Advice: Torn ACL

EdJovanovski

#RempeForCalder
Apr 26, 2016
28,308
55,436
The Rempire State
I'm young and was very active prior to this. I play in 3 different leagues at the same time, sometimes playing 2-3 games in a day. In December 2019 I got in a knee on knee collision where the other player's weight landed on top of my leg afterward. It hurt quite bad but I kept playing, by the time I got to the locker room after the game and started undressing I could barely walk. I went to the Hospital and got an X-Ray done, which came back normal, so they just said it's probably a minor sprain or sore muscle you'll be fine. I stayed off it for about a month then started playing hockey again. The pain was mostly on the inner side of my knee (which is where my knee collided with the other player). The pain continued ever since then but it's been bearable.

Then in the first week of November 2020 I dove to block a shot and landed on my knee pretty hard. It felt fine during the game and I played the rest of it, felt fine the rest of the day. The next morning I had a bruise just above the knee cap and it hurt quite bad so I went to the Hospital, they did an X-Ray and said it's fine probably just a minor sprain/sore muscle/bruise. I went to my family doctor every 2 weeks to check on it and he kept saying he thinks it's a bruised cartilage, by New Years it still wasn't any better so I went to the hospital again and they said it seems like a torn MCL. They did a CT scan which was normal, and referred me to a sports doctor. When I went to the sports doctor the assistant did a bunch of maneuvers on my bad leg and thought it was normal, until they did them on my good leg and were like "OH" and noted that there was way less elasticity in my bad knee, that it's really lose and they think it's a torn ACL. Then the sports doctor came into the room and did the same maneuver and thought my leg was normal at first, until she did my good leg and also had an "Oh" moment. So it seems like the elasticity in my knee isn't THAT bad? If they didn't think anything of it until they contrasted it with my other knee? They said they think it's a torn ACL & also something with the meniscus. They referred me for an MRI, physio, and to consult with a surgeon.

I did one physio appointment so far, which made it hurt quite bad afterwards and still does (2 days later). The physiotherapist said he thinks it's my ACL but not meniscus or any additional injury. I have my MRI on Saturday.

My sports doctor told me to wear a brace, but my physiotherapist told me not to wear a brace as it makes the surrounding muscles & stuff weaker. What do you guys recommend? If you wore a brace in this situation what kind of brace do you recommend? I got this brace:
https://www.amazon.ca/McDavid-MD4200-Bio-Logix-Knee-Brace/dp/B07BL1BG2D

But it doesn't fit proper, the hinge doesn't touch my outside of my knee, there's a gap of like an inch and the bottom of the hinge digs into my leg.

I really miss playing hockey :(

Have any of you guys torn your ACL? What was your experience like? Did you get surgery? How long was your recovery? How long until you played again and did it affect your performance?
 

Mrfenn92

Proud to be American
Sponsor
Nov 27, 2018
30,158
29,305
Chicago,Illinois
Tore my acl playing flag football at the age of 25. Put off surgery for about 6 months so I could finish a softball season. Ended up hurting my knee again while I was running and planted in a tough spot. Ended up with a bone bruise since there was no tendon left to brace. Hurt like a mother.
Had surgery two weeks later. Recommend it immensely. Rehab was a bitch at times, but worth it to have a secure knee.
Overall about 3 months of rehab. Getting range of motion back and strengthening the muscles around the area again. Was playing volleyball and basketball 6 months after the surgery without hesitation.
 
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Alexander the Gr8

Registered User
May 2, 2013
31,595
12,658
Toronto
@EdJovanovski

Your story sounds almos exactly like mine, except I blew out my ACL two years before you in 2017.

I’m also a young guy (24) and played competitive hockey prior to my injury.

I got my original ACL injury by a guy who hit me from the side while playing ball hockey. My shoes had somewhat sticky soles and my knee buckled sideways.

I was able to get up and resumed playing hockey after spending two weeks on crutches with what the doctors diagnosed as a knee sprain (it was actually a partial ACL tear).

I kept on playing hockey for one year on a partially torn ACL, and I kept on playing as I felt no pain, discomfort or decreased performance.

However, about 10 months after the original injury, I had an awkward fall while trying to shift directions quickly after a bad pass from my goalie.

Afterwards, I kept on falling about once a game, feeling my knee give out under me when trying to pivot.

One day, my knee completely gave out and I couldn’t get up at all. They had to take me to the hospital, where I was diagnosed with a complete ACL tear.

Here’s what happened afterwards:

I had an ACL reconstruction surgery (it’s pretty brutal and gruesome), and I had to relearn how to walk again... This was in December 2018.

After about 9 months of rehab and exercising, I could finally resume playing hockey in September 2019.

I was doing okay but I wasn’t the same player anymore since my conditioning went downhill when I was trying to learn how to walk again.

Towards the end of the season, I had gotten my speed and agility back finally, although I was still playing scared and tended to avoid contact (when I used to love playing physical before and throwing hits).

Then, COVID happened and I haven’t played organized hockey ever since and my conditioning is poor due to lack of exercise.

I promised myself that I would work out very hard in the months leading up to the end of the COVID crisis, but we’re not out of the woods yet of course.

Moral of the story, tearing my ACL was a traumatic experience. Relearning how to walk and how to climb the stairs at the age of 22 is not fun.

Take your injury very seriously, mine was only fully diagnosed by the MRI. Take all the precautions you can after the diagnosis, and take action immediately before you need surgery like me. My biggest regret is not getting an MRI before I completely tore my knee. Please don’t play hockey until you know exactly what you have and until you are cleared by your physiotherapist and/or orthopaedic surgeon.

Don’t make the same mistake as I did.
 

Frank the Tank

The Godfather
Aug 15, 2005
15,809
12,163
Chicago, IL
I'm young and was very active prior to this. I play in 3 different leagues at the same time, sometimes playing 2-3 games in a day. In December 2019 I got in a knee on knee collision where the other player's weight landed on top of my leg afterward. It hurt quite bad but I kept playing, by the time I got to the locker room after the game and started undressing I could barely walk. I went to the Hospital and got an X-Ray done, which came back normal, so they just said it's probably a minor sprain or sore muscle you'll be fine. I stayed off it for about a month then started playing hockey again. The pain was mostly on the inner side of my knee (which is where my knee collided with the other player). The pain continued ever since then but it's been bearable.

Then in the first week of November 2020 I dove to block a shot and landed on my knee pretty hard. It felt fine during the game and I played the rest of it, felt fine the rest of the day. The next morning I had a bruise just above the knee cap and it hurt quite bad so I went to the Hospital, they did an X-Ray and said it's fine probably just a minor sprain/sore muscle/bruise. I went to my family doctor every 2 weeks to check on it and he kept saying he thinks it's a bruised cartilage, by New Years it still wasn't any better so I went to the hospital again and they said it seems like a torn MCL. They did a CT scan which was normal, and referred me to a sports doctor. When I went to the sports doctor the assistant did a bunch of maneuvers on my bad leg and thought it was normal, until they did them on my good leg and were like "OH" and noted that there was way less elasticity in my bad knee, that it's really lose and they think it's a torn ACL. Then the sports doctor came into the room and did the same maneuver and thought my leg was normal at first, until she did my good leg and also had an "Oh" moment. So it seems like the elasticity in my knee isn't THAT bad? If they didn't think anything of it until they contrasted it with my other knee? They said they think it's a torn ACL & also something with the meniscus. They referred me for an MRI, physio, and to consult with a surgeon.

I did one physio appointment so far, which made it hurt quite bad afterwards and still does (2 days later). The physiotherapist said he thinks it's my ACL but not meniscus or any additional injury. I have my MRI on Saturday.

My sports doctor told me to wear a brace, but my physiotherapist told me not to wear a brace as it makes the surrounding muscles & stuff weaker. What do you guys recommend? If you wore a brace in this situation what kind of brace do you recommend? I got this brace:
https://www.amazon.ca/McDavid-MD4200-Bio-Logix-Knee-Brace/dp/B07BL1BG2D

But it doesn't fit proper, the hinge doesn't touch my outside of my knee, there's a gap of like an inch and the bottom of the hinge digs into my leg.

I really miss playing hockey :(

Have any of you guys torn your ACL? What was your experience like? Did you get surgery? How long was your recovery? How long until you played again and did it affect your performance?

I've torn both my ACLs and had them both reconstructed through surgery. Having 3 risk factor doomed me - tall (larger joint spacings), genetically thin ligaments (father and both siblings have torn their ACLs), and play a sport that require sharp lateral movements, like hockey.

If you can afford it (both financially and to be able to take weeks off work), have the surgery and start your path to recovery.

I tore my left ACL playing ball hockey. Another player stepped on my foot as I went to pivot. My knee twisted and I felt a pop. Didn't know it until much later, but I suffered the unhappy triad (ACL, MCL, and meniscus tears). It's a similar story to others. I couldn't walk for a few days. When I did head to the university clinic, the doctor did an examination, took an x-ray, and declared it a sprain. I wouldn't learn until I saw a specialist that most doctors who are not orthos cannot properly execute the Lachman test or properly diagnose an injury using it. A month later when the swelling had gone down and I was walking (somewhat) normally again I tried to hop over a puddle and my knee buckled on the landing. I couldn't straighten my knee again and/or walk; I was back to square one. That got me a MRI when I went back to the university clinic. It took a MRI and a visit to the orthopedic surgeon to diagnose the ACL tear.

He immediately recommended reconstruction surgery with a hamstring graft. 15 years ago that option was more popular than it is today and my surgeon said he preferred the hamstring method; I wasn't about to argue with him. I had the surgery 3 weeks later. One lesson I learned was to set-up my PT in advance; they don't like it when you call on pain meds after the surgery and have to squeeze you in with one day notice. To be clear, the sooner you are up and moving and start PT (some people have their first session the day after the surgery), the faster you recover; you do not want your quad muscle to atrophy, which it does when you cannot fully active it (straighten your knee). Pain management is the key to those first few days and have a conversation with your surgeon and PT about this issue. One advantage of the hamstring graft was that it was less painful and I was up moving around with my knee immobilizer and crutches pretty fast. The disadvantage is that I will have a tight left hamstring for the rest of my life. Overall, it was a hard 7 months of physiotherapy. I did progress through my recovery phases faster than my fellow ACL tear patients by doing all the exercises prescribed by my PT every night (nothing more, nothing less).

Physically I was fine at 7 months. I was able to transition into sports recovery training with a specialist over the final 1.5 months (not a pro athlete or anything; just had good insurance through my school) so I was in better shape than before my injury. I also learned numerous exercises and stretches to maintain a set of strong (and balanced!) leg muscles for sports. Mentally it took another half year to trust my knee when I went all out during the elite level ball/ice hockey intramural games.

A decade later, I popped my right ACL when it was pinned along the boards at hockey and I tried to move away. Once again, I could not straighten my knee and barely could put weight on it. I dusted off my crutches and booked an appointment at the clinic. This time I knew to have a conversation with my general practitioner that they were not qualified to diagnosis an ACL tear using an x-ray and asked politely that he could please send me to an ortho for the diagnosis. It worked; my ortho manipulated my knee and diagnosed the tear in 30 seconds, which was then confirmed by a MRI. Once again it was the Unhappy Triad of ACL, MCL, and meniscus tears. That time I had a (better?) surgeon who 100% recommended the "gold standard" patellar tendon graft. He said that's the one you want to have if you want an ACL that is the strongest graft and no reduction in flexibility. It hurt significantly more because the bone plugs they remove from your patella exposed a nerve in my knee cap (happens to ~50% of the people having the surgery). I had to take my full course of strong pain meds after that surgery and those first few PT sessions where they forcefully bend your knee to regain full flexibility made me cry. With it being my right knee I also could not drive for a few months so consider that before having surgery.

This recovery took 8-9 months, and once again adhering perfectly to your PT schedule was the key to full recovery. I was playing hockey again after being cleared and, once again, it took an additional half year to shake off the mental hang-ups.

I recommend having the surgery. Short-term pain for long-term gains.
 

fahad203

Registered User
Oct 3, 2009
36,023
18,847
Get the surgery, it's not that bad at all.

I am 42 and I had my surgery last year. I tore my ACL the year before playing soccer

The key is to prepare yourself before the surgery. Do some stationary weights to really strengthening your hamstring
Go on youtube and search for pre-op exercises. Trust me, you want to do this. This will help you with the pain from surgery. Which in my case was non existence because I went in prepared

ACL is not a big deal like it used to be. Good thing is, you are only immobile for 3-6 weeks really. Unlike a fracture, you can't do anything
With ACL injure, you can still ride bike ( recommended pre and post op), you can still swim ( no butterfly with legs). You said you had no miniscus, you can probably return to ice in 6-7 months

So you can find a way to stay active. That's the key, keep your endurance and stamina in check. Even day after my surgery, I did 30 pushups to keep my stamina in shape

Morgan Reilly(draft year) , Zach Hyman all had Torn ACL. they all came back.

DM me if you need more advice
 

Danko

You have no marbles
Jul 28, 2004
10,908
10,812
I tore my ACL, MCL and meniscus in my left knee in 2018 running through a speed limit sign to try and see how fast I could run, needless to say We had been going bar to bar.

I went to a local surgeon who is renowned for sports injuries and specifically knees. I maintained all along my goal was to get back to playing hockey. He told me I would be able to play in a year if I did my rehab.

I had a cadaver replacement and did rehab for about 9 months, 2 times week. I started at ATI physical therapy for the first 3 months before I transitioned to the University of Delaware where they did more intense PT and around the 7 month mark they started working with me on a slide board so I could mimic skating side to side. At the 8th month mark they let me start doing free skate and I got back on ice.

the 9th month they cleared me to skate. Throughout the process they had documentation on ice hockey return to skate after ACL surgery which I followed. It showed milestones and criteria on knee strength and when to return. I hit 92% strength when they cleared me to skate.

Then I tore my other acl right before COVID when I got checked by a 300lb electrician during a 10:30 game. I luckily partially tore it and it wasn’t a complete tear so I did not need surgery.

Tldr: 9 months of rehab and surgery and you will be good to play.
 

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