I was at a Rock concert last night up in front where the mosh pit is. Didn’t see who it was but people where pushing each other around in the pit like usual. I was standing there and next thing I know someone slams into my left side and my knee bent inwards toward my right knee. I heard and felt like something in my knee popped and felt some intense pain immediately and some people had to help me up of the ground. I propped myself up against the railing because I couldn’t put any weight on my left leg. I tried to stay and enjoy the end of the show but when I tried to walk every once in a while I could feel that popping again and the pain level goes to the roof again for a few seconds. I had the security guys help me out and up the steps and all that good stuff. They called the paramedics over and I told them what happened and they wanted to to me in the ambulance to go to the hospital to get X-rayed. I told them I didn’t want to go and that I’d just sleep on it and see what happens. It’s the morning now and my knee is still hurting like a mfer. I can barely put any weight on it and when i move it certain ways I can feel that popping and the pain level is incredible. I’m curious if any of you guys have torn your ACL and what to expect if that is what I’ve done. I’m going to be heading to the doctor or hospital this afternoon for sure.
I have had my ACL and meniscus reconstructed, and just from personal experience I would recommend trying to get an MRI done as soon as possible on your knee…dont delay in getting a propper diagnosis…
ETA: I had the hamstring graft option performed. The surgeon will remove a part of your hamstring and surgicall graft/screw into place where your ACL was. The meniscus was an easy fix, snip and a pin. I was awake for my surgery (i had a lumbar block put in) and watched it all on TV. Very cool and interesting…
6month turn around on recovery. Its not the ACL that you are a trying to rehab per se, it is the hamstring graft that takes times.
You can also have a cadaver graft, but I opted not to have that done due to the little more inherent risk of rejection/re-tear
Or you can do nothing also, depending on your level of activity for your life…
MRI will tell for sure. I had a partial tear of my right ACL in 06 and this year I snapped it all the way. Luckily I fall into a category of not ACL dependent. When I completely tore it this year (freak stupid accident on the golf course no less) I finished the last 10 holes and shot a 78.
The next day however my knee was swollen badly and I have been rehabbing it and keeping my hamstring/quadriceps strong. I was released from official rehab after 34 days after the tear and the doc says I am about 1 in 10 people that have a complete tear and recover quickly and do not need surgery.
As a precaution I wear the Don-Joy $1000 brace at work…I figure the city paid for so I ought to wear it. Been in a few scrapes since being back at work and so far so good.
Well I just turned 23 and I’m very active. I run, lift weights, and enjoy playing baseball, football, hiking and lot of physical activites. I’m really praying it’s not my ACL but its got me very nervous. I can’t afford to be out of work for any extended period of time. I do electrical work so I do alot of walking and climbing up latter’s and stairs and such. Which at this point there is no way in hell I can do that. I got to wait till Monday to get a referral from my primary care physician to go see a orthopedic doctor. I’ve just been keeping off it and holding ice on it as much as possible. One thing to note though is my knee doesn’t appear to be swollen at all.
That sucks…I severed the ACL in my left knee and torn the minscus a couple of years back riding MX…Not a fun process to go thru…
rmdugan84,
from the mechanism of injury you describe, it’s more likely an injury to one of the (or both) lateral ligaments. ACL tears usually are brought on by a sudden twisting motion.
You probably already know this, but you need to be elevating and icing that knee, and taking your favorite nonsteroidal antiinflammatory (like Motrin).
If your pain nd loss of ability to bear weight continues, your doc should consider an MRI (since torn ligaments don’t show on xrays), assuming you don’t have any stray metal stuck in you that would make getting inside a really strong magnet a bad idea.
This is what I do for a living, so if you need any more info navigating the World of HealthCare, pm me.
This is why I should have come to the Concert with you. I would have dropped that mother fucker in his tracks after that cuz. I can’t let you go alone anywhere without you geting stabbed, jumped, or injured.
Now stop being a pussy and make a phone call and u know what to do.
Pick up some midol and a tampon while your at it.
I tore my quad tendon last summer. That sucked because it meant I couldn’t extend/straighten my lower leg. I also had slight tears of both my MCL and LCL, but those healed without any surgery. That was actually more painful than my torn tendon. Of course, the rehab for the tendon after surgery was more involved because my quad, and all the little stability muscles around the knee atrophied somewhat.
But yeah, you’ll want to get it MRIed.
Just got home from the doctor. The good news is my ACL is fine. The bad news is she thinks my injury is consistent with a torn Meniscus. I have a appointment set up Wednesday to go so a orthopedic. And I have to wait for my insurance company to OK the MRI that I need to get done. Probably be getting the MRI the end of this week or Monday next week. The MRI is going to tell them the extent of what is going on so as of now I’m still not sure what exactly or how bad 
Torn Meniscus will hopefully be at the very worse case an arthroscopic surgery to clean it up usually people are back to normal 4-6 weeks after a scoping. Maybe you’ll get lucky and it will heal on its own.
If its just a meniscus tear…P.T. recovery is alot easier…
U beter be ready for this weekend. Mike wants to take us out to the fight. hes got a 10 person table, Hummer Limmo, and VIP space at Fantisies. Im sure that will cheer you up kid.
Will all depend on him really…If he pushes himself it wont take nearly that long…I was on an excercise bike less than 4hrs after the minscus repair…Within 10 days it felt great…I just had to watch my step so the knee wouldnt buckle due to the severed ACL…
Main thing is to start working it right after surgery to avoid it gettting stiff and maintaining flexability…If that happens,its a rough road ahead…
I tore my ACL in a jiu-jitsu class just over a year ago. I had no instant pain or swelling. After about 2 weeks of working on it, I was having minor pain and lose of range of motion. I had a MRI and it was completely torn. I guess I just got lucky on the pain and swelling part. Dont think because there is no swelling there is not a lot of damage. I bought in to all of my friends say it was not torn because it did not swell. I was very active before the tear and I am pretty close to the same now. I still run alot and get about the same times. The most noticable thing is I can not sit on my foot like in the kneeling shooting stance. I just dont have that full range of motion. Also being on my knee, in a kneeling position, for a long period of time gets uncomfortable. The third thing is if I dont run for three days in a row it starts to ache. If you got an questions feel free to email me. I had a ton when I tore my ACL.
Torn Meniscus will hopefully be at the very worse case an arthroscopic surgery to clean it up usually people are back to normal 4-6 weeks after a scoping.
What he said.
Good luck!
Well, I got my MRI last Thursday and my mother talked to the doc today apparently. It went from being “you probably just sprained it.” to “uh-yeah you need to come in now and get crutches and a knee brace because you have a torn meniscus and a torn ligament so walking on it is really bad right now”. Awesome, so I have to get surgery now and they’re saying I’m going to be on crutches for 6 weeks. So much for running and working out for like 2-3 months :mad:
shit happen. Get some rest for 6 weeks and then you’ll be back training. It happened to me and it sucked. :mad:
good luck with the recovery
Sorry bout that. I came from the opposite end, being so out of shape the first time I tried police training that I sprained both knees just running. The $10 Wal-Mart shoes didn’t help either. After physical therapy and getting in the habit of going to the gym, and $120 New Balance 1221s, I went back to police training. This time, it was plantar fasciitis, but somehow I got done and passed the PT test and I still hit the gym more or less regularly.
Now that I’m in this habit, it would sure upset me a lot if I couldn’t work out for awhile. But if the problem is in your legs, you can still work your upper body, so not all is lost. About that mosh pit, I believe it’s John Farnam who says “don’t go to stupid places, don’t do stupid things, and don’t associate with stupid people.” Maybe you should run a risk analysis of your off-duty activities.
So I just got back from doctors office. I have a torn meniscus and a ruptured ACL. I’m scheduled to get surgery Oct 27th. Anyone have any financial advice for me? This injury didn’t happen at work so I don’t guess I can get workers comp. Does social security or unemployment cover you if you get hurt and cant work even it didn’t happen at work? I got 2 credit card bills and a cell phone bill plus car insurance due really soon. I just spent the last bit of money I had getting things I needed from the doctor. It’s looking like I’m going to be out of work for like 2 months so I have to get money somehow. This shit is really stressing me out :mad:
Good call on not going to the hospital. Would cost a grand just for the ride. 