Torn ACL...

[Lee_Uptown]

Hey guys, anyone out there has torn an ACL? I just tore mine a couple of days ago playing tennis and will go under the knife in about 2-3 weeks. I'm really really bummed... any words of wisdom... how long its going to take to recover. And will I ever kite?

Right now, tennis seems to be the most dangerous sport.


BoohooooHOooo

[McKite]

Hey Lee, sorry to hear of your injury. No easy way back, but you WILL come back. Hit PT hard, really painful & alot of work but you have to get your extension and flexion back in PT - this is critical! Plan on 7-9 months before any laterally taxing sports. I was kiting 7 months post surgery with my surgeon's OK. Good luck, be strong, the first week is tough.
Looked at my calendar from 2008 - it was 7 months P/O when I got the OK to Kite! Was able to go wakesurfing at 4 months P/O again with surgeon's OK (I emphasized "slow speeds" and "strapless", and she said it was OK..)

[JRN]

MY DIAGNOSIS? QUIT KITING, and give me your gear! Sorry to hear the bad news. You now can laugh as we freeze our @$$es off this winter, if that will make you feel any better. You should be ready to go by SPRING!! Also, give up that risky Tennis, even golf will twist your spine. Stick with the safe stuff: Base jumping?

[RobH]

Sorry to welcome you to the ACL club, the good news is the repaired ACL might be better than the original. I have gone through both knee's and have no issues. Make sure you have a good knee guy, there are a few very well respected guys in the area. James Schafhauson repaired mine and I would highly recomend him as someone who understands the sports aspect of recovery. Rehab should start on day one.. I used the Petella tendon for my ACL repair which has its own pain, regaining flexability and breaking up scar tissue is perhaps the hardest part of rehab. YOu should be able to return to activity in 5-6 months with minor aches and pains for the first year with heavy use. From the people I know recovery is all in the rehab. Good luck - it will all be okay with good ortho doc and dedicated rehab

[Lee_Uptown]

Hey guys! Thanks for welcoming me to the ACL club I got Diagnosed at TRIA in Richfield and consulted a surgeon there as well. I didn't know their reputation, so I decided to get a second opinion from someone reputable. Anyway, I was lucky and scored an appointment with a Doc this Friday that only does knees.... Dr. Elizabeth Arendt. As far a the graft goes, i kinda like the idea of an allograft. I'd hate to deal with 2 places to recover. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I'm really dealing with the mental blow right now... I just want to get out there and have fun again. I'll definitely be dedicated to PT. Thanks again!

Jim, it's true! Tennis is freaking dangerous! Think about it, all that pivoting, sudden stops, change in directions... it's harsh!!! There's not much of that in kiting... it's a pretty safe sport for the majority of people (who use their brains). Yo can try my kites for sure, just don't wreck them or claim them as yours
In addition to laughing my ass off watching you guys kite this winter, I can also head out to snap pictures of you guys this winter...

See y'all soon!

[McKite]

Lee, Dr Arendt is my knee doctor & she is great! She recommended the allograft and I went with her recommendation.

[Lee_Uptown]

Awesome possum!!!! Is she great in terms of sports recovery, like what RobH described? Can't wait to see her tomorrow.

[djmadmike]

Total bummer about the knee man!

Good advice here. Fine the best ortho you can find. It is very hard to recovery from a bad surgery.

Find the best PT person you can and do your homework as recomended. Ask if there is anything else you can do also. Make sure you tell your ortho your date and that you DO plan to return to tennis, kiteboarding etc; so you want as much PT as possible. Many time the ortho tell the PT how many sessions your insurance will pay for, so if he/she writes 2x s per week for 3 weeks, that is all you get

After that, drop me a line at michaelTnelson AT yahoo DOT com and we will get you back in no time flat. Most PTs will boot you out when your are about 70-80% recovered. Getting that last 20-30% is CRUCIAL as it will dramatically increase your ability to do the sports you love again and make sure you don't hurt anything else.

When you drop me a note, tell me you read it here and we can work out a deal. I don't offer any sales/discounts, but I want to help out other kiters as much as possible since everyone has always been super helpful to me.

I've worked with many post ACL people and everyone of them is doing great now or on their way in record time.

Rock on and keep us updated
Mike T Nelson

[McKite]

Lee, imho she is the best! Look at her CV for details, but she is Doc for Team USA women's soccer, and has many pro athletes as clients. She is also the orthopedic Dr for many UofM athletes. Additionally, she is now familiar with kiting and it's demands as I brought in magazines showing her the sport. Adding plyometrics to your PT, to work on landing from jumps etc is a good idea as you progress with recovery. She definitely understands athletes who want to get back to a high level of functionality.

[Lee_Uptown]

Awesome! I'll definitely keep you in mind and tell the doc to PT me to death. Where is your facility?
Looks like you're a graduate student as well... I'm in a lab that is next to LaDora Thomson's (who is a faculty in the Exercise Phys program) and I see this Danielle person all the time. Hope to see you soon!

McKite... That's sweet! Good to know that she understands kiters and thanks to you for bringing her kite porn. I absolutely do want to get back to my competitive level in tennis. It's too bad, I just signed up for this suspension training thing called TRX... it started last week and it has tons of plyometrics. Wel, i can't do that class anymore

Thanks guys!

[RobH]

Sounds like your in good hands. By the way - Nothing breaks up scar tissue and regains the last bit of flexability like hitting huge wake jumps on the kneeboard!!! Just isnt as painfull when your having fun doing it

[djmadmike]

Lee, I did not know you are at the U of MN. Is it Danielle Templeton? If so, tell he I said hi. I am just working on my dissertation, so I am not on campus much. I can be found at random places, drinking way too much coffee, pulling my hair near a laptop though!

I train athletes of all types at the Extreme Human Performance Center in White Bear Lake, MN. Here is a video tour http://su.pr/1T1mbD
Basic, but basics + excellent instruction are all you need!

The TRX is very cool! Check it out here http://www.fitnessanywhere.com/Merchant ... L=VF2Icw57

Anything I can to help anyone get back on the water or ride longer, let me know!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson

[djmadmike]

Hahaha, good one Rob man! Attempting to land monster airs is a great test once you are ready

I pulled both my hip flexors and groin several summers ago. Very painful and don't every do it, but I knew I was back up to 100% after I took a wakeboard run behind Rob's boat, totally missed the landing and got the board ripped off me as I face planted. No hip flexor pain, so I figured I was good then and completely forgot about it.

Rock on
Mike T Nelson

[wings]

Hey Lee,

Sorry to hear about the injury.

I play tennis as much as possible, so I'm curious how you did it? Was it just a normal play or did you slip on something?

Good luck with your recovery!

[monkey1031]

MY DIAGNOSIS? QUIT KITING, and give me your gear! Sorry to hear the bad news. You now can laugh as we freeze our @$$es off this winter, if that will make you feel any better. You should be ready to go by SPRING!! Also, give up that risky Tennis, even golf will twist your spine. Stick with the safe stuff: Base jumping?

I've never been hurt base jumping... I've been hurt doing everything else though.

-smd7

[Lee_Uptown]

Wings,

It was a combination of the court type and probably a little fatigue. I played like a 2 hour match at Baseline tennis center at the U of M. I was in a split step and headed toward the right, but the ball came to my left. So I changed directions to the left really quickly but my knee stayed went the other way... Typically, I'll be on my toes in this situation, but in part the court was so Grippy (ROUGH) it held my whole foot down. It's one of those things that "just happens". I've played tennis for >16 years and never had any issues with my knee. So yeah... bummer. Keep playing tennis!!! Its good for you!

[djmadmike]

Oddly enough, the knees are typically seen only as a hinge joint, but actually do have some rotational components to them. Just watch a tennis or soccer game. At min they will need to support force from various directions and this is one of the things that is missing from most (not all) knee rehab programs. I have athletes do lots of "circular" mobility knee work and very specific change of direction work.

Heal fast man!! I know you WILL be back playing tennis and kiteboarding!

Mike N

[Geo]

Sorry about your knee. I, too have had 2 allographs, same knee. You recovery will depend on how much exercise you get in, and how bad the initial injury was. My experience:

First time, I dislocated my kneecap playing in a VB tournament. tore the acl, mcl, and partial pcl. Took about 9-12 months until I felt pretty good, and got back to jumping really well. Didn't stop playing volleyball, though, and tore just the Acl again playing in another tournament about 2 years later. Waited almost a year to get it repaired, and in the meantime just kept being as active as I could. Except for having it kind of slip sometimes, you can still do a lot of stuff (I remember doing roller hockey...).

Second operation, I was skiing out west 3 months after the surgery, because the muscles prior to the operation were pretty strong.

Now my issues are from some bad cartilage tear from bottoming out on a windsurfing jump which are separate from the acl issue.

Some recent press has stated that if you work the muscles enough, you might be able to do w/o surgery at all. That probably assumes that you aren't doing the stuff that would lead you to lateral stresses that might put your knee out.

Good luck.

[MK]

Glad to read all the references to sports I love and do: Tennis, wake, ski and VB (in addition to kiting). There are more but inappropriate to list and would sound braggy as well as inadvertiently promote competition. Maybe there is a lot of us with multiple sport disciplines? I haven't talked about it much since I didn't want to detract from my kiting focus or appear aloof (I try really hard to hide my aloofness ). Also, I've joked my wife would shoot me if I get involved in another sport.

The point is: Nice to be in similar company.

I did feel a "twinge" in my patella Wednesday night during my league VB. Nothing became of it and I chalked it up to being a little cold and not warmed up. I still got to club some balls without issue.

Good luck with the rehab. 7 or so months will fly by just in time for the open water season (tennis season too ). I have also had a great experienc at TRIA. It's nice to have care by those who understand the need for intense activity.

Mike

[Geo]

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention: I do not play competitive volleyball any longer, and wouldn't do soccer either...but am OK w/ it.

BUt you will be able to if you want, is what we were trying to say.