Right knee ACL injury
Hi All,
Around one and half yrs back, while playing cricket, my right knee was pivoted and after MRI scan found that right knee ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) is teared(disrupted). I was suggested physio-therapy which I carried out for 2 months. After that I could run and jog but never tried playing cricket again which I tried recently and had the same injury 15 days back and after the MRI found that it is the same ACL of right knee torned and I had two options. Either to re-construct the ligament using surgery (which is very obvious solution for atheletes) or carry out rehabilitation program by doing exercises. Finally after meeting with number of doctors, I have decided not to go for surgery.
In brief, I wanted to know is there anyone who has undergone same kind of injury and want to know the pros and cons of surgery and rehabilitation without surgery.
Actually I am more worried about side effects of not going for surgery since I came to know that If I dont get operated I might end of injurying other ligaments/cartlege etc. Will really appreciate quick response.
9 comments
Clebe
Hi,
I highly recommend the surgery. I had mine 4 years ago, and I was back playing rugby within 9 months. I had a cadavors achilles tendon put into my knee! Just rehab, rehab, rehab!!
slangevin
I don’t think you fully recovered. I tore my ACL about 10 years ago. Didn’t know what it was at the time. I “fully” recovered and reinjured it again a few years later. If it was torn or partially, torn, it is unlikely that the ACL recovered to its original pre-injury condition on its own. If you avoid activities like cricket, soccer, tennis, basketball, etc., that require quick turns and the stability that your ACL provides, you may be fine. But with a weakened ACL, when you returned to cricket, it likely could not stand up to the strain of that activity. I could do straight line running with no problem with my torn ACL. But I wanted to do more than that, so I had reconstruction surgery. That was 5 years ago, and I was in my 40s, and I recovered just fine. I play softball regularly, and I also run about 30 miles a week, and I have no problems with it. I can occaisionally “feel” the knee, but nothing serious. I recommend the surgery if you want to continue to play sports like cricket.
babyboy
Hi, I had my acl torn. I had the surgry and it hurts all the time. about 3 yrs later i noticed that it was giving out on me. well some how my acl came dissconected? so i had another surgry. lol so it still is giving me trouble and now they said it has streched again and needs to be fixed..good luck on having it fixed
msaurabh
Hi,
Thanks a lot for your concern. These are the kind of reply gives some amount of relief. You are absolutely right but I am more worried since I had this injury before and I completely recovered from the injury in a one and half yrs time and started playing cricket and had this injury again while playing about one month ago. So there is always a risk involved in getting back to the sport without surgery, but I have one excuse as to I didn’t continue exercises suggested by the doctor last time I had the injury. I let it healed by itself without putting any extra efforts on the physio-therapy. But If I would have continued exercises for a long period of time, things would have been completely different and I would have never gad the injury again. This time, I have started taking the exercises seriously hoping that is the only medicine left for this kind of injury and I am able to get to the normal walking in a month time.
I hope that I will be able to run again in another couple of months time with the help of exercises.
-Saurabh
exile
Hi, sorry to bring up an old subject but do have a point worth making. I currently have 2 friends recovering from ACL injuries. One was injured in late last march, had surgery and is now just about back to full activity she is a member of my soccer team. The other who I play rugby with was injured a few months ago, hasnt had surgery but is predicted to be ok for the start of next season which will be october. So it probably depends on the individual injury as to whether surgery is the best option, either way a full recovery is possible. Incidentally, the proffessional footballers association website has quite a lot of info on cruciate injuries so it might be worth a look.
msaurabh
Thanks a lot for ur suggestion. How r u now after undergoing surgery. Is it absolutely normal or still having problem?
chicsnowbdr
Hi, I recommend the ACL reconstruction surgery if you want to be active. Without surgery, I was told that my knee wouldn’t be able to handle the impact of snowboarding and other impact sports. Also, without the surgery, you are more likely to develop arthritis in your knee. If you’re not planning on continuing sports, you don’t need the surgery.
msaurabh
Hi
Actually I didn’t get you exactly. You said in your reply that you have undergone surgery so why is it that your knee still hurts. It is that the surgery wasn’t successful. I wanted to know what all problems will be there if we don’t go for surgery. Since I am a software engg and most of my work is done sitting, so considering that I think rehab without surgery is good option. So what do you suggest and do you see any problem with that?
-Saurabh
chicsnowbdr
I tore my acl snowboarding almost 3 years ago. I had the surgery a month later. 6 months later I began snowboarding again. The first season back I was in incredible pain & couldn’t hit jumps. Since then I snowboard & hit jumps every day & mt. bike. I highly recommend the surgery if you want to continue sports. My knee still hurts to this day, but atleast I am active. Go for the surgery…the rehab will be long & painful, but it’s worth it. I actually re-injured my knee today on a flat landing. It hurts in the back of my knee…I’m wondering if I might have loosened my acl. Good luck!