MCL Injury

[Muay Thai Guy]

I've injured my MCL and it's really bothering me as I had to be pulled out of a fight and want to fight in september now

I did it in training whilst sparring and agravated it again in training

i've been to see a physio but has anyone here suffered from similar injuries (physio says it's grade 2 injury and also i've irritated my miniscus)

How long did it take u to heal if u had it
what would u do to help speed up the healing process?

THanks

MTG

 

[SemperFi 0321]

First of all, have you had an MRI? Sometimes they diagnose an injury as grade 2 and its actually grade 3. Even with an MRI. Happened to me twice.

I have had my ACL and PCL replaced, the MCL and meniscus repaired in my left knee and meniscus repaired and plica removed in my right knee. The right knee was far less serious, and it still took a month before I could walk without ANY pain. The left, with all the ligament replacements, took about 12 months each time. It just depends on your body and your pain tolerance. Some guys can have torn meniscus repaired and be jogging in a month. Some take 6 months. To help speed up my healing I had ultrasound therapy (deep heat), electrostimulation therapy, 2 hours a day of physical therapy, and cortisone injections.

On a different note, I have trained in JKD for years, and after the surgery on my right knee, I couldn't even stand to look at a heavy bag for 6 months. No way would I have sparred. But I had surgery. With a grade 2 (meaning SMALL tear, sometimes unnoticeable on MRI) you may be able to get back in by September. Listen to your body. If a few shots to a heavy bag doesn't irritate it, then you might be ok. Hope this helps out some.

Semper Fi

 

[Muay Thai Guy]

thanks mate and stay faithful

 

[hornedfrogs07]

Listen to SF on this one. He's pretty much dead on with what I'd have said too.

If you can brace it up and it doesn't hurt, then go with your pain tolerance, but if it hurts even braced, then don't fight or you'll very possibly hurt it even worse (i.e. grade 3 instead of a grade 2).

 

[Muay Thai Guy]

thanks

i am able to walk, even run but twisting, kicking and sudden sharp movements are not nice... i'm gonna rest... RICE it up and wait till my next physio appointment on wednesday to decide my next course of action

u guys rawk

 

[bigdaddy22]

These are some knowledgable bros here MTG. I would get an MRI done as well, as many times grade 2 and 3 are not differentiated unless you get an MRI. Also I would hold up on thetraining as well, depending on the severity of your injury you may have injured the ACL as well as your medial meniscus and MCL (unhappy triad). I hope things work out well for you, as I know how difficult it is to sit out from training.

 

[hornedfrogs07]

These are some knowledgable bros here MTG. I would get an MRI done as well, as many times grade 2 and 3 are not differentiated unless you get an MRI. Also I would hold up on thetraining as well, depending on the severity of your injury you may have injured the ACL as well as your medial meniscus and MCL (unhappy triad). I hope things work out well for you, as I know how difficult it is to sit out from training.

If it was the unhappy triad, I seriously doubt that he'd be able to walk without pain, much less run, with the caveat here being if he had a large amount of muscle mass providing an exceptional amount of joint stability. Especially braceless. There would just be too much anterior and medial translation there to have enough stability to run, IMO.

Definitely go with the RICE and the MRI, and be damned sure to ice it after ANY physical activity (aside from walking to the fridge or something......you know what I mean, lololol)

 

[SemperFi 0321]

I was a victim of the "unhappy triad", plus one, and believe me, you're not walking anywhere unless, like spikey said, your leg muscle is so developed that it provides the same stability you are used to the ligaments providing. I was in HS and was not that developed, and therefore, could not stand on that knee. It would just buckle. Besides that fact, a torn ligament is very painful, and when it's combined with another torn ligament and some torn meniscus, the pain is just unreal. It's not unbearable, but it sure does hurt to even think about standing. I hope that you find out it's just a grade 2 meniscus injury. Knee surgery is no laughing matter, it can put a serious damper on any kind of training. My last surgery was a year ago this month and I can just now squat heavy again.

Semper Fi

 

[hornedfrogs07]

I was a victim of the "unhappy triad", plus one, and believe me, you're not walking anywhere unless, like spikey said, your leg muscle is so developed that it provides the same stability you are used to the ligaments providing. I was in HS and was not that developed, and therefore, could not stand on that knee. It would just buckle. Besides that fact, a torn ligament is very painful, and when it's combined with another torn ligament and some torn meniscus, the pain is just unreal. It's not unbearable, but it sure does hurt to even think about standing. I hope that you find out it's just a grade 2 meniscus injury. Knee surgery is no laughing matter, it can put a serious damper on any kind of training. My last surgery was a year ago this month and I can just now squat heavy again.

Semper Fi

Well, an meniscus injury isn't that bad, recovery-wise. You're looking at 5-7 weeks, most likely (some people say 4-6 to full recovery, and others estimate 6-8. All depends on the doc, really, so I just took the middle ground here) and they rarely operate on MCLs or LCL's, even with a grade 3. The surgery is only about 50:50 for full healing, and your chances are generally as good without it.

If you've got a bad meniscus injury, it should hurt to just put weight on the knee, as that is the tissue cushioning the femur and tibia when they impact, such as in taking a step. It's also possible for the meniscus that's been torn off to lodge itself in the joint and render it immobile, so that you'll have no choice but surgery.

Definitely get that MRI and I'd say get a second opinion from at least one more orthopod. I've seen the time that one said the ACL was intact on a guy, another said it was a grade 1-2, and the third said that it was gone, all from the same MRI, so opinioos will vary.

 

[Muay Thai Guy]

thank you so much for the information provided above!!!

Well i can run and i can run up stairs and stuff... im resting as hard as it is to do that
i dont have big quads or anything... i seriously need to work my legs out more when im rehabilitated so I can prevent injury

so im guessing since i can do those activities and my leg muscles are not that big, that it's not as serious an injury. Regardless however, I will look after it, lay off it and cosult my physio with regards to an MRI

Sucks to this

I hope that i will be fit to fight in the end of september since there's a big home show

 

[hornedfrogs07]

thank you so much for the information provided above!!!

Well i can run and i can run up stairs and stuff... im resting as hard as it is to do that
i dont have big quads or anything... i seriously need to work my legs out more when im rehabilitated so I can prevent injury

so im guessing since i can do those activities and my leg muscles are not that big, that it's not as serious an injury. Regardless however, I will look after it, lay off it and cosult my physio with regards to an MRI

Sucks to this

I hope that i will be fit to fight in the end of september since there's a big home show

If you do feel good enough to fight, ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY WEAR A BRACE!!!! Even if it is only a grade 1 or 2 that just means that it's that much easier to rupture it completely, if you get the right kind of translation with an unsupported joint.

 

[Muay Thai Guy]

what brace would you reccomend... i have a neoprene knee brace but im not sure if it's the hinged kind

i have this one