ACL injuries

[Voltron]

Hi all,

Any tips for strengthening muscles that support the knee? I've got a ruptured anterior cruciate, and I'm trying to avoid surgery. No way can I do squats with the state I'm in at the moment.

It happended about 3 months ago, and I'm losing too much strength in my already chicken-legs. Can't over do it because otherwise I'll end up hobbling around for days. Can't cycle too much cause it's too damn cold at the moment down here. :-(

thanks heaps.

 

[hornedfrogs07]

No way you SHOULD do squats with a ruptured ACL.

First off, is it a complete or partial rupture?

Complete rupture, you will have to have surgery if you ever plan to do any more than walk on that leg (rehab's about 6-8 months if you do have surgery).

Best suggestions I have are, cycle, walk (be sure to keep normal stride, don't limp around) and do VERY light leg ext/leg curls to get back to and/or keep a full ROM. There's not much you can do strength training-wise, other than to work on getting ready for a surgery, IMO.

If you have access to an electrical stim unit, Russian setting will contract the muscle and help to maintain strength before surgery or post op.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you'll most likely have to have that surgery bro. Sorry for you if you do, but let me know if you find a way around it.

 

[Voltron]

MRI shows a complete tear.

Doc says most likely I will need a reco, but it's really going to f*ck up my work situation, plus I'm best man at my mate's wedding in a few months - can't go there in crutches, his wozza hates me already as it is.

I have spoken to a few people who have had it done, and some who decided against it. I don't play any contact sport so there's no urgent need for the reco - Doc said to take another 4-8 weeks of rehab, strengthen up the knee/leg, see how it goes then maybe book in for the op if it's no good.

Sorry mate, there is no way I can do squats at the moment - I'm having trouble just walking down stairs- I can do some seated leg presses at the minute with about 1/3 my body weight and that's about it!

Just wondering if there are any other things I can do to strengthen the leg without putting undue pressure on the knee.

What a contradictory statement that last sentence is.

 

[noomi_nooma]

i had a reco like a year ago, most painful few months of my life.....but its good as new now. sounds like ur gonna have to go under the knife.

by the way, voltron rocks. Good luck

 

[pumpchaser]

Swimming, long walks, stationary bike at a moderate pace..

 

[hornedfrogs07]

Swimming, long walks, stationary bike at a moderate pace..

Yup.


Also, depending on how long away the wedding is, you could probably be walking normally by then if you had the surgery pretty soon. Have to have a pretty intensive rehab, but you could be walking normally in less than 6 weeks post-op.

 

[bob marley]

That's some rough shit to go through man. I knew a few people in high school to go through it, and it took them each way more then a year to totally recover.

 

[michael_69er@hotmail.com]

dude ive just had my 2nd reco and i can happily say that i had minimal pain through both of them. you mightent like to hear it but believe me u need to get it done. i let the 2nd one go for a few months and i absolutely hated it. another reason to get it done to is if uve torn cartliage u need to get it fixed up.

ur query about the squats is a good one....i was under that impression when i just tore mine but believe u SHOULD do them...even if its wall squats. if u cant go deep dont worry bout it cos as time progresses u will get better

but mate in my opinion i think u should just go for it and get it done. i was up and walking with a brace on in a few days and without the brace and crutches after 2 weeks. u just need to work on ur rehab every spare minute of the day. ull be fine by the wedding....if i could go to my dads funeral with it im sure u will survive

goodluck mate and just go hard with rehab

 

[inked1]

IMO leg extensions are particularly fucked for people with knee injuries particularly ACL.
it is a myth that you can't squat if you have knee problems. I ruptured the ACL's in both knees as a kid playing sport, and was able to squat heavy once they had recovered ( i don't squat any more cause i fucked my back, haha).
I haven't had either of mine reco'd but will consider it in the future. generally they are pretty stable. i gotta agree with michael about the wall squats. any exercises that you can do using the knee in its "natural" range of movt is going to help you.
there are heaps of exercises you can do on a set of stairs that will help strengthen your muscles.
I found that vastus mediallus began shrinking particularly fast. a good exercise for it is to stand on the stairs on your bad leg. hold onto a rail for support, slowly bend your knee like you are going to step down, but don't let your good leg quite reach the next step, then straighten yourself up again.
do as many of these as you can.
swimming is great rehab. be careful using the exercise bikes to soon, they can inhibit your recovery.
good luck

 

[hornedfrogs07]

IMO leg extensions are particularly fucked for people with knee injuries particularly ACL.
it is a myth that you can't squat if you have knee problems. I ruptured the ACL's in both knees as a kid playing sport, and was able to squat heavy once they had recovered ( i don't squat any more cause i fucked my back, haha).
I haven't had either of mine reco'd but will consider it in the future. generally they are pretty stable. i gotta agree with michael about the wall squats. any exercises that you can do using the knee in its "natural" range of movt is going to help you.
there are heaps of exercises you can do on a set of stairs that will help strengthen your muscles.
I found that vastus mediallus began shrinking particularly fast. a good exercise for it is to stand on the stairs on your bad leg. hold onto a rail for support, slowly bend your knee like you are going to step down, but don't let your good leg quite reach the next step, then straighten yourself up again.
do as many of these as you can.
swimming is great rehab. be careful using the exercise bikes to soon, they can inhibit your recovery.
good luck

Yeah, squats are fine. When I posted that earlier, I was thinking about real (weighted) squats. Bodyweight or wall squats, as low as you can go fairly painfree, are GREAT for helping to regain ROM in the joint. It's OK to start adding weight after you regain a full ROM, painfree, but I wouldn't push it fast at all.

I'd guess that your knees are fairly stable, Inked, because of more than normal muscle mass supporting the joint; some people really don't need an ACL to keep the joint capsule stable because of high muslce mass. Hell, when my dad was still coaching, he had a fullback that played the last 5 or 6 games of the regular season on a ruptured ACL, then busted the other one in the first playoff game, and played 2 more weeks with 2 torn ACL's. Double Reco after the season. I'll never say it can't be done.