marzNC
Angel Diva
As some of you know, I popped off the ACL in my right knee in early June. Not skiing. The MRI in early July confirmed a fully ruptured ALC, plus an intermediate/advanced strain for the MCL and a 2-3 cm tear the meniscus. The MCL and meniscus can heal. Bottom line is that I am taking a conservative approach so not planning any surgery until I know how much I can do with good PT support.
Most threads I've found about ACL injuries are related to reconstruction surgery and rehab. So thought I'd post some info as I work on being a "coper." I've learned that people who are "ACL deficient" fall into roughly three equal groups: copers, adapters, non-copers. A coper can do everything they want, including sports that don't involve intense pivoting. Adapters give up activities to avoid surgery. Non-copers continue to have so much instability that they have problems even with daily living.
A paper by a couple UK doctors classified activities by risk level for someone with ACL issues. The low risk list included cycling and swimming. Skiing is rated medium risk, along with tennis and golf, because these sport involve predictable pivoting action. High-level skiing is high risk, as is basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, because there is a lot of risk for an unexpected twisting injury. For me, I stopped playing those sports a couple decades ago. What I want to continue is advanced-level skiing and intermediate level rock climbing. Haven't played golf in a while for assorted reasons, but would like to golf again at some point.
I started formal PT about 4 weeks after injury. Mostly for Range of Motion (ROM) since we didn't have the full diagnosis from the MRI yet. But the orthopedic PA found a little laxity that meant the ACL was probably messed up. After three days of twice daily no-impact exercises and stretches, ROM was about 5 to 120. Still limping a bit and using a cane (on opposite side) when leaving the house. Got to 1-130 in another week. That's enough to walk normally (heel to toe), but it took concentration to avoid the limp that had already become a bad habit.
Started strength exercises at about 5 weeks after the diagnosis from the MRI and discussion with my orthopedic surgeon. He noted that the tear in the meniscus was in the thicker part near the edge, so could heal easier. At that point, he said even a compression sleeve wasn't really necessary since I had no pain and very little swelling. Only a small sore point where the MCL is attached.
ROM was at 1-130 after 5 weeks. Could do full forward rotation on a stationary bike. So the bike my husband bought some years ago that he doesn't use is being put to good use.
After two weeks of ongoing PT exercises, I'm walking around without the cane and not having any balance issues. Feels a lot different than before I did any strength exercises. Started working on step up/down and sit-to-stand this week. No limitations on whatever I want to do on a stationary bike as far as time or resistance level. Trying to get in two 15-min sessions per day.
Most threads I've found about ACL injuries are related to reconstruction surgery and rehab. So thought I'd post some info as I work on being a "coper." I've learned that people who are "ACL deficient" fall into roughly three equal groups: copers, adapters, non-copers. A coper can do everything they want, including sports that don't involve intense pivoting. Adapters give up activities to avoid surgery. Non-copers continue to have so much instability that they have problems even with daily living.
A paper by a couple UK doctors classified activities by risk level for someone with ACL issues. The low risk list included cycling and swimming. Skiing is rated medium risk, along with tennis and golf, because these sport involve predictable pivoting action. High-level skiing is high risk, as is basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, because there is a lot of risk for an unexpected twisting injury. For me, I stopped playing those sports a couple decades ago. What I want to continue is advanced-level skiing and intermediate level rock climbing. Haven't played golf in a while for assorted reasons, but would like to golf again at some point.
I started formal PT about 4 weeks after injury. Mostly for Range of Motion (ROM) since we didn't have the full diagnosis from the MRI yet. But the orthopedic PA found a little laxity that meant the ACL was probably messed up. After three days of twice daily no-impact exercises and stretches, ROM was about 5 to 120. Still limping a bit and using a cane (on opposite side) when leaving the house. Got to 1-130 in another week. That's enough to walk normally (heel to toe), but it took concentration to avoid the limp that had already become a bad habit.
Started strength exercises at about 5 weeks after the diagnosis from the MRI and discussion with my orthopedic surgeon. He noted that the tear in the meniscus was in the thicker part near the edge, so could heal easier. At that point, he said even a compression sleeve wasn't really necessary since I had no pain and very little swelling. Only a small sore point where the MCL is attached.
ROM was at 1-130 after 5 weeks. Could do full forward rotation on a stationary bike. So the bike my husband bought some years ago that he doesn't use is being put to good use.
After two weeks of ongoing PT exercises, I'm walking around without the cane and not having any balance issues. Feels a lot different than before I did any strength exercises. Started working on step up/down and sit-to-stand this week. No limitations on whatever I want to do on a stationary bike as far as time or resistance level. Trying to get in two 15-min sessions per day.