Torn ACL and MCL

Sorry about your injury. I have had a number of knee injuries that have required surgery, including ACL and cartalidge. Start working out on your knee already by doing leg extensions, curls, and squats. Your leg is going to shrink drasticly after surgery and you want to avoid this by getting it as strong as possible know, also making rehab easier. After six months you should be able to start playing a little with the ball but do not get overconfident as your leg will still be vulnerable. The process is slow and frustrating but I'm sure you'll be strong enough to pull through. It'll be about a year before you feel compleatley confident again, but can be before that if you work hard.


Good luck!!!

 

No offense, but don't do this at all. Theres a reason you can't play, and its because the ACL is the stabilizer in your leg. Doing these exercises before you have surgery is only gonna screw your knee up more.

-For keeping ball skills sharp, just keep getting touches-not kicking or shooting per se, but dribbling around the house, very light juggling, etc. Keep it light, because like I said you dont have stability in your injured leg, and its likely to give out.
-It took me about 7 months before I was cleared to play again, but recovery times can be as long as a year. It just depends on how hard you work.
-Tips: Do what the doctor says. You'll know when to push it, but doing too much too soon will result in the ACL graft snapping in half. Be patient and work hard. Also once you start rehab, make sure you do two things:
1. Don't neglect your non injured leg. My doctor was telling me many people do, and end up tearing that ACL
2. Strengthen your hamstrings. Weak hamstrings are a big cause of ACL tears, especially among women.

Good luck.

 

I'm a 2 ACLer type, right and left. While I agree with the gist of TexanSoccer06's message, you definitely want to show up on surgery day with a strong knee (muscle wise). The stronger the muscle pre-op, the quicker the recovery post-op. I'd advise against anything weight bearing where the full weight is entrusted to you legs (e.g. squats with weights) in case your bad leg goes out. On the other hand, doing leg extensions and hamstring curls are from a seated or usually prone position and do not rely on knee stability. I also found leg presses to be beneficial (like a squat, but seated and pushing against a weight that has catches to prevent weight from folding you up like a clam). Just keep the weight at a moderate level that you can manage repetitions with good form.

Concerning post-op...you'll become very familiar with rehabilitation exercises. A certified physical therapist will no doubt have you on a rehab routine, so I'll leave that to him/her.

On a personal note, I gradually brought my left ACL reconstruct up to 100% over a period of 1 year. The leg is doing fine. As for the right ACL, I was in a rush to get it back into shape, began running too early too hard (fast 4 mile runs at the 4 to 5 month mark), and have dealt with a finicky, troubled knee since that time for years now. Rehab is all important, but so too is allowing the knee to heal before pushing it beyond it's recovery limitations, something that may prove to be the hardest thing for you to accept on the road to recovery. Good luck.

 

I'll second that. Hamstrings does a lot of same job that an ACL does.

And if you think the ACL will heal itself, you're wrong. Get an operation and make sure you get a cadaver ligament; it makes for a quicker recovery time. Then do rehab and don't cheat on it.

Remeber Baggio? He came back in 80 days from ACL surgery.

 

Let me elaborate on my first post. By squats I mean without weights and with one of those big medical balls balls between yourself and a wall. Leg extensions and curls I still recommend with very little weight but many repetitions. Do check with your doctor 'though. There might be many more exercises you might be able to do before your operation. These are just the ones I remeber my doctor telling me to do. Peace.

 

http://www.physioroom.com/features/baggio_update_21_03_02.shtml

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The latest reports from Italy are that Baggio has started to run just 38 days following his surgery.
...
In the opinion of doctors this is a world record; nobody before was able to do it only 38 days after an operation." Although this may sound great to Baggio fans, there are no prizes for returning to functional activities so soon. This aggressive rehabilitation strategy is fraught with risk, as the graft used to replace the original ACL is vulnerable for 3 months.
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Best advice is to listen to your physical therapist.

 

I am currently awaiting my reconstruction on my right knee after tearing it. I have already had the other knee done and can tell you if you do the patella graph that a stronger knee does help before surgery. If you feel up to it, it is generally a good idea to do leg strengthening exercises before the surgery, though my physical therapists do not want me to do the seated leg extension machine to build quad strength. They suggest the sled, but yours might differ. As for the type of surgery, patella graph, cadaver, or hamstring graph every one has an opinion that's different on that. The recovery time is the slowest on the patella graph but is generally called "the gold standard". The cadaver is nice if your body doesn't reject it and alot of doctors don't really like it for some reason (don't know exactly why but mine in perticular), the hamstring graph is a faster and less painfull alternative to the patella but is also considered weaker (this from what I hear is also more popular in Europe than here). My advice, don't listen too much to us and do what your therapist and surgeon say to do. I would recommend becoming good friends with your therapist before and after surgery because you will be spending alot of time with them.

 

I think there are 2 key points here that everyone's stresed:

1. Talk to your doctor before you do any kind of exercises. Its not worth it to injure you knee more and be out longer
2. Dont push it! You are obviously dedicated becuase you're trying to find ways to minimize recovery time and such, but remember tearing your ACL is a pretty big deal. Be dilligent and work hard.