Torn ACL

[k-no]

waterleopard: I had the hamstring graft. Oh I forgot to mention...that area hurts as well! Not anymore...but it did quite a bit. I can place my finger on my leg and easily locate where my hamstring tendons are missing. It sucks, your hamstring (hell your whole leg) gets weakened in a major way, but I guess after some PT and lots of light leg work on the weight machines, I'm supposed to be able to grow my hamstrings back like some lizard....you learn something new every day.

Judge: Hey if it's good for you...I pride myself in performance, and I can't perform very well when I'm in agony. If you're just looking to get off, SURE it's GREAT!

k

[waterleopard]

Thanks. I'm probably going to get the petellar graft in the fall. I have my medial meniscus scoped the end of June. In the meantime, I'm working out carefully. Certain things I just can't do (unless I want to crash and burn, which I don't). I'm not really experiencing any pain, so I suspect the meniscus isn't torn too badly. The main issue is stability - or instability I should say.

[k-no]

Be aware that with the Patellar graft there is a strong possibility that low stances will be very difficult due to some pain in that range even after a full recovery. I don't favor super low kneeling stances myself (necessary evil in forms) but it is something to consider.

k

[waterleopard]

Thanks for the advice. My ortho is a big patellar guy, but I'll talk to him about it.

Did you also tear your meniscus during your injury? If so, did you have that worked on during the same surgery as the ACL? There's a part of me that just wants to get this thing over with asap, rather than wait until the fall. And to have one recovery instead of two.

[k-no]

No I didn't tear my meniscus but it definitely had its share of trauma...my doc said they took the buzzsaw to it and ground it down till it was nice and smooth.

There's no reason for you to get two procedures. If they are going to poke holes in your leg, the only logical thing to do is to fix both problems now. I think your doc should know and suggest this as well, unless he's incredibly lazy.

[Judge Pen]

Judge: Hey if it's good for you...I pride myself in performance, and I can't perform very well when I'm in agony. If you're just looking to get off, SURE it's GREAT!

Nah man, I impressed her enough to where she married me. I wasn't looking to just get off, but we did have to be creative and take certain obvious considerations into account. Practice makes perfect.

I had the patellar tendon graph. I don't know how different the experience would be with the hamstring graph. I know that my pain was localized in my knee area and it seemed worse in the patellar area. If fact long after I was back to full speed, any type of medicum contact to that area hurt like hell (which really stinks when you are taught to block incoming kicks with your legs.) It was a problem on low stances initially, but it doesn't present an issue now.

[waterleopard]

There's no reason for you to get two procedures. If they are going to poke holes in your leg, the only logical thing to do is to fix both problems now. I think your doc should know and suggest this as well, unless he's incredibly lazy.

I called the Dr.'s office today and rescheduled both ops for the same day. One operation. One recovery. End of June.