Tore my ACL and more

[julz]

Hi, I'm a level 10 gymnast. Sadly, I tore my ACL, MCL, and meniscus dismounting beam two weeks ago. I've seen three orthos...my growth plates aren't quite closed which is an issue. I might have surgery as soon as Christmas. I know others have had this type of injury. Can you give me any insight as to what to expect? The orthos say I'll be like new within a year. I'm still in the gym conditioning every day.

 

[Optionals United]

I welcome to the CB! we have had some people here that have tore their ACL, they should be able to give you some insight to that.

 

[B Gymnast]

Welcome to the CB! I can't give you any insight on your injury, but I hope you recover quickly!

 

[hakunamatata]

Gosh, that's too bad :/ I'm sorry about your injury. I hope the recovery process goes well. I haven't had a similar injury but a good friend of mine did. The surgery went well for her. She said the two weeks after surgery were a little bit rough (constant icing, always wearing a brace) but after that she was up and moving around pretty well on crutches. She probably had the crutches for about a month and then could walk around on her own. Obviously the doctors will have limitations on what kinds of movement/exercise is okay for you to do, but there are some easy stretches and exercises you'll probably be given by a PT for recovery. At the end of my friend's recovery process she was back to perfect health and better than ever. She got back into her sports in about six months, I would say, but I'm sure the amount of time depends on the severity of the injury. In general I was pretty surprised at how quickly she was back on her feet. She said the pain really wasn't bad after the initial recovery period. So I hope yours goes well, too. Sending you all kinds of good luck and healing fairies!!

Also, this article may be useful to you. Just tells you a little bit what to expect upon recovery.
Recovery After ACL Reconstruction

 

[nicci1999]

I just had the surgery for My ACL and meniscus(two of them) in July. The first couple of days were really rough and I couldn't keep my pain under controls l depute meds.awns icing-but I have a really high tolerance to pain meds, always.have. I had p.t 48hourz after my surgery and started twice a week after that. Rode the stationary bike a week after surgery but it got easier each time I did it. Had my leg in a full leg brace untilled three weeks out then I got My shorter brace. Was on crutches for about six weeks before I was releases.fully from them(the Dr cleared me to go without then pt. Wanted me to stay with them, but p.t. is.the.ones you will see and will truly know what you're capable of). Follow ALL of your exercises religuosly, you will lose a good amount of muscle mass in your injured leg. But to make up for it your triceps will remain in good condition whilst you are using the crutches. And there are exercises you can do WITH the crutches, such as dips and leg lifts lol. I'm still looking at two more months before my return to the gym, and its partly due to the replacelent I had. I had the.hamstring gradft taken from me, which caused more muscle massloss and is a little longer with the healing but due to potential issues with the patellar options I decided hamstring was best for me. Your doctor will help you make That decision, in the meantime do some research. If you have surgery in December you will most likely be going back to school in crutches. If you Have any other questions feel free to ask!!!

 

[gymnastgirlz10]

i am still in recovery for this, and as far as the surgery goes... its tough but as long as you listen to the doctors and do what they say to do you will be good to go! i tore mine in june doing double fulls on floor and i had surgery in late july and i was aable to walk again about a month after in August. i am still in physical therapy now. when i go back to gymnastics ( which is hopefully in January) i will need a custom brace that i will need to wear with any vigorous physical exercise, like gymnastics. when i first went to Physical therapy, i went three times a week, and i wasn't really doing much. they DR's gave me a stimulator to use at home to help get more muscle in my thigh since they drilled thorugh mine. i have three holes in my femur and they used a donor-craft ACL and my hamstring to re-build my ACL. they stapled it into my shin and then put anchors on the staple to keep it in place... they also had to fix my meniscus... not quite sure what they did with that. it was very swollen and gross looking and very painful at first.... very tough to take showers for a while. but just remember to EAT. if you don't eat with your pain meds you will NOT keep them down! trust me i learned the hard way... wow this is long i could go on forever. but if you have any more questions feel free to let me know and i will gladly talk to you!!! good luck to you and i hope you have a fast recovery!