Bob's ACL WWWBoard

User Profile

Beth Spargo

I am a 37 year old living in Hermosa Beach, CA. I had a left knee injury on June 8, 2003 while playing tennis. I twisted my knee, felt searing pain, and went the the ER. I was pretty sure I had a significant injury, but my general MD thought I only had an MCL strain. I went to an orthopod at UCLA, who suspected an ACL tear, and sent me for an MRI. The MRI confirmed my diagnosis, and I was referred to my OS (Dr. Sharon Hame at UCLA). The HMO referral process was very slow and frustrating! I saw Dr. Hame in August, and she could not do the ACL reconstruction because of my knee bend restriction. I had been in PT since July, but couldn't seem to make much progress. It turned out that when I tore my ACL, the tissue lodged in my knee notch, and prevented bending my knee fully. I had surgery Aug. 26 to remove the tissue, and returned to rehab. I just had my ACL reconstruction (patellar) on Oct. 31. I used to be physically active at least 5 days a week, and played tennis competitively. Since the injury, I've been restricted to no resistance cycling (better than nothing!). I hope to be in a much better place in 2004. I hope to be back to normal daily functioning, and eventually sports again (tennis, volleyball, skiing, cycling). Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences here. Hang in there!!

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