[pwhitdog]

Hey all,
I have just finished my year off do to ACL reconstruction (patella graph) and have recently started playing again. Are there any people out there who have came back and can give me advice. I pivot way too much on my good knee and my all around stopping is so poor that my body doesn't really let me go to full sprints for the ball. If I stand on the bad leg only and bend it slowly the whole leg can shake. Also, I get abnormal soreness in around both ankles for the next day, and my body just doesn't get used to it yet (been 3 months at 2-4 games a week). Any advice from people who have gotten past this point would be great. Poor college student here who can't afford rehabs.

Thanks everyone,
Paul

[Richie]

See a doctor and Mathis is proof that ACL takes more then one year to come back from completely. Probably 2 yrs if you don't injury something else because of it in the meantime.

Also sounds like your playing too many games too soon.

[pasoccerfan]

Health Insurance is such a racket. What are they thinking? We won't pay for rehab, but we'll pay for another surgery (which may be necessary because they didn't pay for proper rehab). Oh brother. Enough of the rant--sorry--these were my thoughts after my surgery.

All I can say is, don't push it. I'm not sure of the ankle pain, but my surgery was about 3 years ago, and I play a little pickup and practice dribbling moves by myself about 3 times a week. I used to have some trouble with tendinitis, but that seems to have dissipated. My leg does sometimes bother me, though primarily at night when I try to sleep.

Keep stretching and warm up as well as you can before you play. Do leg exercises to continue strengthening the neighboring muscles. Also, try cutting back a bit on the number of times you play.

It will come back; it just takes some time.

Lou

[WarrenWallace]

Any ideas for someone who recently tore his ACL (late March)? All I have been doing is using some rubber bands and doing some work in the gym. Thanks.

[fidlerre]

Originally posted by CityIceMan
Any ideas for someone who recently tore his ACL (late March)? All I have been doing is using some rubber bands and doing some work in the gym. Thanks.

have you had surgery? have you been going to therapy since the surgery? just do what the exercises the therapist gives you...if you have the surgery in late march you should be getting towards the end of the 6 months of supervised therapy...

just do what the therapist tells you to do and never, every push yourself beyond any sort of pain or swelling. when your body is in pain it is telling you something is wrong...same thing if it swells. just relax, in due time the knee will be back to normal.

[fidlerre]

Originally posted by pwhitdog
Hey all,
I have just finished my year off do to ACL reconstruction (patella graph) and have recently started playing again. Are there any people out there who have came back and can give me advice. I pivot way too much on my good knee and my all around stopping is so poor that my body doesn't really let me go to full sprints for the ball. If I stand on the bad leg only and bend it slowly the whole leg can shake. Also, I get abnormal soreness in around both ankles for the next day, and my body just doesn't get used to it yet (been 3 months at 2-4 games a week). Any advice from people who have gotten past this point would be great. Poor college student here who can't afford rehabs.

Thanks everyone,
Paul

okay. here is the deal.

i had acl reconstruction in 1995 and seriously, it took me about 2 years to where i was back to normal and would not favor one knee over the other. just remember to continue doing the exercises perscribed by your therapist (i am assuming you went to therapy after your surgery for a few months) even though it has been a year since your surgery.

just remember something i said the previous post.
when your body is in pain and your knee hurts, it is telling you something is wrong...same thing if it swells.

just from listening to you talk about you knee shaking and the like, i can tell you that your muscle is still too weak. the shaking is your muscles reaction to it being overworked. and your ankles, that is because your whole leg is still weak and the muscles in your feet are weak too. stupid side story:

i just got off of a month of rehab due to a surgery for a meniscus tear in my knee, the first week back i sprain my ankle...i went in to my therapist and she said she was not surprised, that my ankles and feet are still lacking muscle just like my knee.

anywho. i can e-mail you some stuff; exercises and the like you can do to strengthen your knee and your ankles. most are simple things you can do at home. let me know if you want them...

[WarrenWallace]

Originally posted by fidlerre


have you had surgery? have you been going to therapy since the surgery? just do what the exercises the therapist gives you...if you have the surgery in late march you should be getting towards the end of the 6 months of supervised therapy...

just do what the therapist tells you to do and never, every push yourself beyond any sort of pain or swelling. when your body is in pain it is telling you something is wrong...same thing if it swells. just relax, in due time the knee will be back to normal.

I haven't had surgery yet. I tore it up in Wisconsin while coaching high school soccer. Since then have taken a job in Chicago. I never really talked to a therapist. I had training classes at my former university on how to do rehad and have been doing simple exercises. I don't have time to have surgery, looking at probably Feb. Going to have to do a lot of rehab before the surgery.