I'm an active skier/mt. biker/fisherman. I partially tore my right ACL skiing on 2/7/2003. There was a pretty bad bone bruise at the proximal end of the tibia which took about three months to heal. That was the most painful part. The tear itself didn't seem too bad (MRI showed both endpoints intact and a ligament that appeared stretched. It was hard to see how badly it was torn, but the Lachman test showed I still had something pretty solid in there). I was advised to exercise and strengthen the leg so that I could hopefully avoid surgery.
I did a lot of swimming until the bone bruise healed. By the time the snow melted (may in vermont) I was able to to some mountain biking. By mid June I was riding regularly and the knee was starting to feel strong, stable, and limber.
Well, tough titty because I fell off my bike 6/17/2003 and blew what was left of my ACL to smithereens. Back to the drawing board. I started swimming again and it actually wasn't long before I was back to normal activity. I scheduled surgery for 10/27/2003 and spent the interim getting as much exercise as I could. I had a few random pivot-shift episodes (slipping on wet rocks, etc.) but was surprised at how hard I was able to ride. I even did a big backpacking trip and hiked all over the place. I literally blew out my shoes!
I hit the operating table in the best shape of my life and my leg felt great (made me wonder if I really needed surgery). I got a general anesthetic and don't remember squat from surgery. It's now five weeks later and I'm doing very well. My doc, who is widely regarded as one of the best in the biz (it pays to shop around) has me on a pretty conservative rehab program. I know there are much more agressive programs out there, but he is of the opinion that pushing things too hard in the first twelve weeks puts the graft at risk of becoming too laxed. I probably go about the rehab a little harder than he would want me to, but I listen to my body and I'm pretty sure I haven't done anything stupid yet. Lots of swimming and light weight lifting, stretching and just flexing the joint. Ice when its swollen, rest when it hurts. It's feeling better every day and I think it should all come together nicely in the end.
I think that being in great shape on surgery day was a huge factor in my post-op success. I would encourage anyone who reads this not to rush into surgery. Don't just wait six weeks until the swelling is gone and then get it done. It takes a lot more time than that to get your leg into the kind of shape it should be in for this kind of surgery - especially if you have a painful bone bruise to go with your blown ACL.
One more thing: My brace was causing me so much discomfort after surgery that as soon as I felt stable enough to walk without it, I pretty much hung it up for good )inside three weeks). It was rubbing my incisions, cutting off blood flow (not good when you're trying to heal), and screwing up my stride when I started walking. I couldn't keep the thing from creeping down my leg as I walked, so the hinge was always finding its way south of my joint and restricting my flexion.I would tighten it to try to stop it from sliding down, but this would just cut off the circulation even more. I haven't had a problem without it so far.
Well, that's about it. My goal is to ski in some capacity by the end of this season, even if it's just gently cruising down the bunny hill. We'll see how it goes.
Update : January 2005
I did manage to get a few days of skiing in last spring. to my surprise, the knee felt great! I even did a day at Tuckerman's, which was probably a stupid idea. I only did one run there, though, and it was incredible.
I continued to rehab until the five month mark. By then, I started working way too much to get to the gym. However, my job involves a lot of walking, all of it outside. So I don't feel I did much harm. I guess I didn't make a whole lot of progress, either, but I got back into working out in the fall.
I started skiing this year on the first of December. While on vacation, I got in four days of backcountry and two on the lifts over a period of two weeks. I was out of shape, but the knee held up fine.
Now I'm getting to the hill about three days a week and doing fine. The only issue has been some pain in the patellar tendon area. Throughout this whole process, this has always been the most stubborn area. Kneeling still feels wierd and who knows if it will ever go away. I'm not too worried about it, though, as the pain thus far has not persisted beyond six o'clock on a ski day.
Overall, I'm pretty amazed at what I've been able to do with a surgically repaired knee. For a long time I thought there would be no way I'd ever return to form. But it's happening. Skiing has been a great way to strengthen my affected leg once and for all. I look forward to feeling more and more normal each day.
