MCL knee injury - anyone been there??

[glennmaitland]

Hi guys, 10days ago i had a pretty bad accident in football (soccer) and have a grade2/3 medial collateral ligament tear. Docs cant say yet if it will need surgery yet as swelling is only just starting to go down now and need to get an mri scan in the next week or so.

Have any of you had this injury before? how long before you could walk on the leg, run, play golf etc?? Spent first 9 days with leg in the air, ice etc to reduce swelling and getting physio now which has brought some movement back to the leg but i'm a tennis pro and keen golfer and need to know how long it has taken any of you to recover from same injury?

 

Many thanks!

[bloodredsun]

I had an MCL/ACL and torn meniscii from playing AFL and was running in 6 weeks. Another of my team-mates had an MCL only tear and was playing in 3 weeks although his leg had a bit of extra movement that means I wouldn't recommend it until it is completely stable.

 

Both my MCL and ACL tears were complete ruptures and while the MCL healed naturally, the ACL and meniscii required a reconstruction (4 braid hamstring about 2 months after the initial injury) which stopped me playing sport for 9 months. A further 9 months later, I was back playing for my country!

 

Long and short of it - don't play sport until both the joint and the surrounding muscles are back to full strength. Also, you cannot do enough physio. It is the difference between a successful outcome and a relapse, even if you have surgery.

[wshoulders]

I did mine playing football(football) lol when I was 16 never got it fixed...lived off pain pills played through it, and it never healed.. I'm almost 21 and some days I can barely get out of bed its so bad..My advice to you would be to make sure you get it fixed and let it heal right

[glennmaitland]

many thanks guys, esp blood red - that gives me a lot of hope for a reasonably quick return!!!!

[Bomb and Gouge]

Dude, load up on Glucosamine/Chondroitin!

 

Seriously, I've avoided surgery a few times thanks to those pills!

 

Good luck, man!!

[Ronzo]

Rehab, rehab, rehab. Then rehab some more.

 

The outcome will be determined by how far you push yourself. The Physical Therapists (Torturers? :wub: )won't let you go too far. I had a total knee dislocation with complete reconstruction on my right knee, then had a partial ACL tear that was repaired arthroscopically on my left knee. I regained full range of motion 10 days post-op on the left knee, mainly because I forced bending it the first day I came out of surgery and never stopped. The right knee required 5 weeks of immobilization post-op, and I regained only 70-75% range of motion, permanently.

 

Suggestion: Use your pain meds wisely. Have someone drive you to PT, and time the meds so that they hit as you arrive. By the time the PT session's finishing and they're icing you down, the PT will have burned most of the meds out of your system, but you will have accomplished a lot more because you didn't have to fight through as much pain.

 

BTW, the first time you make a complete revolution of the pedals on a stationary bike is a major milestone with a serious knee injury. It WILL hurt like hell. But it gets much easier if you keep doing it right at that point. Don't let up.

[Keith31]

Generally speaking, the MCL usually does not require surgery. It has a good blood supply to it and can heal on its own with proper treatment.

Great job with the ice, rest and elevation. Most people are too stubborn to put the effort into those things. They are crucial.

 

That being said, the MRI will tell you if you tore your ACL as well as your MCL. If that is the case, it seems that you have an active enough life style to warrant surgery.

 

As far as time for the MCL to heal and get back to sports....everyone is different. It is a very picky ligament to heal quickly because you are stressing it every time you walk. It will start to feel good and you will do something silly to set yourself back a bit. It is inevitable. Honestly, it will be an ongoing issue for a while...My guess would be hopefully no more than 6 months of concern.

 

Sounds like a long time, but I mean six months before it doesn't bother you at all. You should be back to activities in a few weeks 3-4...if you treat it correctly. Look into a knee brace for activity. If insurance will allow, go with a custom ACL type brace. The DonJoy Defiance III is a great option. A close second would be the DonJoy Armour. These will help protect you from further injur when you can get back to it...

 

Good luck.

[glennmaitland]

Guys THANK U ALL (above) SO MUCH!!

 

Helps me alot to hear advice from ppl who have been there - had a bit of a laugh when i read the suggestion to take Gluco+Chondroitin coz i'v been double dosing on both these, cod liver oil, slapping on pernaton gel, arnica gel as well as the ice?heat treatment, nsaids, voltorol gel etc - i'v been throwing everything at it that anyone has ever sugested might help! lol

 

Know i gotta work hard at the physio stuff and i can just imagine how tough and painful the full revolution on a spin bike will be but I'll get there soon, cheers ronzo.

 

A huge thanks again, off to do the stretching exercises again now that i'v been inspired again!

[Ronzo]

Good luck, glennmaitland. Let us know how you're doing!

[truck13]

I had the exact same injury as yours back in college, the doc said what the above poster had said about surgery not being needed and with rehab and rest i was back relatively quickly...i injured it early in the summer and was still able to play the end of summer ball (probably too early looking back)..bottom line is 12 or so years later and i have no residual pain or limitations from it..i can still play basketball, softball, handball, golf whatever with no brace or pain. work hard on your pt and keep working out and it should take care of itself...good luck

[glennmaitland]

Been doing lots of physio and 3hours per day of cycling, walking in the water, stretching etc and had mri scan last week - just got results from the specialist today and they arent good at all. . . . .

mcl is healing nicely but acl is completely gone and meniscus is damaged so i'm looking at reconstruction now and approx 9 months before i can get back to work. Majorly gutted coz i felt really good and been doing lots of leg extension/curl etc and not felt any insecurity in the knee at all recently. People have said that when your cruciate goes you really know its gone but this deffo is not the case.

[Ronzo]

Sorry for the poor news, Glenmaitland. They probably should have done the MRI earlier -- but, if they didn't catch the ACL at the time, perhaps it's only a partial tear? If so, fear not. It may be repairable arthroscopically. If so, the 9 month rehab seems extraordinarily long. Have you seen aonother orthopaedic surgeon? It would probably be worthwhile for you to do so, based upon my experiences.

[glennmaitland]

cheers ronzo, in uk we av2wait 8 months for mri on health service and 2years for surgery so just paying for it all to get it done within weeks- seeing top knee surgeon in the country so just gotta take his word for it i guess. I'm a full time tennis coach so the 9mths off full work (no pay) is not gonna be easy (should be able to do little immobile bits in 4 mths) but on the bright side i'll only be able to practise putting and wedges from max 30yards for 9 whole months before i can rotate on knee again for full swing. In that time i'll be an expert at getting up and down from anywhere!!!! Thats gotta help me shave 5 off the h'cap!

[bloodredsun]

Really sorry to hear that Glen.

 

I had complete ruptures of MCL/ACL and a bucket handle tear of the meniscus so I've been there. I saw Andy Williams at Chelsea and Westminster, who are you seeing?

 

9 months is about right in my experience. The first 3 months are the worst as that is when the reconstruction can fail (failure rate is only about 5%) if it is going to. After 12 weeks, the graft is mechanically stronger than the real thing so you can then concentrate on rehab. After 6 months, I was moving completely if not as fast or as securely as I was. After 9 months I was still aware of the knee but I was moving at full tilt without any deficit. It took me about 18 months before I was moving without any second thoughts.

 

Do you know whether you are getting a 4 braid hamstring or a bone-patella-bone reco?

[glennmaitland]

cheers bloodred,

I'm wth Ian Corry in Northern Ireland (him and Nicholas are supposed to be superb - both spent 15+years on knees only). He usually prefers to do hamstring (which i think i'd prefer) but is a little concerned about the healing of the mcl - if it isnt healing as well as hoped then he is gonna do patella graft but wont make the decision until the day of the op.

Which was urs? patella or hamstring? I'v heard that patella v.painful post surgery and takes slightly longer to get into good rehab coz of pain but heals stronger in long run??

How did you go about the physio? I'm looking at a very agressive program of approx 4 hours per day stretching, cycling, stair climbing and strength work in the hope that this will minimise recovery time.

Keen to hear your thoughts as you'v been there and come through it! A huge thanks, glenn

[bloodredsun]

I had a hamstring graft and that was painful enough. I've heard the same thing about the patella graft - I had a friend who had one of each (hamstring in left and patella in right) and he said that the patella was more painful.

 

I was quite conservative in rehab for the first 3 months as it was explained to me that the graft is initially very strong, then becomes quite week in weeks 3-9 but by week 12 it's incredibly strong. Whether this is completely true or not, you need to ask your surgeon but I did basic movement and stretching and some closed-chain exercises for that period to try to reduce any scarring adhesions and prevent muscle wastage. When I got the all clear, I really ripped the arse out of it and worked out incredibly hard especially on the vastus medialis (the tear drop shaped thigh muscle next to the knee) and the calf where there was noticeable muscle wastage.

 

I would be careful of stair climbing and rather do step exercises (step up/step/down like a bad 90's aerobics class) as coming down stairs can be dangerous for an unstable knee as you are fully loading an extended leg as you step down forwards.

 

The biggest issue for me was the mental side. Having gone through the pain of the injury and then the pain of the rehab, I became very protective of my knee and started compensating for it when playing sport so I actually got other injuries as I tried to not stress my knee too much. Because of that, I would really suggest that you don't play sport until you are confident that your knee is back to full strength and that you trust it completely.

 

Good luck in the surgery and make sure that in the mean time, you work your leg as hard as possible as pre-operative training can make a big difference to how quickly you bounce back

[jcigars]

I also had to get my ACL reconstructed (twice for that matter) and a bucket handle tear of the meniscus. It was almost a year of rehab both times it happened. Getting over this injury mentally was the hardest part for me. I'm sure you will make a full recovery. I played Roller Hockey after I healed at the age of 36 (I'm 40 now). I'd probably still be playing if I didn't blow out my Quad (talk about pain) :russian_roulette:

 

Hope you get better soon.

 

Jimmy

[glennmaitland]

cheers again guys. . . .

Bloodred, u'r ritr abt the stairs - i ment to say the stepper thingy (dunno what its calld but "bad 90's aerobics is a gd way to describe it!) How long was it before you played golf again "properly"? Think i could be playing around the greens within 3-4wks but how long for a full 18? Thanks for all the advice, its reassuring to know others have been through it and come back strong! 8 days to go now :D

[bloodredsun]

I wasn't playing golf at the time so I can't say.

 

Honestly, I would back off from any twisting motion on the graft for the first 3 months and just concentrate on the rehab and then see how you go from there.

[Adidas_23]

two ACL complete tears here from futbol (soccer), one when I was 24, one last year when I was 30. 1st surgery was my patella tendon, second they used a cadaver Achilles tendon....my advice, take it slow on the recovery. unless you under a contract and getting paid to come back quickly, there is no need to rush it other than our own ego. the first 6 months are critical, as other people have said. do the PT religiously and stretch every day.

 

for golf specifically, it depends if it is the right knee or left and if you are right handed or left. mine is my right knee, and being right handed that is where a lot of twisting on the back swing happens (ie-ACL's purpose in life) so I can still feel it today, 10 months after surgery (probably didn't help that I skied after 8), but my dr said if it was my left knee, it would have taken me more time to play golf since it takes a lot of pressure on the follow through.

 

just take it easy, golf isn't going anywhere, and a year from now you will be happy you took it easy, I promise.

[tyorke1]

Glenn, ask your doctor a prescription of PENNSAID, fantastic rub on anti-inflamatory especially for knees, TIM

[bloodredsun]

Pennsaid is sold under the name Voltarol Emulgel in the UK (actually I used to sell it as a medical rep for Ciba Geigy!) and it's very good for muscular pain and stiff necks but I never found it all that good for deep joint pain.

[glennmaitland]

WOOHOOO!

I'm 36 hours post surgery for acl reconstruction and I'm already getting good movement in the knee and am starting to walk very slowly (and nervously!) Keeping the cryo cuff on 24/7 to reduce swelling and spending lots of time doing the stretches. No pain but the medication is so strong that i'm dizzy and blurry eyed everytime i stand up.

If anyone else is about to through this op dont stress, it's really not as bad as i was expecting!