acl recovery help.

Ok this all goes back to summer 03 when riding a contest i landed all boned out on my front knee on a scarecrow. I went to the doctor, partial acl tear. got it fixed. I went to my army doctor last summer with knee pain and found I had a full tear this time. he said it looked like it had been torn for a couple years. So basically i had been riding with it torn for a while. HE replaced it with a graph of my hamstring and said it should be stronger than the original. I recently got stationed close to home and Im serious about progressing again. I am wondering is there anyone out there that has had acl problems in the past that has overcome them? I feel great now (4 months out of surgery) and have been riding about 4 days a week. I got a few of my inverts back as well. Does anyone recommend any good hinged braces? Know any good weight lifting techniques for the knee/acl? I have noticed alot of pros having the injury, some repeatedly and coming back just as good if not better from it and i know it can be done.
Sorry this is so long! I am just excited to be back on the water!

Holy cow, 4 months off a hamstring graph and your riding 4 days a week! Props to you man.

Personally based on the research I have done this is what I have found:

Plyometrics and proprioception, google them and study it, thats were your strength lies.

Anything under 1 year out is a danger zone, the knee feels great but the graph takes a LONG time to totally graph itself and heal. The reason yours probably feels so good is that you already had those muscles built up to hold the knee together. I am personally taking it easy, working on the holes in my riding and not trying to get too aggro. P.S. I am close to 6 months out of Allograph surgery.

Do a search there is tons of other info, but those are the two big ones. Ohh yah, I have a CTI brace and love it. There are several other brands people like as well including townsend and don joy.

Good luck.

P.S. I did mine the same way, over-rotated crow warming up. That tricks a big ACL killer.

is your cti a custom fitted one or an over the counter?

im almost 6 months out and i have only been on the skate, have not strapped on the wakeboard yet...but riding a bike for like 30 mins a few days a week helps strengthen up your knee really well...also leg extensions and leg curls are good, and plyos (what matt mentioned) help alot too, they are just a bitch to do haha

i just got an EVS Web brace, they have them on buywake.com, its super comfy and very supportive, check them out

thanks dillion its funny that you say that i just got my evs web today in the mail. I havent rode it yet unfortunately tho cause me and my dad hit a log yesterday on the river while wakeboarding. Bent the drive shaft on our supra and there are no dealers any where close. This all happened midmay into my 4 weeks vacation i took!! Does the web ever slip when riding?

I am shocked that any sports med doc would release someone after 4 months of a ACL reconstruction.

damn dude that sucks, gotta love the submerged logs huh? and i have ridden with the web 4 or 5 times, have not slipped once. the material they use for the liner is really soft and grippy, it just sticks to your leg its a great brace, good choice

look up. I am in the ARMY. I am already running. about 10 miles a day, now a little under 5 months out. I guess its due to the intense pt they had me going through about 4 days a week.

I tore my ACL in JULY of 2004, Had the graph and repaired my miniscus (spelling)in oct. I had a full release on january 17th when i returned snowboarding. I was 36 at the time (old for this type of surgery) and i cant tell the difference from my good knee. For me (other than having a great surgeon) the key was not to baby it. I never used crutches and started putting weight on it and trusting it day one. My surgeon teaches all over the world, sports specialist, surgeon for college and pro athletes and he does not endorse most braces. good luck and PM me if you have q's.

Correction to the last post, I did not do the hamstring graph, I took the cadaveor (spelling) route. i am sure that helped in the recovery time.....

Joseph, mine has been the same way. It hurts more when I dont use it. If I beat it up consistently I forget it was even worked on, but the second I take a few days off it starts aching again, weird.

You're getting a lot of good advice here (and for free), only thing I can bump and add is to agree with the make sure you wait for the screws to get fully absorbed by the bone advice. I actually had my knee set off the hand held wands at security in airports for a year or so, then it quit , indicating to me that the screws had been covered up with bone (I know, real scientific huh?).
But my advice on a daily practical basis would be to warm up really well every outing, starting with just a bent knee for a while, allowing the fluid to leave the "sac", then do the muscle stretches. And always ice afterwards for a while.
Good luck.

g is right, I always stretch and warm up before snowboarding, wakeboarding or any physical activity. I also had a problem with the screws bothering me. I had them removed after about 8 months ( I was down again for about 4 weeks) and now I have no more pain. It does ache a little during the winter. Arthritis I believe.

Matt is also right- Use it more and you will never know you had surgery, baby it and stop doing your normal activities and it will always bother you. Just my opinion.....

After 3 months I was given the go ahead to start strength training, apparently the new acl reaches maximum tensile strength after 8 weeks (so my friends father who's a Urologist told me).

My doctor told me at this point, when my legs match back up I'm good to start doing sports again, until the muscle mass matches I have to keep working at it.

I am not sure, but I think that it might get weeker after about six months, and back to full strength around nine months. Make sure with your doctor or physical therapist that its OK that you Wakeboard (I'm sure that you already have though). The best thing to do is to strengthen your hamstrings. Stronger hamstrings will take a lot of tension off the ACL.

I agree Kelby those have been the common beliefs among sports meds for a while. When I was in for my second to last check up on my knee I asked the PA about total "graft" time for an allograph and they said that common historical knowledge was around the 6 months area with another 3-4 for full strength. Then she said something that blew me away, "VERY recent studies indicate that it takes closer to 18mos to 24mos for a full healthy ready to go graft of an allograph surgery!" I was floored, after hearing that I pushed for a brace, regardless of what the doc was saying. At the same time I was very pleased to hear that my doctor was not only on top of the most recent studies, but willing to admit that their initial estimate of 6mos to 1yr was too soon (since the study came out between my surgery and that meeting). And this comes from a doctor's office who is very aggressive with training, and clearance for full activities.

Big on hamstring curls here, they help with stability as well.

Hey guys thanks for the help. I got an evs web brace last week and it has helped tremendously as well.

does anyone know any of the pros knee injuries? I know watson has blown his several times. like 4 i think. Also I have noticed that since moving to 3 stage boards a few years back, knee injuries have been far more common than before. I know 3 stages land harder. Anyone think it couild be related? I recently bought a murray (continuous) and my knees have felt alot better.

*I meant knee injuries for the sport have been more common

Off the top of my head: Lyman, Shane and Parks, Watson, Gator, Benny G, Dallas, and I am sure many more.