ACL Surgery-I'd Love to Hear Your Experiences

[magentagiraffe]

Hey All,

Had a ski crash a couple weeks ago and tore my ACL. No pain, no swelling, but unstable enough to go in for MRI. Sure enough, they wanted to schedule surgery. :no:

I want to hear from those of you who have been through an ACL repair. What was the time frame until you were back in the irons and until you were 100%?

Such a bummer-finally have the wonder mare getting back into shape and flatting like a dream after most of last year off. Somebody better send for the whaaaaaambulance.

Thanks in advance for experiences, encouragement, ideas, or just plain old boo-boo noises.

[Brooke]

Not sure how bad your tear was, but I tore my meniscus and had some tearing of the acl. Had surgery to remove the meniscus and clean up the acl. I was riding again in about three weeks I think. Maybe a little less. Granted, the acl tear was not bad and not all the way through. Just kind of shredded part of it. Hope yours is not bad and recovery is quick.

[ryansgirl]

11.5 years later and my knee still isn’t 100%. Completely torn ACL and a totally shredded meniscus (not repairable as it was so bad so now it’s bone on bone). I wrecked my knee in mid-June and had surgery a month later (there was too much swelling to get in there sooner). Make sure you do your physical therapy and don’t stop! I can’t remember how long it took before I could bend my knee enough to do a full circle on the bike at PT but it was a very long time. I didn’t start riding until the following March (by the time I felt okay it was almost winter and I didn’t have an indoor). Riding was never the same - mainly due to the bone on bone thing - landing after a jump HURT.

All these years ears later and I still have knee issues - arthritis has set in and age doesn’t help. I do hope your recovery is much better than mine. A lot of people heal up just fine with no issues (like my older sister who tore both knees years apart).

[TSWJB]

I ruptured my ACL. It took 2 months to be able to have surgery because too much blood in the surgical field according to the Dr. I did not ride for 4 months and then only flatting. I started jumping at 7 months with a hard shell knee brace CTI2. It helped protect my knee if I fell off which I did not. It was expensive but covered by my insurance company. It was very easy to ride in. I would take your recovery seriously. I allowed my knee to heal and have really had no trouble with it 16 years later. It sucked not to jump for 7 months but certainty was worth allowing it to heal so my knee is just fine years later.
You should not do much the first 3 months because the graft is very weak. The next 3 months the graft strengthena but still is weak and at 9 months it is even stronger. You can Taylor your get back to riding based in these facts. I would definitely allow your knee to heal vs. Rushing your recovery because you really want to heal properly like I did.

[TSWJB]

I ruptured my ACL. It took 2 months to be able to have surgery because too much blood in the surgical field according to the Dr. I did not ride for 4 months and then only flatting. I started jumping at 7 months with a hard shell knee brace CTI2. It helped protect my knee if I fell off which I did not. It was expensive but covered by my insurance company. It was very easy to ride in. I would take your recovery seriously. I allowed my knee to heal and have really had no trouble with it 16 years later. It sucked not to jump for 7 months but certainty was worth allowing it to heal so my knee is just fine years later.
You should not do much the first 3 months because the graft is very weak. The next 3 months the graft strengthena but still is weak and at 9 months it is even stronger. You can Taylor your get back to riding based in these facts. I would definitely allow your knee to heal vs. Rushing your recovery because you really want to heal properly like I did.

[Addison]

I transected my ACL and fractured my tibial plateau in a ski fall. I started riding about five months post surgery and have fully recovered. I’m able to run, do yoga etc… Physical therapy is hard work but there is no other option for a full recovery. Best of luck to you…

[enp082]

I tore ACL and meniscus in my right knee and meniscus in left. Both soccer related injuries in high school, I am now 26. Physical therapy was quite difficult but so so important. I would think that I was walking great and going much better and actually had a limp I could not even notice. Do not stop physical therapy until you are ready. My physical therapist pushed me to get my full range of motion back and by the time I was finished, I really felt like a new person.

From what I remember I was probably riding within 3 months after ACL/meniscus surgery but flatting and to my surprise my knee did not bother me at all in the saddle… and to this day even when I have pain, it is not due to being in the saddle.

I have some bad nerve damage in my right knee, but my scar it pretty large so I guess that was expected. I work out regularly. I prefer the elliptical over the tred due to my knees but cardio is never a problem. IMO, surgery is worth it and don’t delay it. It sucks that it takes time and you must be super patient during rehab, but I will say both knees are better than before. I had a torn ACL for a few months and did not realize it so unfortunately, I was just used to some knee pain and thought that was my way of life. I remember when I was fully back 100%, I was very happy with the results of the surgery and feel much better. Good Luck!!

[enp082]

I tore ACL and meniscus in my right knee and meniscus in left. Both soccer related injuries in high school, I am now 26. Physical therapy was quite difficult but so so important. I would think that I was walking great and going much better and actually had a limp I could not even notice. Do not stop physical therapy until you are ready. My physical therapist pushed me to get my full range of motion back and by the time I was finished, I really felt like a new person.

From what I remember I was probably riding within 3 months after ACL/meniscus surgery but flatting and to my surprise my knee did not bother me at all in the saddle… and to this day even when I have pain, it is not due to being in the saddle.

I have some bad nerve damage in my right knee, but my scar it pretty large so I guess that was expected. I work out regularly. I prefer the elliptical over the tred due to my knees but cardio is never a problem. IMO, surgery is worth it and don’t delay it. It sucks that it takes time and you must be super patient during rehab, but I will say both knees are better than before. I had a torn ACL for a few months and did not realize it so unfortunately, I was just used to some knee pain and thought that was my way of life. I remember when I was fully back 100%, I was very happy with the results of the surgery and feel much better. Good Luck!!

[PoochPaddock]

I tore my left ACL in a riding accident almost 4 years ago. At the time, I had effectively quit riding, but went to a friend’s farm to hack one of her retired horses and ended up jumping a few jumps. I missed at one jump and the rest is history… So, since I wasn’t really in a riding period of my life at the time, I cared more about being able to wear high heeled shoes than getting back in the saddle. That being said, the Orthopedic Doctor DID give me the “ok” to start flatting at the 4 month mark, but was very specific about NO JUMPING.

As some others have said above, please do take the prescribed physical therapy seriously. The ability to bend your injured knee all the way is equally as important as being able to hyper flex that knee past the straight position. I remember sitting next to a woman at PT one day while getting the post PT icing who had just been thru her second ACL replacement - 20 years later - not because she re-injured it, but rather because she had neglected her original physical therapy routine post-op and the knee could never get straight after healing. That had a HUGE impact on my commitment to completing the PT…all 3 1/2 months of it, twice a week.

Also, i’ll second what someone else mentioned above, now that i’m regularly back in the saddle again (jumping 1-2 times a week), I have zero residual effects from the surgery. I feel no pain while riding, though on occasion, I do feel some pain while walking down steps in heels, so i’m careful to always hold the rail.

Hang in there! When it happened to me, it felt like a cloud of doom was hanging over my head for months afterward. It’s a lot of work to get better, but the results are worth it.

[Foxglove6]

I tore my ACL, MCL, and meniscus of my right knee while playing rugby when I was 18. It was a very severe injury. I was in my senior year of high school so my incredibly talented orthopedic surgeon had us get a second opinion (agreed with my doctor) and then wait 3 months for the initial swelling to go down. During those months I did PT and got a good amount of strength back and range of motion. 2 days after my graduation and prom, I had surgery. They repaired the ligaments with sections of a patellar graft from the same knee. The physical therapy afterwards was ROUGH. But so incredibly worth it. I was going three days a week all summer before I went to college and was only on crutches at the end of the day. I did PT lasted about 7 months after the surgery itself. But I regained all of my range of motion, hyper flexion and flexion, and had more strength than when I started. I played another game of rugby one year after my injury.

I wasn’t riding regularly at the time but I probably had an injury on the more severe end of the spectrum. It was years before I could comfortably walk down stairs, kneel on my knees, and not have to ice after a tough workout. Best of luck and be diligent about your PT!

[NeedsAdvil]

I had a complete tear, they did the hamstring replacement. It was a long and challenging recovery. I was back in the saddle soon (on trustworthy horses- maybe 4 weeks post surgery) but really didn’t feel like I was at 75% for almost a year. It took 2 years to feel 100%. It is totally fine now and a non issue. I did have some post surgical complications which may have slowed down my PT, but not too terribly much. I know others who had faster recoveries, and some who had slower, but I think you can look at riding within a couple months, though the knee takes a lot of stress so you kind of have to be willing to do what you are able to until you fully heal.

[AKB]

Be sure you need the surgery. I know a lot of riders who tore an ACL, decided they didn’t need surgery, and have done well after PT. You do need an ACL for many sports, but riding may not be among them.

[hntrjmprpro45]

I had a riding accident in 2011 in which I completely tore my ACL and had a couple complex tears in my lateral meniscus. I had to wait 1 month before I could have surgery and had to do PT twice weekly during that time. After surgery I did PT 3x per week for 4 months and then 2x per week for another 6 or so weeks. At about 5 or 6 weeks post surgery I started sitting in a saddle on a stationary mount in the tack room. I practiced swinging my leg over, and going from sitting to two point with no stirrups. Then at about 2 months post surgery I got on one of my trusted school horses and just walked… Next day I did some trotting and then was back to jumping after that. The key was that I was extremely diligent with my PT, stretched constantly and was careful about which horses I chose to ride. I was showing again at 4 months post surgery. My physical therapist’s biggest concern was me getting off the horse so I used an extra tall mounting block and was super careful.

So that was surgery #1. I did have a second surgery on that knee in 2015 to have my hardware removed (the screws that were used to initially anchor the cadaver graft had come loose and were causing some cysts to form). Having the screws removed and a little more meniscus cleaned up was the best decision ever. I gained quite a bit more of my range of motion (I’m at about 95% now) and have less pain after long days. I was only off of a horse for a few weeks while the incisions healed and didn’t need any PT.

[enyo44]

I had a complete rupture of my ACL and opted not to do surgery except to clean out the joint. Was in physical therapy for a couple of months to build up the muscles around the joint to help stabilize the knee. Its been 15 years since the injury and I can ride, hike and run without pain.

[Mdimas]

My husband has acl repair surgery little over a year ago. Still unable to bend leg back like he use to. But now has a lump under one of his incisions on side/lower of knee. Has anyone had any experience with this? He has not been to have it checked has it is weekend and just noticed it. No pain but has had tingling sensation under knee cap.

[Night_of_Songs]

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