My knee is scrambled

Camron Rust · #1 (**permalink**) Wed Apr 09, 2003, 05:24pm

Blew out my knee last Wednesday.

Found out from the MRI results today that I really screwed it up:

Torn ACL
Torn MCL
Torn Meniscus
Femoral Condyle was damaged somehow... the doc kept going but that's about all I heard.
I see an ortopedic surgeon next week to figure out what to do about it and when.

It happened by attempting to put back a rebound...no contact..noone within several feet of me according to everyone in the gym. They said it looked like my foot slipped on a wet spot as I was pushing off of it to jump causing my knee to rotate then buckle sideways.

Moral of the story...when someone falls, make sure that it gets cleaned up.

Call me gimpy.

[Edited by Camron Rust on Apr 9th, 2003 at 05:26 PM]

DownTownTonyBrown · #2 (**permalink**) Wed Apr 09, 2003, 05:39pm

Holy Cow Cameron! What parts are still good?

Man, I hope it turns out well. Get it fixed now so hopefully you can be ready for next season.

In the right (or I should say absolutely wrong) position, it takes very little energy to cause great damage.

Was it a complete tear of the ACL? There are several different methods for ACL repair - patellar tendon seems to be a common one. I just read about a new repair in a rock climbing magazine. My understanding is that the primary reason these ligaments don't heal themselves is because there is no blood flow. The new repair that I read about was for an ACL tear proximal to the bone rather than at the mid-length of the ligament. The novel solution was to drill several holes in the end of the bone near the tear. These holes caused blood to enter the area of the tear and promote healing. I believe the article said 6 weeks for complete repair.

Best of luck man. Much of medicine still seems to be an art form; pick a successful artist.

Joe · #3 (**permalink**) Wed Apr 09, 2003, 05:52pm

I blew out my knee back in the day before they knew
what an ACL was. No surgery, and, as you can imagine,
it was bad for years. I moved to Maui, started swimming
and body surfing 4,5,6 hours a day. One day I went down
to the gym (where they now play the Maui invitational),
and low and behold I was putting my hand inside the rim
(I'm under 5'11"). No pain except for a lot of rust on
my jumper.

Moral of the story? After it's back in place get some swim
fins and swim your *** off. The water lets you work it without the negative impact of gravity. I bet it helps circulation down there too.

Quote:

Originally posted by Camron Rust
Blew out my knee last Wednesday.

Found out from the MRI results today that I really screwed it up:

Torn ACL
Torn MCL
Torn Meniscus
Femoral Condyle was damaged somehow... the doc kept going but that's about all I heard.
I see an ortopedic surgeon next week to figure out what to do about it and when.

It happened by attempting to put back a rebound...no contact..noone within several feet of me according to everyone in the gym. They said it looked like my foot slipped on a wet spot as I was pushing off of it to jump causing my knee to rotate then buckle sideways.

Moral of the story...when someone falls, make sure that it gets cleaned up.

Call me gimpy.

[Edited by Camron Rust on Apr 9th, 2003 at 05:26 PM]

DownTownTonyBrown · #4 (**permalink**) Wed Apr 09, 2003, 06:00pm

Joe has a good point. There are many people walking around without an ACL attached at both ends. Strong muscles can compensate for the reduced stability without an ACL.

My medical information is limited to my Ski Patrol and first aid background. We do see a lot of torn-up knees and we see people come back to ski a year later.

Water sports are great exercise without your body weight pounding down on the knee joint.

You'll be back... it's just going to take some time and some extra work.

AK ref SE · #5 (**permalink**) Wed Apr 09, 2003, 06:11pm

Cameron-
May you return to good health soon! Remember follow your physical therapy routine to a faster recovery!

AK ref SE

Dan_ref · #6 (**permalink**) Wed Apr 09, 2003, 06:25pm

I had an ACL about 8 yrs ago, you'll be fine if you do the PT. My advice:

Get a good surgeon.

Start PT as soon as they tell you to. It's not gonna be fun the first few weeks, take the pain killers before going to PT and work hard. Really.

I found getting to full extension was the hard part - had the knee scoped a year later to finish the job.

Squats. As soon as they let you. Get access to a cage or a smith machine, or better buy one & stick it in your basement. You will be surprised how quickly your leg will lose size & strength. Incresed muscle strength will improve your overall knee stability.

Good luck! Hang in there, this is not fun but I'm sure you'll get through it.

ChuckElias · #7 (**permalink**) Wed Apr 09, 2003, 08:45pm

So sorry to hear it. Best of luck on the recovery. I can't imagine it.

Chuck

mick · #8 (**permalink**) Wed Apr 09, 2003, 09:05pm

Dang!
Good luck with that Camron.
mick