Snapped ACL

Hi. I was told I snapped my ACL over a year ago now. I was told to try physio before deciding to have an op to no avail. This week Im to make the decision if i want surgery or not. It was only since I since I snapped it I had the injury I started doing squats and deadlifts as I skool boyed it and was only working my top half of which I fear was the main contribution to the injury as I hadnt sustained any impact on my knee when it went. I can squat and deadlift moderate weight and have seen a vast development in my legs due to that. They are actually in proportion with the rest of me now lol. My question is would i still be able to squat after surgery as I've read some people have been better off not having it. I can go ATG now and am worried I wont be able to after surgery ? The main reason I would want surgery is so I can play football again allbeit not competitively. Any one have any views or past experiences on this ? Also could anyone recommend a good knee wrap I could use to help me playing football as I have only just discovered them after researching on this. The problem I have is that it sort of "pops" when changing direction for example leaving me grounded and with a swollen knee for at least a few days

Okay ive just come accross this http://www.mcdavidusa.com/store/item.asp?ITEM_ID=17&DEPARTMENT_ID=746

and this 

http://www.return2fitness.co.uk/Supports_And_Braces/Knee_Supports/Hinged_Knee_Braces/md429knee/
Any views anyone ? 

hi mate,
 
Its perfectly possible to train and have the body adapt to having no ACL, and regain almost full stability in the knee, but it does tend to need quite a good training programme, and assessment of what work is needed by someone that specialises in that type of thing.
 
Theres certainly no guarantee of sucess after the op, and recovery times are quite long, need alot of physio, and work on your behalf.  it maybe that football is one of those things that you just cant do anymore, even if you had surgery theres no guarantee you would be playing again!
 
Its a shame you have left it so late, a week before surgery really isnt enough time to make this decision!
 
two members that im sure will post in this thread at some point, and be very usefull to you are Rachfit- she bust her ACL a couple of years back, opted not to have surgery and is back doing everything to full capacity, and AK88 whos will be able to give a physio based opinion on the possible outcomes of surgery

Ah its not a week before surgery but physio hasn't worked and I have an appointment at home before I have to go back to uni, so will ultimately have to decide if I want to go ahead with surgery or not. May give that McDavid 429 hinged knee brace a shout. Yeah i did see rachfit comment on someones post about her acl. My physio said like 20% can regain full usage through shortening the hamstring to account for the job of the acl or something but im not amongst those lol.

when you say physio hasnt worked, what do you mean?
 
regaining stability in the knee isnt something a physio can do for you, its something you have to work hard at in the gym!  All a physio can really do is test the knee and its stability, by manipulating it, and possibly help with ROM if thats limited, AK88 will confirm, but i think that would be about the limit of what they can do if the acl is completely bust.
 
I would put money on it that the figure would be much higher than 20% of people that COULD, but most dont put the work in, they just expect it to happen on its own, and when it doesnt, they say 'yep, didnt happen for me'.  im not saying thats you, but its very common!
 
what exercise have you been doing to specifically strengthen the knee and regain stability?

wearing a hinged knee brace isnt the solution! that would have been ok in the days after the injury

Yeah I understand the physio can't fix it for me and I pretty much had full ROM as I started seeing the physio months the event happened and the mri scan. But I think his aim was to tighten my hamstring so it would do the job the acl would. In order to do this he gave me exercises to do with those resistance bands they hand out. And fair doos for what the exercises are you really do feel the burn. Like I would tie it round the foot of a table and then stick my foot in it and sort of bend at the knee. Kind of seated leg curl effort with it. He advised against actual leg curls. 
But after all this daily and deadlifts and squats my knee still hyperextends if thats the word for it when it pops to the side. The two occasions I've attempted to play football and randomly on nights out for example and people have to carry me home lol. Not because I'm drunk btw. I dunno if there are any other exercises rachfit could suggest im willing to try.
The idea I had behind the hinged brace was to stop the popping to the side which I thought it would do ? 
 

sounds like things are very loose then mate, must be frustrating after so long!
 
trouble with it keep popping 'out' is that everytime it does that theres a risk of further damage.
 
Rach will be able to tell you the kind of things she did after hers went, and it was alot more than just leg curls with a resistance band!  Its a shame really that you didnt have better rehab advice at the start, and progression of it

hey buddy, huge sympathy for ya!!
much of what Dazc has said really but main considerations are these:
 
1). Mine did not completely rupture therefore I still have proprioception which means my bodies software can still register stability and control. Both of which I trained progressively and religiously after I had reduced the swelling and regained full knee extension.
 
2). Just because it has fully ruptured does not mean you definitely need surgery HOWEVER what you have described is considerable instability, although from what I can understand it has been during moments of madness (or after a drink) or when 'cutting' (direction change).
 
3). Surgery can  potentially give you back the stability you need for the games you wish to play
 
4). Probably THE most important consideration and the one that helped me to make my decision
You MUST remember this - you may come out of surgery worse than you went in - so your decision should be based upon your quality of life now and whether you are happy with it - if not then maybe surgery is for you.
 
Finally email me rach@intelligenttrainingsystems.com and I will send you some rehab stuff if you like but it will probably look like the stuff your physio has done with you. Main focus being ham strength and stability/control/coordination work.
But do this for both legs as my good leg is now less stable than my ACL damaged one!!!!
 
Good luck

Yeah the physios were pretty crap. As you'd expect on the nhs i suppose. I swear one of them advised me that I could sit on a bench with legs either side of it and then pull myself to the other end with your legs and when he showed me he looked like when you see a dog scratching their ass along the floor when they drag themselves. It was absurd. And then things like standing on the bad leg with my eyes closed :s

Yeah i'll give you a shout now rach. Nice one 

rattyryan


Yeah the physios were pretty crap. As you'd expect on the nhs i suppose. I swear one of them advised me that I could sit on a bench with legs either side of it and then pull myself to the other end with your legs and when he showed me he looked like when you see a dog scratching their ass along the floor when they drag themselves. It was absurd. And then things like standing on the bad leg with my eyes closed :s

Yeah i'll give you a shout now rach. Nice one 

quite a useful exercise for early hamstring rehab actually, obviously if it is too easy then there are things you can do to make it harder.
 
I tore my ACL playing rugby, had the operation and now my knee is stronger than ever before, if you do your rehab properly then it is very likely you will get back to what you want to do (i.e. football). Lower limb rehab involves plenty of control, stability and core exercises as I'm sure rach has emailed you, but doing it properly will usually ensure a successful operation and a good outcome.

I feel your pain!
 
I ruptured my ACL, PCL, lateral meniscus and MCL playing rugby in April 2011.  Waited till September 2011 for surgery and find out today whether I can retrun to training.
 
I have been undergoing rehab in the gym for 3 months now and find I get stronger every day.
 
My advice would be to go for it, be patient with the rehab but do not be afraid to push your boundaries as you recover.
 
All the best!