Torn MCL - What to do now?!?

Well, 2 days ago I tore my inside MCL playing soccer. I tried to pickup with the college kids like I used to and just couldn't keep up. I just got into wakeboarding, bought the new boat, now I'm shut. Wake powell trip planned for exactly 6 weeks from now. Ugghhh.

Doc says no surgery. As long as I'm in this brace, don't bear any weight, and use crutches, I'll be good to start rehab in 6 weeks. Apparently I'll be able to wakeboard again while wearing some carbon fiber sport brace and am expecting a 95% recovery.

My questions: anyone here torn an MCL before and still gettin after it? Did you have surgery? What does the knee feel like after rehab/full recovery? Any suggestions or advice for better reults??

Thanks gang!

I tore my left MCL playing football many many moons ago. Doc put me in a brace and a rehab program. I was skiing a few months later. I had a 100% recovery. I tore my right MCL (type 2 tear) sunday on my last set of the day. Doc says I can start riding the stationary bike as soon as I can bend it 110 degrees. Should be within a week or two. He tells me I should be back on the water on about 4 weeks. The blood flow to the MCL is excellent which is why it heals so good. Typically surgery is only performed when it detaches from the bone. It is just a small incision on the inside of the knee. My brother had that done and made a 100% recovery. I see you are in AZ. If Dr. Ed Campbell is still practicing there he is top notch with knees. Good luck and follow your rehab directions for a much quicker recovery.

I tore my acl,lcl,mcl three weeks ago. Having surgery on sep. 5. Hope I can get back, I also was curious of wakeboarding after. What brace's are best etc...

tore my mcl playing baseball a few years back...got back in 4 or 5 weeks, don't remember. I was only DHing (I was a catcher) but within 2 months i was back to my position. didn't affect wakeboarding becuase I was playing college ball and couldn't ride during the spring so I can't comment there. Now, with my ACL surgery 5 weeks ago..it sucks

Damn seven. Ouch. I wish you a swift recovery my friend.

THanks for the insight Keith!!!!

I blew ACL and MCL and my MCL healed itself long before I went in for surgury on the ACL. It was only like 3 weeks of non-weight bearing. But the muscles withered, so I dont know what part that will play. You need good mucsles to board or you will mess it up even worse.

MCL and ACL is very common for us wakeboarders. We can get back into it no problem, just takes for F#cking ever. Now the LCL, I dont know, thats the biggest ligament in your knee, I know you'll be able to get back at it, it just might take alot longer.

Kristian- thanks for the input! Do you board with a brace now? How is it if so?

Well I'm still in the middle of it. But I will be boarding with asterisk knee braces. Really good braces (thats what danny way uses and he jumped the great wall of china with them). Others to look at but more expensive and are custom fit are the CTi2's and the EBI alliance (I believe its the alliance, whatever its EBI)

Ben if it is just your MCL you should be able to start a rehab program long before the six week time frame. I would ask your doc as to why he is having you wait so long, and why you can't bear weight on it. This seems like an extremely conservative course of recovery. I have not personally had this injury but have worked with several individuals who have, and they have had very successful recoveries. If you are careful during throughout the healing phase and get full strength back in you leg, you should be able to board with no trouble. Good luck.

Yes. Encouragement. I love it! I will ask the doc at my 2 week follow up why he chose the conservative route....

Ben, did he say what degree the tear was in you MCL? Did you have an MRI to rule out any other damage?

thanks ben! good luck to you too

I partially tore my MCL Sept. of last year, pretty much ending my riding for the year. My knee doc said rehab was enough, and gave me a brace. I wore the brace playing sports in the winter, and then this year have ridden both with/without the brace. I've had 0 problems, which I'm actually quite surprised with. I think there are 3 things that really helped me.

1. I bought an Indo board and practiced on it all winter long. I think it helped build up the small, core supportive muscles around me knees.

2. I took my docs advice when he said, 'The best thing you can do for bad knees is get stronger legs.' I tried hard to build up my leg strength over the winter.

3. I take 2000 mg of glucosamine every day. I tore my ACL 3 years ago, and that knee still hurt periodically. After a year of glucosamine, both my knees actually feel like I'm 32 again, not 52.

Best of luck man, don't get down on yourself, simply envision ways that you can better yourself for next season.

Loren-Great thoughts. Thanks for your contributions.

Brain-He said I had a full tear on my MCL. I took xrays when I went to the ER to get crutches, etc. That ruled out bone and cartlidge. Just by his stress tests and examine, he knew exacatly what I had done. NO MRI even. I was a little skeptical, but since he is the Olympic Soccer team Orthopod, I'm not gonna second guess him yet. I have my follow up in 10 days.

BRIAN, what would happen if I damaged where the MCL connects to the Tib or the femur? Same Treatment? Will that re-attach on its own? Can a good doc decipher the difference through a physical exam? That is my only concern is whether treatment is the same if it tore in the middle vs. at the connecting point....

Ben,

First of all I would say that you are probably in very good hands if he is the Ortho for the Olympic team. You can tell a lot from a manual examination and through palpation he can probably tell if the tear is in the middle of the ligament, or near one of the bony attatchments.

Hang in there and you should have a good recovery. Keep us posted on your progress and let me know what your doc says after your appointment.

I had a partial tear of my MCL in April of this year after jumping off of a windjammer boat in st. thomas (don't ask). i was riding by july with a brace. i now have zero pain and it feels great. i was prescribed walking/running UP stairs (not down) and a few other lower thigh muscle exercises. you'll be back at it in no time.

BRIAN-

What is the best rehab program/exercises you can think of.... I want to get mentally ready for the different things I"m gonna be doing. Thanks a ton.

THanks for your input BRUCE.

Ben,

Without seeing you it is difficult to be real specific about the type of rehab that you will require. It will probably include some muscle re-education activities, with progression to aggressive strenthening,and doing some balance and proprioception training. The use of the Indo board as mentioned above will be a good activity for you after your ligament is healed and stable. If it is a grade 3 tear this may take some time. My biggest suggestion at this time is be patient and keep your eyes on the long term goal of having a stable and strong knee.

Good Luck

Thanks Brian!

dont worry you will recover and i will take good care of your boat while you do.

HAHA. There you are. Whats up? Ready for Vegas? You may have to push me around in a wheel chair so we can get VIP and at the front of the line...

My boat keys are allergic to you.

Tore mine snowboarding and made it back to the hill in about 4-5 weeks. MCL keeps your knee laterally stable. Most definately get a real good brace and the reason Doc does not want you walking right now is to keep you from damaging it and let it scar up. With your knee unstable, you can mess up your cartiledge etc.

See him every two weeks in case you are progressing faster. Get the brace, it will help alot and you will need it for a year until it fully fully heals.

Thx FLUX!!! Good to know.

VEGAS BABY!!!!!! girls love guys in wheel chairs in vegas , but they are normally 80 years old

PS-> Good luck Ben and heal up quick. I tore my ankle a couple springs ago playing softball, farked my summer up for wakeboarding. Spent some time just riding switch and fooling around.

Get the brace as soon as you can and hit the gym and keep your legs strong. You will feel sharp pains when you torque that knee initially, even walking and such. All perfectly normal.

Again, heal up quick and best of luck.

I tore my MCL on July 18th boarding. MRI - under tear of the medial meniscus and at least a grade II and probably a grade III MCL tear. No surgery, just put me in a brace. The brace has helped, but I have seen only slight improvement. I did put an additional brace over the top of the first one and rode today for the first time. It felt pretty good, but I also took it very easy. Not sure how long it will take to heal, but I hope it gets better soon.

Greg- are you doing rehab and strengthening?

Your so lucky its MCL. Thats what I was hoping for but mines a tore ACL. Good luck with recovery.

Good luck NW(nate138), i'm right behind ya, October 2nd. Maybe we can compare notes.

xgirl... so sorry to hear. Make sure you hit the rehab hard. Did you tear it wakeboarding? HOw did you fall? Just curious....

Apparently, they have good braces for peeps like us. Keeps things super stable.

Thanks Ben. I blame the injury on the stance I had that day. I was trying out a friends bindings and decided to change my stance a little less duckfooted than I normally ride. Came down on a frontroll and pop went my knee.
Went to rehab 20 days after the injury and was able to finally straighten my leg. I will be going to rehab 2 times a week for 4 weeks prior to surgery(rehab at home everyday)then 2 times a week for 12 weeks after the surgery (rehab at home everyday for who knows how long). Just bought a stationary bike for home. I'm hoping to be bionic for next season.

Atta girl! Stay positive. ACL is much worse than MCL. Scary thing is you don't even know what's popping in there until you pop some Benjamins out for the Orthopedic Surgeon. Ugghhhh. What a drag.

I feel like these crutches have been dry humping me for a week now.

"I feel like these crutches have been dry humping me for a week now."
LOL!!!! Thats funny stuff right there.

Ben/Xgirl --

I had ACL reconstruction a little over a year ago (tore it skiing). I just started wakeboarding this summer and have had zero problems with my knee. I've just recently conquered my w2w -- but I've eaten pretty hard quite a few times and the knee has held up like a champ. The best advice I can give you is that rehab does not stop when the doc says you're okay. After PT was done, I hit the gym 3-4 days a week until ski season came around and was good to go and have been since. Good luck to both of you!

-xgirl
I also hate the crutches. Are you using your own hamstring or a cadaver?
-Jen
Same question, What type of surgery did you have?

NW -

I did the cadaver. After talking to my doc, I felt that was the best option. Why would I tear up my hamstring if there's another option? He also said that he could take part of another ligament in my knee. Again, why mess with disrupting yet another part of my body when I don't have to?
After all is said and done, I really think the "bad" knee is actually in better shape than the good one. It gets a little tight when I slack off on my workouts -- but it hasn't slowed me down on the slopes or on the water.

NO WAY would I get donor tissue after reading THIS article;
http://www.wral.com/aphealthandwellnewsnews/9771398/detail.html

Im using my own pateller or whatever its called. The doc showed me virtually how the surgery will be performed.

Thanks Jen, thats very encouraging.

I just had ACL reconstruction and a Lateral Meniscus tare cleaned up on August 10th. I used my Patella Tendon because thats what the Doc suggested since I had plenty of time to heel. I hurt myself wakeboarding June 3rd, ended up with a Grade 2 tare of the MCL torn ACL and a Lateral Meniscus tare of the Left Knee. The pain was brutal the first 2 days after the nerve block shot wore off but its been feeling better day by day. I do rehab 3 days a week and just started Pool Therapy on Monday, Aqua Jogging, Squats, Stepups, Lunges and a few other things. Ill be working my legs out again as soon as the Doc gives me the OK, probably another couple months. Good luck to every one with injurys, they really Suck. I wont be rideing again until Feb

Okay, so I could possibly be tainted now ;) There's not a damn thing I can do about it now!

Seriously though, I can't stress enough how important it is to follow your PT's direction during rehab. Do the stupid range of motion exercises they give you to do at home -- I had no issues with the weight-bearing exercises. Range of motion was another story -- that was probably the worst part of recovery.
Keep at it and you'll be back up and riding in no time! And I've been through all of it so feel free to pick my brain if you have any questions.

Steve, Nice pic. So I geuss I dont need to shave day of surgery. Odviously they do that for you lol j/j. Anyhow, i'm curious about the aqua jogging. How long do ya have to wait to get in the water after surgery? Are you actually taking some kind of class for that?

Jen, how do ya put up with those silly boring exercises they make us do? I thought about reading a book while I do them but apparently it takes a little consentration.
How about the stationary bike? When should I get on that after surgery? Day 1? Nevermind, day one i'm hoping to sleep through.

Ben, not at this time. I see the ortho folks on the 7th and we'll go from there. I'm currently in a brace that I wear ALL of the time. I'll give an update Thursday.

Xgirl, Depending on when they take your stitches out, you should be able to get into a pool after about 2 weeks. My PT building has a indoor pool and spa for therapy. I go Mon,Wed,and Fridays. I have regular therapy for about a hour and fifteen minutes than I go to the pool for about an hour. Right now Im Aqua jogging for 10 minutes but it will get longer the more Im into my rehab. My first therapy appoinment was 4 days after surgery and I was on a stationary bike that day, you wont be able to do a full rotation your first couple weeks so they will have you going back and forth to help squeeze the swelling out from the back of your knee. Trust me, you wont be reading a book while doing your PT. Dont cheat yourself from a strong recovery, your mind has a big part of getting you through it. GOOD LUCK!

xgirl, I wasn't able to get on the bike until about two weeks after surgery. Originally my doctor told me that he wanted me to be putting weight on it the day after surgery but apparently when he got in there he found a little bit of rough cartilage and had to smooth it out -- for some reason that meant no weight-bearing anything for the first 10 days. So I was on crutches (yes, they suck) for 10 days after surgery. Most people that I've talked to though are like Steve -- in therapy a few days after surgery. And yes, you will definitely sleep through day one -- I think I slept through most of the first three days! What else was I going to do? You'll make it through -- and honestly, I didn't find the whole ordeal to be nearly as bad as I imagined.

Thanks all.
Jen, your words are very comforting, thanks again. I appreciate that because i'm skeered to death.
Thanks for the info Steve. Sounds like a real nice PT place ya have there with a pool and all.

Good lord, ACLs sound much worse than an MCL. They must take on the brunt of bone support or something. It seems like it's a 6 month recovery period before you're 100% and an MCL is a 3 month deal--that is if you're diligent about receovery/rehab.

Truly, thanks to all who have contributed to this thread. You're gonna help xgirl and I get back on our feet (and boards) with confidence. If anyone is ever in AZ, give me shout. I'll provide the pull and the beer, and watch ya git after it in my mirror. Thx!!!

Yes, the ACL is a worse injury and longer recovery period. A normal and safe recovery period for the ACL is 9 months to a year allowing for appropriate healing and stabilizing of the new ACL. When an ACL is replaced the new tissue has to grow a new blood supply. At about 3-4 months ACL patients will start feeling very good but this is a very critical time because the new ligament is actually at its weakest point. MCL injuries rarely require surgery and will heal well given the appropriate healing environment, (i.e. braced, productive rest, and not having any undue stress put on them.

To all, follow your rehab program very closely, don't take risks during the healing phases, and good luck.

Hey Ben, I live out in Queen Creek. You drive and Ill hold the flag

(Message edited by stevev210 on September 03, 2006)

LOL Steve. Very cool. I"ve got auto flag. SO if you can stay steady on beers and spotting, we are all covered.

I'm going to have to change the name of my boat before we head out though:

It is currently "Beaver Retriever". I may have to change to "Wake 2 Brace". OR "Limp Gimp".

Ben -- I may have to take you up on your offer. I used to live in Phoenix and usually head out there a couple times a year to visit my friends. Think you'll be up and riding by late January/early February? You provide the pull -- I'll bring the beer!

xgirl - hopefully this will be encouraging as well -- I was skiing at about 8 months from surgery. The doctor and PT said I could have gone about a month earlier, but I wasn't ready mentally.

Jen- I will definitely be up by then. I'm still going to go on my Powell trip Oct. 9-12 too. It's just that I'm going to have a kick board and floaties. LOL. I'm tempted to wakesurf with a brace, but that may not be a good idea just yet.

When you make plans to come, just give me a holler. I usually like to go on Mondays when it's nice and quiet. I'm happy to give a pull to anyone on Wakeworld.

-B

BEN! 'Beaver Retriever' LOVE IT! Thats halarious!

Jen, seems your a rather avid skier as well, I was actually planning to do alot of snowboarding this season but since thats not happening and I cant wakeboard. I figure my only option is to work out. Get really fit. In super good shape for next year, or 9 months really(which should be perfect weather for the new wb season). I figure what else better do I have to do except workout all the time?
My new goal in life, rather than to be the bestest wakeboarder of all time, in my own little world, is now, to hopefully, possibly, maybe get a photo of me worthy of being on the "Boat buns" post LOL.

xgirl- I love that. boat bun thread... I'm in tears laughing. we will all have to have a congratulatory boat day and of course bring the camera for the never to ever die boat bun thread!

Complete ACL reconstruction. Had surgery on tuesday. Been to PT twice now. I have a long road ahead of me. No Wake or Snow for 9 months.

NW -- You made it through! Good for you! I know it seems like a really long road, but you'll back on the snow and water before you know it. And I can tell you from experience, your first time back on the snow (or water -- I would imagine it would have the same effect) will be absolutely exhilarating. You'll feel extremely accomplished after all the hard work that you will put in over the next 9 months.

xgirl -- Don't freak out over the picture. If you're just having your ACL done, the scar shouldn't be that long. Mine is less than inch long and you can hardly see it now.

Holy Crap Nate, that looks harsh! Heres a picture of my scar 4 weeks post ACL reconstruction.

I hope mine looks as good as your's Steve. I think my doc got lazy after the 3 1/2 hours in the OR. Oh well, gonna roll with it now. Thanks for the pic.

Good lord, I had no idea the severity of ACL tears. I thought my MCL was the end of the world. I'm feeling for ya guys and gals. PT in all of our injuries is imperative.

For you ACL people, how many weeks in crutches and completely immobile???

Be well and a swift recovery to all!!!!