My ACL Surgery! Video - Page 4

I'm not supposed to bend my knee that far anyway ... for other reasons. It really hasn't been a big issue, but like I said, I am swelling a little more now than I was. That's why I'm going back. I'll see what the physio tells me after the eval. I'm actually going to a different one this time, just because ... I don't know. My guy has always been great, but after 9 or 10 years, I guess it's interesting to hear another view. 

Yea, I had a buckethead meniscus tear that had to be repaired as well.  My flexibility was pretty good, although I was always pushing my rehab and when I did so, I'd get swelling in the knee that would limit my ability to straighten the leg, generally by about 3-5 degrees.  My PT would tell me I should back off a bit, and I would, resulting in getting my knee back to full extension, but then would do a bit much and get back to more or less the same spot.  That went on after I was released from PT (2.5 months post surgery) when I resumed a heavy (180+ mile/week) workload on the bike.

 

It's a struggle doing rehab, or at least it was for me.  I guess I was so pissed off by being injured that I didn't want to let anything stand in my way, so I hit the rehab diligently and intensely.  Perhaps a bit too intensely at times.  But I was in great condition 6 months after surgery and had virtually no problems skiing this season.

 

I did feel a twinge or two in the knee skiing.  But that was when I was getting a bit stupid and taking a bit of air.  I've never been a jumper, so I have no idea what crept into my head.  But I managed to not injure myself this season, which is the first uninjured season in 6-7 years.  So that's saying something.

 

Mike

Ron, you've got a fair number of insults to recover from: knee, ankle, and shoulder.  It's easy to get a bit depressed about the whole situation.  When I blew my ACL last year, I had literally just received my first training block plan for getting ready for the Bicycle Tour of Colorado.  While I'd already done 2 BTC's, I was really looking forward to last year's ride as 1) it went over Trail Ridge Road and 2) it went through Steamboat and with a couple of miles of my aunt's ranch. I'd made the mental adjustment that my ski season was just about over and cycling season was about to start.

 

So, I really thought I just might be able to train enough to still do the BTC.  But as rehab progressed, it became increasingly obvious that there was no way in hell I was going to be able to get the miles and climbing in to be able to do the ride.  It was a bit of a bummer.  I was goal-less for a while looking for a purpose for my training.  I guess I'm a guy who is motivated by goals, and audacious goals are necessary to keep me motivated.  So, I set my sights on riding a century in under 5 hours.  Granted, it was a lot less of an audacious goal than those in previous years (like when I weighed 250 pounds, had not riden a long climb, and signed up for my first BTC), but it was a stretch for me given my physical state of affairs.

 

Maybe it would help you on the rehab if you think about setting a significant goal for yourself in the fall.  You'll have enough time to rehab, and something to continue to motivate yourself to do the hard work that's required to meet it.

 

Mike

"Ideal Application The Custom Defiance is DonJoy's hallmark knee brace. Combining the ultimate in technology, materials and design, this lightweight brace provides durable support for moderate to severe ACL, PCL, MCL and LCL instabilities. "

 

 

The way the knee and ACl work as I understand it allows the brace to be worn and you are still wokring muscles. The quad muscles control the movement of the knee, and the ACL provides the services of sort of a safety stop. The brace takes the place of this safety stop, allowing the muscles to work as they would normally with a good ACL. The lack of ACL is why you can suddenly have your leg buckle when the joint gets out of that effective muscle zone, nothing to help hold you until the muscles pull everything back. I also heard that the ACl actually sent signals to the body as knee position changed, allowing muscle control to be right on top of things.

 

My PT says take the brace off for comfort but if left on does not hinder building muscles back up.

 

MInd you this is my interpretation greatly simplified to avoid unneeded effort and work 

 

Actually I am in and out of the house all day and it is just easier to leave the brace on. I wear either just shorts, long johns and shorts or lightweight training pants (REI running gear), likewise  brace is not comfortable under pants. You find out that you can dress warm and still run around in shorts in a snowstorm. Also you can use the one benefit for getting hurt, people see you in a brace and they feel sorry for you (unless they are your friends, then you just get laughed at)

 

Joyce went skiing yesterday and all I got was this crummy picture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My surgeon prescribed an Ossur custom carbon fiber brace to me, and had me fitted for it prior to surgery. Then he made me promise to wear it whenever I was playing any sports that might threaten the graft for one year. He happens to be very reknown in the field - so I did as I promised I would. Thankfully the brace fit under my ski pants, and I took a year off from golf.

 

BTW, everyone that has been through this is totally paranoid about hurting it every time they stumble on a stair, or catch a slip on some ice. I was told not to worry, that it's quite hard to hurt it while doing normal stuff, and every follow-up visit they will manipulate it anyway which will clearly show any problems. Every follow-up visit I had involved not only my surgeon manipulating my knee but also his Fellows that were studying under him, and once even a visiting surgeon from overseas manipulating it as well - all under my surgeon's supervision. What was interesting to me is that it wasn't so much that the knee was tight but that there was a distinct limit to the travel of the calf away from the femur.

Finn, my oldest best bud had a recon about a dozen years ago, and he shows no sign of injury to this date.

I'm sure you'll make it back all the way. My buddy has less trouble with his knee than I do. And while I have never had any surgery

I have no soft tissue on the bottom of my right femur and the patella on that side has always had issues. Slack tendon.

I have no surgical options, so I use IBUs, ice, morning and apres hot tubs with a liberal dose of tequila.

I do use neoprene knee cuffs with a hole for the patella for skiing only.

Keep up your PT.

Al

 

 

 

 

I'm thinking everything physical will recover, but will I ever be totally carefree skiing without a nagging concern about being run down from behind again???

Yea, you might now find early season at Breck to be a bit uncomfortable.  As to Keystone, I simply will not go there early season as it has always seemed to me to be a disaster waiting to happen.

 

Mike

I've always been super careful about watching for people behind me, especially when making rounder turns. When I got off the lift, I couldn't see anyone in the chairs behind me. It was 8:45 a.m. It's a lift you have to get to by riding a lower lift. The guy who hit me had to straight run in order to catch up. I saw no other skiers during the five minutes it took for the ski patrol to respond to my call. I'm betting the WROD at A-Basin in October will freak me out. I only go weekdays and for the first two hours max as it is.

It's good to hear you folks are all better, or getting better, really pretty impressive.

 

Kneale, while it's somewhat in-material, did all work out friendly between the dude that hit ya?

 

Finndog, least from a season perspective, it wasn't one of the better ones to miss out on.  I'm still somewhat dismayed by the very very little time I got given how little it normally is.  

 

Remember, next yr!   if any of you are silly enough to be Cubs fans, you'll understand : )

 

pete

 

Ditto.  After getting hit hard two seasons ago (rotator cuff injury) I feel like I'm always skiing with one eye over my shoulder.  Instead of a GoPro, if they made a helmet mounted rear surveillance camera, I might be interested.

 

 

 

 

He stuck around long enough for the patrol to arrive and get his address/phone details, which is the law in Colorado, but he's not responded to me in any way. He contacted his insurance companies (home in Indiana, condo in Breck) after I sent him a letter outlining my injury. When I learned there were two companies, I lawyered up. Resolution awaits the surgeon's final visit in a couple more months. I'd like to offer some instruction to him if he'd be interested.

I've been toying with the idea of something like the rearview mirrors bikers use.

 

 

hummm, interesting phrasing ... I know how I'd be inclined, but then, I'm not an instructor!   

 

In seriousness, I just hope he feels like crap given what's happened but not surprised he hasn't contacted you.  These days I'm certain his insurance company instructed him not to.   I always tend to let folks pass and run a gap, simply a I don't wish to be bombed on nor wish to hit others, while I trust myself and remain well withing my limits (I am a slow skier) I've seen enough folks pegged to put fear within me.  however I do ride behind my kids a few turns up keeping a eye uphill. 

I'd like to help him avoid hitting someone/something else in the future.

Saw the surgeon today, a day short of 12 weeks since surgery. He likes what he saw when pulling and twisting on the lower leg, said that the ACL showed a good hard stop point, which is what we are after. I've been O.K.'d for road biking with no foot clips (which I don't use anyway) and stay out of downtown traffic for awhile. Day hiking is O.K. but not up to backpacking or boulder hopping yet. Well used smooth trails with out a lot of hopping or down stepping large distances are fine. Crampons are to be avoided, which cuts back a bit on some of the sumer glacier hiking. No summer skiing (sigh). Avoid carrying heavy items that might put a lot of wight on the bad knee side, like carrying a five gallon bucket of water, this is where muscles might kick out and overload graft. Still advised to wear brace all the time, the ACL is still developing and will continue to do so for the next several months

 

I asked him about final strength of knee and he said 90-95% of original, not stronger than original. I will probably be skiing in the brace most of the time from now on. The one area the brace would have the hardest time functioning is big air time, most everything on the snow is covered by the brace. I enjoy the slop of spring afternoons and the hard ice in the mornings and the brace would provide nice protection in these conditons (next season, sigh again). While many people don't ski in the brace after the first year, in my case the recomendation will be you have it so wear it. Sort of a bummer there, but really don't want to enjoy this over again, not to mention the cost.

 

At least 6 months more PT to build up the quads, with the worst one (hardest for me to build up) being the inner muscle that controls the knee cap (or pattela). Also wearing the brace can cause the braced leg to sort of stagnate unless you remember to work it on normal everyday stuff. The brace makes us sub-conciously favor that leg so we don't work it as hard as normal. Make sure you don't limp when you walk and do the whole heel-to-toe step. No running (jogging) yet even on an inside treadmill. That may come up in the next few weeks but that will be a PT call. (has to do with how well the PT people think my balance is) 

 

Basically the doc said my knee looked very good, and next visit in 6-8 weeks, Biggest item stressed for activities is don't get somewhere that depends a whole lot on the leg muscles to keep the load off the ACL even with the brace on.

 

Hey, life could be worse, at least I get to ride my bike somewhere other than my living room.

 

(So a side note. In Bend we have several micro brewries, all that have at least one brew that has to do with skiing. I'm trying to think up a new brew label, something like ACL Lager or Cadaver Knee Pale Ale, any ideas? Might be able to talk some of the local pubs into giving out a free beer for showing your ACL scars)

Wounded knee porter?

I'd much prefer that all the Knee Injury Bears do a beer cheer with this

http://kneedeepbrewing.com/seasonal-beers/knee-deep-in-powder/

 

 

In all honesty I was hoping to hear that the brace would not be needed at some point. Not sure at this point how the whole experience will turn out, but I willbeskiing next season. I'll just keep working through the summer and see what happens.

 

Thanks for the beer input, Wounded Kneee Porter would be a nice name but I agree that there are too many people that would not see the humour. I do like twisted knee IPA, have to pass that around a bit, might actually go over.

 

 

 

Never heard of Knee Deep Powder brewing company, have to find some of that for next year :-).