Ruptured ACL

[Sebz]

I have ruptured my ACL while playing Football 3 weeks ago. I can walk rather well now and after getting an MRI scan the result said that 25% of it was left in tact. The surgeon says I will need need an operation, and I asked whether it would heal on its own, he said there was a very very tiny chance, and I would rather avoid the reconstruction, especially since i cant aford it, but i wish to return to paying Football which was at a fairly high level. Does anyone know if i can successfully return to playing football without surgery?

[deegee]

I have ruptured my ACL while playing Football 3 weeks ago. I can walk rather well now and after getting an MRI scan the result said that 25% of it was left in tact. The surgeon says I will need need an operation, and I asked whether it would heal on its own, he said there was a very very tiny chance, and I would rather avoid the reconstruction, especially since i cant aford it, but i wish to return to paying Football which was at a fairly high level. Does anyone know if i can successfully return to playing football without surgery?

was in the same boat myself 3 years (age 21)... had a partially torn ACL (playing soccer)... not sure how much was left intact... but the doc said on testing that my knee was relatively stable. I had a negative pivot shift test which is good. 1 Lachmann on that draw test. but the mri showed that architecturally the acl was in quite good condition except for tear. But since i wasnt a professional athlete he recommended i take the conservative approach and do all the rehab work... i resumed playing 6-7 months later.. playing indoor soccer with a knee brace... then playing outdoor without a brace... only to have it go on me roughly 4-5 months after i had resumed just by planting and going to change direction..but if ur doctor doesnt believe a conservative approach will work then theres not really much choice if u wanna continue playing. i then had the reco done almost 2 years ago.
but since no two situations are alike... it can depend on ur age... whether u have meniscus damage too...
and doesnt ur football competition have insurance for its players? it might not cover the cost but it'll take a chunk out of it. or u can wait on the public system and get it done... my friend waited around 6 months before he got his done.

[Sebz]

I am 19 years old right now, and by football i meant soccer, playing in the winter superleague U/20's. I have private health insurance, but even after that it will cost about $1500 :( . There was some other minor damage in my knee including some lateral ligament damage, but the doc said it should all heal up fine by itself.

If i were to not get surgery 6-7 months is a long time aswell, and then the compettion would be over....theres really no good way to go about getting through this type of injury. Ill just have to hope my knee holds out, seeing as i cant afford to get surgery anyway.

[injuryupdate]

It is rare but possible to keep playing high level sport after tearing an ACL. Matt Adamson (Canberra Raiders) tore his ACL and didn't have a reco and has returned to top level rugby league. I think the last AFL player at the top level was Steve Malaxos.

90% of high level football players (all codes) will struggle without an ACL reconstruction. However, there are exceptions.

Only thing NOT to do is don't continue to play through massive pain and swelling, as you may be doing irreversible cartilage damage.

If your knee holds up surprisingly well, then keep going. It is gets giving way, pain and swelling, then either get the reco, or change to a less intense sport (change of direction wise).

[bloss]

Surgeons are able to bill private health patients under the No Gap scheme and many surgeons will do this for students and pensioners. It is always worth asking the surgeon if he will do No Gap. If you are an elite athlete earning a huge amount of money your chances will be low, however you sound like someone who would be considered eligible.


I am 19 years old right now, and by football i meant soccer, playing in the winter superleague U/20's. I have private health insurance, but even after that it will cost about $1500 :( . There was some other minor damage in my knee including some lateral ligament damage, but the doc said it should all heal up fine by itself.

If i were to not get surgery 6-7 months is a long time aswell, and then the compettion would be over....theres really no good way to go about getting through this type of injury. Ill just have to hope my knee holds out, seeing as i cant afford to get surgery anyway.

[falky69]

Hey, i dislocated my knee cap and ruptured my ACL 19 months ago playing "soccer" and i was 14 at the time. After i had recoverd from this slowly but surely i was getting better however my knee was still giving way sometimes. I had to under go surgery where i had a tendon moved to just below my knee, i had this 3 months ago and my knees feeling fine now but still got the problem of the ruptured ligament. My doctor has given me 8 weeks to strenthen muscles around the knee and only when i have done that will he enter my name onto the list of ACL reconstructure. He plans to use my hamstring to do this, but im not sure on how lol. hes a bit hessitant to operate on me as im so young and has never really came across a injury like this to any1 my age before, is it dangerous?:confused: I attned physio 3 times a week and bike over an hour a night but muscle development is very slow. And also i feel sorry for u guys hu are having to pay for ops, free in england, shocking really u live in the richest country in the world and there charging, shocking lol. come over here and get it done Wehey!
Sean Aged 15 :D

[Caveat Emptor]

And also i feel sorry for u guys hu are having to pay for ops, free in england,

ACL reconstruction and follow up checks by the surgeon and physiotherapy is free in the Northern Territory of Australia for NT residents, however.... there would be no choice of surgeon, quality of surgery questionable, and last but not least..... a 2 to 3 year waiting list.

[brizy]

Hi Sebz,
I was in a similar position 2 years ago,
I tackled someone playing 5-a-side on a recently varnished surface. My leg stuck on the floor instead of sliding, knee twisted and the other player fell across my knee. I'd never experienced pain like it, but after a couple of mins managed to walk so went in net. First attempt at throwing the ball out & my knee gave way & I ended up on the floor again. My initial swelling wasn't to bad, but knee felt unstable & for weeks after I would constantly tweak my ligament when sliding my shoes on & getting into the car etc. My first physio suspected medial ligament damage and my drawer test was no worse than my good leg. I eventually got back to running after approx 6-8 weeks only when out one day I had to stop quickly with my left knee only for me to tweak it again. I always suspected my ACL was damaged so I eventually went to see a consultant. The MRI Scan proved inconclusive & my ACL looked intact a only showed a slight carlidge tear on the outside of the medial meniscus. The consultant couldn't understand why my leg would give way so he did a Pivot Shift Test on me...This proved +ve and because of this he said to regain stability within the knee I would probably need a re-construction...However because of my age & there being more give in my old knees he recommended some more physio initially & then review my knee later.... Its worth noting here that both the drawer test & pivot shift test can give negative results if your muscles aren't relaxed.
The physio was great news and entailed strength exercises to the Quads & Hamstrings & alot of Proprioception on a wobble board which made a big difference to myself. Anyway to cut a long story short I eventually got back to playing football with a Short Knee Brace (McMurdo type with thick metal straps either side of the leg)after about 8 months. Every week I played my knee felt better & better. However in March this year (18 months after injury my cartlidge tear got worse & left me out of action for 3 weeks & with problems kneeling.
Another trip to the consultant & booked in for an op for a Cartlidge Trim & possible ACL Reconstruction 2 weeks ago. There was still a grey area around whether my ligament needed doing or not.
I was given the option of watching the operation so went for a Spinal Injection. 5mins after the injection my legs were completly numb & the Surgeon Did the Pivot Shift Test On My Left Knee...needless to say, without any Quad & Hamstring Muscle Control the leg was hopelessly unstable and consequently had a postive Pivot Shift.
As I watched the operation proceed, My ACL was actually intact but had been stretched too far to have been of any use.
After the Spinal wore off i've had virtually no pain and the knee swelling subsides daily.
I'm off my crutches, doing simple excercises & just been on exercise bike today, so Physio, Surgeon & myself are all happy at present
It's been a long 2 years, but I only wish I had it done initially as trying to come back and play football even with strengthened Muscles etc made my Cartlidge tear worse..( A Bucket Handle Tear) I did a lot of training prior to the operation, mainly hard Cycling, but I'm sure it has helped.
If you whave ACL doubts get yourself a good Surgeon who specialises in Knee & ACL Reconstructions. & do the Physio & Muscle strengthening Excercises prior to op if your knee is up to it...I'm 48yrs at present & if everything goes as planned I'm looking to play football next summer again.
It;s worth noting that the new ligament is at it's weakest after a couple of months, so care has to be taken around this period to prevent damage to the graft.
Best of Luck with your decision
Hope This Helps

Brizy

[5wallse]

I was 13 when i first ruptured, my trampolining coach told me i had done nothing wrong so kept on going back to sport, this happened 3 or 4 times before we realised something was wrong, met a surgeon, had key hole couple of weeks later, found out all cartilage was torn and acl was a gonner, bone chipped off and holes made. I then 6 weeks later had a reco, went through all the physio and got back to sport 6 or 7 months later, however, 6 months later after returning i ruptured it again, met another surgeon, he had come to the conclusion that it had ruptured due to the fact i hadn't stopped growing and they had given me a middle third patella reco, which apparently is not good for 'kids' that had not stopped growing, i then had it reco july 09, it is now october 09, and there is now a possibility that i have re re ruptured, lots of pain and swelling, a big movement on the lachman draw test, seeing surgeon next week to find out what is going on, personally i would recommend not having an acl reco, as they all brake! :eek:




Hey, i dislocated my knee cap and ruptured my ACL 19 months ago playing "soccer" and i was 14 at the time. After i had recoverd from this slowly but surely i was getting better however my knee was still giving way sometimes. I had to under go surgery where i had a tendon moved to just below my knee, i had this 3 months ago and my knees feeling fine now but still got the problem of the ruptured ligament. My doctor has given me 8 weeks to strenthen muscles around the knee and only when i have done that will he enter my name onto the list of ACL reconstructure. He plans to use my hamstring to do this, but im not sure on how lol. hes a bit hessitant to operate on me as im so young and has never really came across a injury like this to any1 my age before, is it dangerous?:confused: I attned physio 3 times a week and bike over an hour a night but muscle development is very slow. And also i feel sorry for u guys hu are having to pay for ops, free in england, shocking really u live in the richest country in the world and there charging, shocking lol. come over here and get it done Wehey!
Sean Aged 15 :D

[kieranmallett85]

Hey, i dislocated my knee cap and ruptured my ACL 19 months ago playing "soccer" and i was 14 at the time. After i had recoverd from this slowly but surely i was getting better however my knee was still giving way sometimes. I had to under go surgery where i had a tendon moved to just below my knee, i had this 3 months ago and my knees feeling fine now but still got the problem of the ruptured ligament. My doctor has given me 8 weeks to strenthen muscles around the knee and only when i have done that will he enter my name onto the list of ACL reconstructure. He plans to use my hamstring to do this, but im not sure on how lol. hes a bit hessitant to operate on me as im so young and has never really came across a injury like this to any1 my age before, is it dangerous?:confused: I attned physio 3 times a week and bike over an hour a night but muscle development is very slow. And also i feel sorry for u guys hu are having to pay for ops, free in england, shocking really u live in the richest country in the world and there charging, shocking lol. come over here and get it done Wehey!
Sean Aged 15 :D
disloacted my knee and tore my acl 20 months ago now playing football!player tackled me a knee high challenge and knocked my kneecap out of socket!havent had the acl reconstructed yet and finding it really hard building the muscle back up!lost alot of movement in my knee so spent the last year trying to get all the flexibility back in the knee which has been a long process!just wondering how everyone is coping with there rehab?hoping to get my reconstruction early next year

[tsatsos]

i recently ruptured my acl about a month ago and was adviced by one doctor to have a reco. i then went to another docter for a second opinion and he said that you could do rehab with out having surgery due to my knee being quite stable so know i am following the rehab but im not sure when i go and play soccer again if i can damage something else in my knee

[shailendra]

I had my ACL rupture while playing badminton (twisted my knee badly). MRI confirmed it. Looked at the best surgeons around, in Melbourne. Julian Feller's name came up as being one of the best surgeons around. Had the injury on Nov. 29th. 2009. Got the MRI done on Dec. 2nd. Was lucky enough to get an appointment with Julian Feller on Dec. 11th. and the surgery was done on Dec. 22nd. Got discharged on Dec. 23rd. Have been doing the physio and the recommended exercises (being guided by my pain). I am happy with the progress and can walk now without crutches.
I would certainly recommend Mr. Julian Feller for ACL reconstruction

[kjwilkin]

Hi there,

Glad to hear you are progressing well and have already had your surgery. JF is my surgeon too and would highly recommend him. I am going in for surgery with him in just over 2 weeks for patella instability.

Good luck with your recovery.