Torn ACL

Well, unfortunately there goes the rest of my summer. Tore my ACL on Sunday throwing a huge tantrum -- lesson learned, when you go big, let your line out five feet! Any advice on rehab and the best/quickest way to get back on a board? I have surgery tomorrow and think I should start the rehab on my knee asap. Is it ok to push it like that or do I need to wait a bit for trying to work it?

you're not going to be doing much of anything besides eating pain killers for a while. your doctor should hook you up with a physical therapist. sorry, hope you heal up quick!

don't try to work out too hard right away. tendonitis sucks

ACL tears or some other injury happen to almost every rider as they progress. Going big into the flats on a tantrum can tear a number of body parts up regardless of line length. My doc sent me home and the next day, a medical company was at my door with a machine that moved my knee up and down. They gave me goals in degrees for range of motion on the machine and my first facility rehab appointment was 3 days post op. They put electro stimulation on certain leg muscles, gave me small exercises for flexing my leg muscles and then iced it. I went a couple times per week for quite a while and was sent home exercise homework to do at home. It wasn't a week post op and I was doing light exercise bike. Those PT's have good faith in the ACL grafts the doc's put in and will push you to your limit. Good rehab is key and get a CTI custom brace. 6 months from now you will feel like new again.

Your already getting surgery? I'm from Minnesota, my third boat set of the year I tore my ACL, on May 19, doing scarecrow to the flats where I hyperextended my knee and then waited to have surgery on June 14 using my Patellar tendon. I'm 6 weeks out today and doing great. Ditched the crutches at 2 weeks. I got the okay to bike and swim at 4 weeks. And I haven't got the okay, nor do I recommend it but I've been wakesurfing - start on my stomach and slowly get up to my feet).

It is best if you can get full range of motion and strengthen your quads and calfs as much as possible before surgery to make your post surgery easier. Schedule Physical Therapy 3-5 days after your surgery. Your first step is doing heel slides to work on range of motion and then trying to get your quad to fire so you can do straight leg lifts (took me one week to lift my leg). The first couple weeks suck with the swelling, icing, pain pills, and having to sleep with your leg raised. The best thing you can do is exercise twice a day to start out focusing on good form and make sure to stretch your hamstrings so you can get full extension back. Then when you start getting stonger (3 weeks) and getting a lot more exercises assigned by the physical therapists, I backed down to once a day exercises that take me about 1-2 hrs. Good luck!

Forgot to mention, I also had the Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) Machine like Brandon for the first 2 weeks that moved my leg for me. It was nice to have, but PT and I myself can tell you that is not necessary and wouldn't recommend getting it unless insurance will pay for it. I would recommend renting the Game Ready ice machine for your first 2 weeks with or without insurance help.

Agree with Eric - good pre-hab leads to very successful rehab.

Agree with eric also. Physical therapy is the key. That is real fast to have surgery. I tore my acl for the second time on july 4th and go back to the doctor aug. 1st to schdule surgery. It sucks knowing that you are gonna be down for awhile and not able to do things. Hope and pray your surgery goes well.

I am 8 months out of acl surgery right now. Doing well. Def get a CPM. It will save you tons of pain, esp with a patellat graft. I had both knees done, the first with a patellar graft which was about twice as painful in the beginning as the hamstring graft i jsut got done. But after 6 months fomr have the patellar i was feeling 100%. After 8 motnhs on the hammy graft im feeling about 85%. I did slack alittle on rehab this time. My patellar knee has not had issue in 12 years. But the pain between the two IMO is drastic. Good Luck. Its sucks but will be over before you know it.

I had ACl reconstruction in Febuary due to a moto x crash that also broke both wrists and a compund femur fracture! Crash was a year earlier, had to wait on the knee until everything else was good to go.

i used the oppisite side patella tendon, and am already back on a board. I was able to have full range of motion withing 2 weeks of surgery, I was actually able to walk out of the hospital with a cane, no krutches. and i am at a little less than 6 months and am almost compleatly recovered. This is my second season wakeboarding, the first having my own boat to take out when i want. all i use now are cheap compression braces and upgrade on boots. I dont want one foot out and have to do it all over again!

I talked with a Dr Sanders in TX, i would advise any extreem sport athlete to consult him prior to surgery, i am sure glad i did. This doc frequents the MX forums i am a member of, but understands the demands of extreem sports, and how passionate its athletes are. I would have made the trip to have it done there if work schedule would have permitted

http://www.sandersclinic.net/mrksnders.html

All in all, i did do a moth of Pre-hab to get ready, and feel that i ahve recovered much faster than normal.

GOOD LUCK