Advice for a possible torn ACL

[GearHead]

Just when I talked my wife into buying a drysuit, and I thought I would have a year-round dive buddy, she went and hurt her knee over the weekend.

During a trip in Denver, it looks like she probably ruptured her ACL while we were innertubing. Well, to be accurate, my son and I were tubing at that point, and she was handling the photography, so I suppose we should call it a photography accident. Point being, she's one-legged at the moment, and we'll find out on 2/10 if what we suspect is true.

Even if she has torn the ligament, we're not sure if she'll pursue surgery or not, as she's not a high-impact sport athlete. For skiing, etc., I've read that she can probably just use a custom carbon brace.

Anyway, whether she goes through with surgery or not, I'm wondering if there's anyone out there that has been through this? How long was it before you were able to dive again? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Rick



P.S. And she just joined Scubaboard too!

 

[chickdiver]

Hi Rick, I had this surgery 2 years ago this coming April. I strongly recommend the surgery, even if she is not a high- impact athlete. While waiting for my surgery, I found that my knee would buckle just walking down the street - not fun!! Also, without the surgical repair she will not be able to pivot on the knee (you would be surprised at how often you do this). The available braces are typically buly and heavy, and they must be custom fitted.

The surgery was not bad, overnight in the hospital, I was weight bearing less than 24 hours after surgery, braced and on crutches. They do not cast, and I was up and getting around well within a week. driving in 2 (stick shift), and diving 3 months post op. The physical therapy wasn't too bad either. If you want or need more detail on the surgery, I would be happy to provide it. Tell your wife she has my sympathy, I know how bad it sucks! Good luck!

 

[Soggy]

[size=large]I'm not a doctor[/size], but I did injure my ACL and tore the meniscus(sp?) in my knee during a karate class a couple years ago. I began scuba shortly after. I can't give any advice as to how long it will take to heal, but I thought I'd share my experiences.

I still have trouble with my knee. I quickly discovered during my scuba class that I couldn't use regular JetFin fins...too much strain on my knee. I now use Twin Jet split fins and am much happier since there is less resistance. I was in physical therapy for a month and it was around 8-10 weeks before I could walk without a noticeable limp.

After getting the split fins, the problem was no longer diving, it was getting around with all that gear on. I do fine now, but am extra careful when walking on perilous surfaces (like every shore dive we do).

My knee still gives out on me periodically and has a constant gritch in it. I am considering surgery sometime in the future.

 

[dvas]

hi,
i have torn my ACL, long before (some 15 years ago) I started to dive (4 years ago). In 96, finally, I found out via artroscopy, that my ACL is connected to PCL, instead of the upper bone. Since I do not suffer from stability issues, I didn't have to do the ACL reconstruction surgury. I do suffer though occasionally from knee pain, but that is due to the muscles, since I don't exercise regularly, and I lost body simetry.
Your wife should just make sure to keep all muscles in shape...

just my 2c

 

[chickdiver]

Oh yeah- if your wife opts for the surgery, have her talk to her surgeon about "pre-hab". There are a number of things she can do to strengthen the surrounding muscles before surgery. This makes the recovery much easier and faster.

 

[GearHead]

Thanks for the input, guys. Chickdiver, it sounds like things have gone really well for you since you had the procedure done. It's crazy how often this poor ligament snaps in people's knees, but it's great how well orthopedic surgeons can deal with it now.

By the way, if you don't mind, (minus Karate-Aaron) how did you all "do" your knees?

 

[cyklon_300]

reconstructive procedures had been developed. It was not a fun exprience, and the recovery period was several months. They do it much better and rehab is quicker now.

Have also had two arthroscopic procedures, one on each knee for torn menisucs. First time I was ambulatory and playing sports 10 days post-op. Second time (14 years later) was a completely different story, lots of pain and a much slower recovery time, plus I required a month of physical therapy. However, I did sneak in some easy dives 3 weeks post-op.

The advice to strengthening exerices (cycling was my choice) is good advice. Better to go ahead and have the surgery now than to put it off...you don't heal any faster as you get older. And a weak knee can lead to other injuries.

(saw the query on how the ACL happened...bailed out of a snow mobile at 40 mph....)

 

[TCDiver1]

I've been diving w/o my right ACL for almost 20 years now. Blew it out in a pickup game of B-ball. Freaky since i had put it through MUCH worse, many times. You just never know with knees!

Anyway, i was diving on it before any other heavy activity like B-ball, probably less than a month after i hurt it. That knee is much less stable than the other but have never noticed that diving.

Rule of thumb with injured knee, learned from multiple reinjuries, back off whatever your doing if you feel ANY unusual instability. Sometimes it takes practice to figure where to draw that line.

I usually worry more about hurting it getting to and from the site, than from diving.

 

[chickdiver]

I stepped backwards off the tailgate of a truck, hyperextending my knee and snapping the AL (completely). I am very prone to ligament injuries, as I am what is known as "systemically hypermobile"- big words for double jointed. My normal range of motion is hyperextension, and that puts tons of stress on the ligaments.

FYI- the surgery I had was arthroscopically assisted, I have 5 scars, 4 less than a half in and 1 about 2 inches. I had an allograft- they used cadaver tissue from a tissue bank to reconstruct my ACL. This surgical option has the fastest recovery time and the fewest long term issues. I have a great CD that my Ortho gave me that explains the different surgical options and thier complications, and shows actual procedures. I would be happy to burn a copy and mail it to you if you are interested.

 

[pdoege]

Took a long time to fix everything else. Finally got the knee fixed.

Lot's of muscle atrophy. Took me about 3 years to get back to normal.

I would have the surgery sooner rather than later, just to avoid the long rehab process.

I had to rebuild about 3 inches of muscle.

Expensive, and not pleasant.

Peter Doege