ACL Rupture

grinham110

Well only 2 months after buying my pride and joy it looks like I am not going to be able to ride her properly for some time.

At the beginning of the week I was playing in a football friendly when I dislocated my knee in a tackle. following a trip to A&E and an MRI scan I got the results back yesterday. (The benefits of living and working in Germany is that you can get a scan double quick time if needed). I have ruptured my ACL pretty badly and I have been told that it will need surgery in Feb/Mar once all the swelling is gone.

What I want to know si would my fellow MTB'ers recommend a temporary switch to Road cycling to aid my rehab after the surgery? It is tempting as so many people do it that I work with and they all seem to enjoy it.

Let me know what you all think and before anyone asks I am not selling my Cube!

Lucien

Ruptured my ACL skiing last April and went through the GP and was referred to surgeon etc. Was also having physio at the same time that I paid for to help reduce the swelling and get some movement back, and despite the cash this worked really well. I was also icing and stretching my knee about 2-3 times a day (on the advice of the physio).

I also paid for an MRI scan and this confirmed the diagnosis and I was able to see the extent of the damage - If I had waited for the normal NHS route It would have taken 3 months for a scan.

I have been riding for many years and the advice from the surgeon was to wait and see if I could ride again without pain or swelling - in which case my knee would be strong enough for everyday use and I could avoid surgery. Within 8 weeks I was riding again, back to racing by the summer and haven't really looked back. Rarely do I even think about it. I was glad that I had an NHS referral to the surgeon, and then paying for the bits I needed help speed the whole thing up. The surgeon in particular, was very reassuring saying that most skiers, footballers, rugby players pick up this type of injury and rarely do they have surgery.

Hope this helps, and that you are back to riding as soon as

welsh_wonder

Lucien wrote:

The surgeon in particular, was very reassuring saying that most skiers, footballers, rugby players pick up this type of injury and rarely do they have surgery.

Sorry mate but thats total rubbish, its nothing against you by the way just the advice you were given but every sportsman will have Surgery, im 4 months in from mine and i did mine playing football, the only way you can get away without surgery is if you play no sport or running whatsoever like a desk job.

The ACL is the primary stabalizer in your Knee without it your knee wont function correctly. Yes you can build up the other muscles in your leg to counter act against having a ruptured ACL but its not worth it.

Back to the main topic, im not a roadie fan but yes that would be a good idea or pop down to your local gym and see if they have any spinning bikes and join a few classes although for the first 12 weeks this is not a good idea as the new ACL is at its weakest point until past that time. My physio in work recomended only light cycling on a cycle machine.

Iif you have any other questions mate just ask and ill do my best being as im 4 months on from mine.

physiosteve

Sorry to hear that grinham, thats bad luck. Lucien is quite right though some people do manage well without needing reconstruction, although generally active populations, especially those playing field sports will require reconstruction. It all comes down to what problems you are experiencing, if you are complaining of instability and swelling after pushing a shopping trolley around the supermarket then your going to need it. Some people get back to playing recreational sport without ever knowing that theyve injured their ACL, but these arent the norm.
If you have access to physio preop to reduce swelling, restore range of motion, and importantly get strong as possible then this will significantly improve your post op recovery. On that note rehab protocols are largely dictated by the surgeon who will say when you can commence cycling, many will allow you to ride stationary bikes way before 12 weeks. After that the concern is whether you'll fall off or not, no reason why u cant ride an MTB when you strong at first Id b tempted to use flats tho!.
Finally your surgeon will discuss various graft options from which to harvest the new ligament. Its always a case of pros and cons, for a cyclist every time youl be better off with a hamstring graft, but clearly the Surgeon has to be comfortable with that. Patella Tendon grafts are associated with tendonitis for good while afterwards