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Re: Is brace really necessary? - Brace best if combined with prompt ACL recon...

Posted By: OLarryR
Date: Friday, 2 May 2008, at 6:31 a.m.

In Response To: Re: Is brace really necessary? - Brace best if combined with prompt ACL recon... (Michael Frind)

Michael,

Great response !

I wanted to add that the period after my ACL Reconstruction and sports release was not a time that I stopped my leg exercises. It became basically a habit that I would continue to do to ensure the leg muscles especially in the injured leg remained at full strength. The leg muscles are the first line defense for protection of the internals by offering the initial stability before the ACL kicks in. If one rehabs to full strength and then just goes back to sports thinking that the sport keeps the muscles strong, that is not true. The injured leg tends to lose strength more so than the good leg. Not sure why that is but it seeme that way for me unless I continued my regular workouts at the fitness center. As time passed, the injured leg's muscles tended to hold the strength better but because of probably habit from my recovery, i always tend to do more strength exercises with my injured leg, though, it is important to condition all muscles with resistance exercises.

The other thing I wanted to mention was that i rmeember back at the time of my initial injury when I had a 50% ACL tear and the OS left it alone. he initially told me that I could not play basketball again. that was his recommendation. It was only much later in recovery, when he had my leg tested (when it was relaxed) with a KT-2000 tester (on two different occasions) that the results indicated that while I had a 50% tear, the remaining ACL was not significantly stretched. IT was for only that reaosn that he then gave me the go-ahead after my muscles were rehabbed to 100% strength to play sports with a custom fitted brace. But the article he gave me indicated that I had a 50% chance of retearing the ACL in 5 years (even with the brace - because of the twisting motions). I had actually 8 great years playing sports using that custom sports brace. But I then I forgot about minimizing twist motions and did an instinctive fake move on the court faking one way and then going the other. I left the other player in the dust....for about a second. Then went down to the floor, got back up and knew immediately I probably did my remaining ACL in.

The good news is that after the reconstruction, my OS told me I did not have to use the brace any longer and I have been fine ever since with a perfect knee now going on 9+ years after the reconstruction. In fact, I'm playing tennis after work today !
I ge tno sympathy and I show no mercy.

The decision to go for an ACL reconstruction is one that some contemplate for awhile while others just bit ehte bullet and go for it right away. For me, after I severed my ACL, it was a 1 minute decision. The whole ordeal is a slow patient process to get back to where you were prior to the injury (perhaps minus some cartilage). But the chances for a successful reocvery are quite good and the brief period now is what it turns out to be based on all the years later with a once again fully functioning knee. Of course, the decision as to how we deal with a partial or severed ACL is not a life threatening decision but an important one and there are many options available ranging from doing nothing to going the ACL reconstruction route. The thing is how you deal with whatever decision you make to ensure you avoid addl knee events in the future. On one side of the scale of options before you, it is best to limit activities. On the other, you should be able to return to sports but some things to do to ensure you remain at a top level.

Larry
http://olarryrknees.homestead.com/acl.html

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