ACL Recovery

I tore my ACL 3 years ago and my surgeon has informed not to jump on the trampoline. Anyone out there have any information, I'm too cheap to pay for a second opinion, on ACL recovery. This far out I should be healed, but what do I know.

Um...
did you tear it and have it reconstructed, or just tear it?

If you had surgery (i'm assuming so based on the fact that your surgeon told you this...see how smart i am! ;) and it's reconstructed, 3 years is plenty of time if you did proper rehab and everything.

It's a neverending battle, though, you have to work very hard to keep BOTH knees strong by strengthening the surrounding muscles.

I had my acl replaced about a year and a half ago. When I was finished with PT, the only restriction that I had was to wear my brace during any heavy physical activity for one year after surgery. At that point, he said I could do whatever I wanted -- and he was fully aware of the kinds of activities I engage in. I have to agree with Tony though -- I have continued to focus on keeping my legs in good shape.

I wouldn't think that the trampoline is a bad thing. They actually had me using trampolines for my PT after kneee surgery.

I wouldn't think that the trampoline is a bad thing. They actually had me using trampolines for my PT after kneee surgery.

Thanks for your answers. My surgeon said the trampoline may snap the muscle, so he said no jumping. I had a hamstirng put where the ACL was, but I'll keep exercising and hope for he best. I still can't see where jumping on a trampoline is any worse than actually wakeboarding, especially since that's how I tore it. Unfortunately, the surgeon I used specializes in more traditional sports, such as football, and is one of the best in the field, but he doesn't understand wakeboarding.

If he allows you to do plyometrics, then ask him why you can't use the trampoline

One thing that I have learned is that when it comes to injuries of this sort there is no single "right" answer. There are multiple ways of approaching the problem, and often times there are trade offs.

For example, a doctor that specializes in treating athletes will say that you can be back doing everything you did before in a matter of weeks. A doctor who generally treats middle aged people will tell them that they are done doing that paticular activity.

The treatment you get will also vary depending on the "school of thought" the paticular doctor believes in. When my wife tore her knee apart the doctor insisted on imobilizing the knee to give it time to heal. This supposedly would allow the joint to heal back much tigher. The down side is that the scar tissue that formed basically locked knee and she lost a lot of range of motion. Other doctors will put their patients on a machine that continuously flexes the knee in a controlled maner to keep the scar tissue from messing it up.

Sometimes the tradeoffs are a little hard to see. For example, returning to strenuous activity might cause you a lot more problems 40 years down the road.

That's his fear that I will tear it again and since I don't make my living wakeboarding why risk it. I'll have to develop some new training procedures and continue to take it easy. I did get my range of motion back helping build theater sets of all things. The work required a lot of floor time.