I have a complete tear of my left ACL and undergoing reconstruction on Aug 15. Wonder if anyone could give me a time frame of returning to riding? Of course Doctors are no help in a way because of their lack of understanding of riding and the athleticism it entails (you just sit up there, right? uh, no). Background, I am a Third level rider on a sane TB/Paint cross, almost 40 years old (me, not the horse! ha!). I am riding now without the ACL. Just wondering what your experiences are out there, any rehab I should add, or any general advice for getting back on my horse (yes, literally, and figuratively). Thanks in advance! xoxo
I tore my ACL in December and had reconstruction surgery on March 22nd. The best thing I did was go to pre-hab therapy before my surgery and really get my leg strong before going under the knife. If you can push the surgery out a month and really get focus on strengthening before surgery your recovery will progress much faster afterwards.
My surgeon is one of the top knee surgeons in the country. He also has worked on a LOT of equestrians in the Dallas area. He told me absolutely no riding for the first 3 months. If recovery was going well I could start back to riding then.
Well, recovery was progressing well enough but I absolutely could not stand being out of the saddle another day past 2 months post op. Be extremely careful mounting and dismounting and do not ride with stirrups and you should be fine. Just remember, your graft is at its weakest 6-8 weeks after surgery. I’m now almost 5 months post-op and am almost fully recovered. Riding (and jumping as I’m an eventer) does not give me any issues whatsoever. I’m just now starting to jog for exercise again and it is an interesting process, but going well so far.
Last thing is I would highly recommend going with the hamstring graft. Cadaver grafts are more prone to re-injury and with as much as we use our knees in riding I would highly encourage you steering away from the patellar tendon option.
Best of luck with your surgery and if you have any questions at all please feel free to PM me!
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Oh, one last thing. Riding with my torn in half ACL was WORLDS easier than trying to relearn to ride with my reconstructed one. There were a solid 2 months where I severely regretted my decision to have the surgery. I promise, it does pass. Be diligent with your physical therapy and know that it does get better. I promise. I’m so glad I had it done now. I can actually walk up and down stairs and across uneven terrain without worrying my knee is going to cave backwards or sideways on me at any given moment.
Thank you! I am nervous… almost as much about not getting to ride then the actually surgery. Thanks for all the info. I am 1 month between injury and surgery and I never lost my quad ability and my doc was impressed with my muscle and core strength (hello, thank you riding, haha). I am also a skier and not having it done isn’t an option… otherwise I would consider not having it done because I am doing well without it while on the horse.
I was the same. After the first week of hurt (I also tore part of my meniscus and 3rd degree sprained my MCL) I was fairly back to normal except for the occasional giveout when I’d forget to be careful with it.
I had ACL reconstruction in '94. That was a while ago; I have no doubt that approaches to rehab and physical therapies have changed and improved since then, so my experience may not be that relevant. . . but I can tell you that I was just starting to walk normally 2 months post op and it was a full year before I got my full range of motion back and could move pain-free. Physical therapy was not a happy thing but it is crucial to healing - in addition to my office appointments, I used a stationary bike to help the process as well. I had the surgery in January and I was back in the saddle in May/June but there was weakness - and discomfort - it took another six months before I felt that I was back to normal skill/effectiveness levels.
Everyone’s experience will be somewhat different, I’m sure . . . and the surgical procedure is probably less invasive than it was then, so you might have a completely different experience. My best advice is don’t push too hard too fast or you might end up back at square one. It’s worth it to rehab yourself carefully. . .
I was 34 at the time - I am 57 now, and aside from the occasional mild flare up (swelling/inflammation from either over-doing it or maybe tripping or something like that)- I’ve been ‘sound’. Best of luck to you!
Which graft option did you use? Asking soley from curiosity.
^^^^ This. I went back to trying to ride at around four months. I could only ride in my dressage saddle and could not post at first (uncomfortable) Worked at walk and canter. I had a cadaver graft because of my age.
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The type of surgery is going to determine recovery time. Physical therapy is imperative to making the best recovery and getting back to normal. I have had ACL replacement on both knees (about 13 yrs apart). First one they did a patellar tendon graft, from injury to cleared to ride was 7 months. Second knee I opted for a donor graft, total time from injury to cleared to ride was probably 3 months. A much easier surgery, much less pain and much easier physical therapy.
my surgeon was a horse owner (Paso’s) so he was at least basically familiar with riding English. That did help.
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I had a cadaver graft about 3 years ago. Some statistics say that they are more prone to re-injury but that depends more on the surgeon. I can not stress enough the need to get the best surgeon. Mine was a former NFL team doctor. Patellar or hamstring graft from does have advantages, but keep in mind you will have 2 surgical sites healing if they do harvest from your own tissue. Again, the more skilled the surgeon, the better off you’ll be.
My surgical scars were 1/4 the size of others who had the same surgery as me in physical therapy. Yes, their scars were 4x longer than my incision for the same surgery. Insane! Get the best surgeon in your area, it will make all the difference.
I did the trifecta–completely tore ACL, tore meniscus, and partially tore MCL. MCL has blood supply so it heals itself. I did have the meniscus repaired as well which complicates things. Immobility is key for that to heal, which is in direct conflict with ACL reconstruction which requires you to regain mobility immediately. So PT was tricky to say the least.
I can honestly say that going back to riding was not hard physically. Psychologically I was terrified to mound and dismount. My right leg is the repaired on, so standing on it and praying my horse didn’t move while I mounted was very nerve wracking. I had no problem riding with stirrups but I don’t brace against mine. Having your leg against the horse does help immobilize and support it somewhat. I had a little trouble drawing my leg back to signal. I think that was due to muscle atrophy.
Flaxenfilly is right pre-hab is very important. My surgeon told me there are 2 types of people - ACL dependent and not. That is why some people can have a torn ACL and still function. Unfortunately I’m dependent. My knee gave out repeatedly after the tear and before surgery. Some never have that happen. The stronger your quads are, the better off you’ll be. But balance quad strength with hamstring strength or you’ll have more issues. I was back in the saddle qucikly. But I felt insecure mounting and dismounting for a while. Again that was more psychological though.
I had an ACL reconstruction 2 weeks and 4 days ago (yes I’m counting) with a hamstring graft. I had a complete tear 6 months ago and tried to go without surgery, but in the end it was too unstable for what I needed.
I actually got on and rode 2 days ago. Yes, I know, bad me. But I’m so bored. I thought I’d just walk and do a heap of lateral work, however you need your leg to work for that!! The second day I rode (I know, I know) I was trotting and cantering, but not particularly well. It was good to do in that it proved to me that my horse is better off having a break, rather than me riding him so poorly. Plus I got the bill for my surgery and I don’t want to have to pay all that again!!!
My sister rode an 80km endurance ride 8 weeks after she had hers done, and she said in hindsight she should have waited for 12 weeks.
My plan is to wait until I see the surgeon in another 5 weeks time and if he’s happy with my knee, then I’ll try riding again.
I’m not even 3 weeks into the rehab, and I’m a bit over it. The first week was a nice rest on the couch, the second was some big improvements (off crutches, could walk better, driving) and now it feels quite plateaued. I can’t work, my job is a bit physical, so I’m at home. The trouble is you can’t overdo your physio, I think that’s the frustrating part. It’s tempting to push harder or longer but it makes your knee angry and sore. I go to physio twice a week and do exercises at home. It’s too much walking around that causes my knee to swell and get sore.
I follow a couple of blogs that people have made with ACL rehabs, and found them quite helpful.
Goodluck!!! Everyone that has had this done that I know, said they were glad they did it. It just takes a good 12 months to reach that conclusion…:eek::eek:
Thank you all for the responses!! I hope every one is back in the saddle and happy and healthy! This info is great and I really appreciate it all. Not knowing what to expect was increasing my stress level… not that 3 months out of the saddle is going to decrease it haha. I am doing a donor allograft and have a very skilled surgeon who did my husband’s ACL 6 years ago. Again, thank you for your responses!
