
about a month...however, that was before finding the minscus damage.
My PT didn't want to get too crazy the first week because of having a
piece of my meniscus cut out, and Im not on a motion machine. Just
doing some real basic bending and extending exercises right now. Start
my 3x per week PT routine tomorrow.
>LOL at how humbling this
experience has been...before it was about winning this or that tournament
or fight, or getting the next promotion. Yesterday, it was about being
able to lift my leg up to get into the shower and then putting my
underwear on.
I go in for a check up visit next Monday, so I'll be able
to get some feedback from the doc and see what my prognosis is.
I remember thinking on my first day of PT that if I was EVER going to get my knee to bend enough again to make that damn pedal go all the way around on the bike, it was going to take a small MIRACLE.
You don't truly appreciate the range of motion involved in "bending your knee" until you can't do it for a while. :-(
Angelo good to see you actually walking on that knee today. I feel like a puss now. I remember when I got my knee scoped for some torn cartilidge and i was in a knee immobilizer for a month. I think you will be back on the mats very soon.
Thanks DR...it's gonna take some time and work, but I'm
ready.
Adam, first day went as well as can be expected....You are
SO right, these 'little' things seem like HUGE miracles right now. PT sat
me down in the stationary bike and got right in my face. He said, "I'm
not going to lie, this is going to hurt like hell, but if you want your
knee to heal you HAVE to do this." He then assured me that I will not
damage my knee, even though it'll feel like it. So I started the first
revolution w/ my good leg, as my bad knee came around I took a deep
breath and pushed. It felt terrible and I could've swore my incision site
was going to bust wide open! I started to sweat immediately and
thought I was gong pass out. The PT promised me that every
revolution would feel a little easier as the fluid/swelling was pushed
out of the knee....it did get better and I was able to do 10 minutes on
the stationary bike, then 10 minutes on the elipitical (sp?) machine,
followed by some light stretches.
It's sounds funny to make all
these simple things sound soo dramatic, but they are. It just helps me
keep it all in perspective. The PT said I was actually doing really well,
for four days after the surgery. Can't wait for the next visit, lol!
Angelo, it took me a full week before I could bend my knee enough to make a full revolution. There was no pushing through it - it was just so swollen (and I have pretty big legs anyway) that the range of motion just wasn't there.
Sounds like you are doing great for 4 days post-op!! How you doing on the crutches?