ACL Injuries

PLSAP

SILVER ELITE
Since it's such a common injury, especially amongst girls, I figured I'd start a thread for people to share stories, advice, etc.
 
Luckily, my DD has never suffered from an ACL injury (knock on wood!), but the advice I've heard from everyone is never neglect the healthy knee during recovery. Make sure you're strengthening and preventing injury in that knee just as much as the injured one. It's common for the injured knee to eventually become stronger than the healthy one because all the focus was put on the injured one.
 
Read a good book about this called Warrior Girls...a little dated now (probably written 9-10 years ago) and doesn't offer solutions, but a good, albeit scary read. First heard about it on this site...
 
Thanks for starting this since I could not find any threads re. ACL injuries. My 03 DD tore her ACL late January playing for for school's 8th BBall team. At first it was diagnosed as a strained knee so after a few weeks of rest she returned to training without any pains or soreness. She went for keeper training the following weekend. During her warm ups, she planted on her right knee and immediately went down. She consequently tore her meniscus.

After seeing the ortho doc & getting MRI, he confirmed the ACL & meniscus injury. Currently doing her a pre-surgery physical therapy to strengthen her knee as the goal is to have a healthy-strong knee. This will enable her to begin PT after surgery. Her therapist has informed us her knee is as strong as it can be and surgery ready.

With school ending in May, we decided to wait and have surgery when she gets out of school. Rehab process begins right after surgery with a 9-12 month timetable.

Hoping to hear from some parents and share their story. It's been a physical and emotional roller coaster for my DD.
 
Thanks for starting this since I could not find any threads re. ACL injuries. My 03 DD tore her ACL late January playing for for school's 8th BBall team. At first it was diagnosed as a strained knee so after a few weeks of rest she returned to training without any pains or soreness. She went for keeper training the following weekend. During her warm ups, she planted on her right knee and immediately went down. She consequently tore her meniscus.

After seeing the ortho doc & getting MRI, he confirmed the ACL & meniscus injury. Currently doing her a pre-surgery physical therapy to strengthen her knee as the goal is to have a healthy-strong knee. This will enable her to begin PT after surgery. Her therapist has informed us her knee is as strong as it can be and surgery ready.

With school ending in May, we decided to wait and have surgery when she gets out of school. Rehab process begins right after surgery with a 9-12 month timetable.

Hoping to hear from some parents and share their story. It's been a physical and emotional roller coaster for my DD.
Cheering for your DD.
 
Although my DD hasn't had a ACL injury, she is now recovering from a torn PCL injury, which is the ligament in the back of the knee. Thank goodness no surgery. As soon as my daughter got injuried we got an MRI done immediately in fear it was her ACL but luckily it's not. She was bummed because she missed out on Nationals completely.

But once she got diagnosed she went right into PT. It's been a month and just now she is able to start running. Doctor said it may be a few more weeks before she can start trying to do cuts while running. A slow process but you can't rush the healing. He determined a total of three months to fully recover.
 
Thanks for starting this since I could not find any threads re. ACL injuries. My 03 DD tore her ACL late January playing for for school's 8th BBall team. At first it was diagnosed as a strained knee so after a few weeks of rest she returned to training without any pains or soreness. She went for keeper training the following weekend. During her warm ups, she planted on her right knee and immediately went down. She consequently tore her meniscus.

After seeing the ortho doc & getting MRI, he confirmed the ACL & meniscus injury. Currently doing her a pre-surgery physical therapy to strengthen her knee as the goal is to have a healthy-strong knee. This will enable her to begin PT after surgery. Her therapist has informed us her knee is as strong as it can be and surgery ready.

With school ending in May, we decided to wait and have surgery when she gets out of school. Rehab process begins right after surgery with a 9-12 month timetable.

Hoping to hear from some parents and share their story. It's been a physical and emotional roller coaster for my DD.

KP: I am very sorry to hear about your dd. I remember when we were talking at National Cup and her injury was considered not that serious. 9-12 months.....F**K!

While my dd has not suffered an ACL injury, she is currently going through a growth plate fracture in her ankle. I don't bring this up for sympathy, but rather a word of advice to all. After taking my dd to the ER, the ER doctor said we should visit an orthopedist ASAP. Here is my advice, if you are going through any potential fracture, sprain, ligament tear, etc., see a specialist ASAP! An ER doctor or your family pediatrician does not have the technical skills for these types of injuries. I am glad we went to the orthopedist the very next day to confirm the injury and have him set expectations for the recovery period.

I hope this helps!
 
Strengthen those hamstrings and any muscle that connects to the ligaments! This will help prevent an injury. Of course, unfortunate things happen and they occur but I don't think enough athletes do injury prevention to to minimize the risk. I will also say if you're daughter does tear an ACL, please do the proper rehab!! I've seen players fly through rehab thinking their OK but it never fully strengthens to where it needs to be. I've seen recovery take 12 months but also seen players come back at 8 months playing at similar level.
 
Thanks for starting this since I could not find any threads re. ACL injuries. My 03 DD tore her ACL late January playing for for school's 8th BBall team. At first it was diagnosed as a strained knee so after a few weeks of rest she returned to training without any pains or soreness. She went for keeper training the following weekend. During her warm ups, she planted on her right knee and immediately went down. She consequently tore her meniscus.

After seeing the ortho doc & getting MRI, he confirmed the ACL & meniscus injury. Currently doing her a pre-surgery physical therapy to strengthen her knee as the goal is to have a healthy-strong knee. This will enable her to begin PT after surgery. Her therapist has informed us her knee is as strong as it can be and surgery ready.

With school ending in May, we decided to wait and have surgery when she gets out of school. Rehab process begins right after surgery with a 9-12 month timetable.

Hoping to hear from some parents and share their story. It's been a physical and emotional roller coaster for my DD.
Very sorry to hear this. Having watched one of my daughter's friends recover from an ACL tear at age 9, I will tell you that it is a long haul that requires dedication and belief in oneself. Don't give up on the hard days- just stay focused on that ultimate goal of getting back to soccer. And take the time that she needs to be fully ready to play full contact. Rushing back can lead to re-injury or a new injury.

Have you followed Casey Short on the WNT? She tore one ACL, then tore the other plus MCL. A year after the second repair, she felt that her knee hadn't recovered properly and underwent an additional surgery. And now she is playing for the USWNT. Recovery is possible!

Also, there is a website :http://friendsinkneed.com/ that can provide support for athletes that are recovering from ACL injuries.

Hang in there!
 
My 03 DD tore her ACL late January playing for for school's 8th BBall team. At first it was diagnosed as a strained knee so after a few weeks of rest she returned to training without any pains or soreness
In my experiences, if you have Kaiser, they will do anything to try not to use the MRI machine! We went through the same thing and I know several player who waited months to find out that they had torn their ACL. If you ever find yourself in that situation with Kaiser, and you suspect it's your child's ACL, when you go in, have your DD make it sound like their knee is hurting more than they can bear! MAKE THEM SEE AND SEARCH for what is wrong.
 
KP: I am very sorry to hear about your dd. I remember when we were talking at National Cup and her injury was considered not that serious. 9-12 months.....F**K!

While my dd has not suffered an ACL injury, she is currently going through a growth plate fracture in her ankle. I don't bring this up for sympathy, but rather a word of advice to all. After taking my dd to the ER, the ER doctor said we should visit an orthopedist ASAP. Here is my advice, if you are going through any potential fracture, sprain, ligament tear, etc., see a specialist ASAP! An ER doctor or your family pediatrician does not have the technical skills for these types of injuries. I am glad we went to the orthopedist the very next day to confirm the injury and have him set expectations for the recovery period.

I hope this helps!

I totally agree, seek a specialist (orthopedic) ASAP. When my DD injured her knee, we went to Urgent Care right after the game (Saturday) and got an X-Ray to make sure she didn't fracture her knee then that Monday went to the Orthopedic got the OK for an MRI. We got the results within a week and found out it was a torn PCL. I wouldn't wait and see with a knee injury, it's best to know right away what you're dealing with so that you don't do more damage to it. Also, it gives the player the a true timeline of the healing process.
 
please do not seek MEDICAL advice for these injuries on a forum. Once the ACL is torn you can't do "more damage too it" so be patient and follow sound medical advice . It is likely self limiting and you will not be able to do too much anyway. You will have pain that limits your ability to function and it will be swollen that will limit your ability to bending and bearing weight ( kind of a self protection) . Do go to the Urgent care or ER if you suspect an injury. They will evaluate you and triage your condition to make sure you are stable and not something life threatening. If you have a clean image on the x ray and they tell you to go to the orthopedist they know what's up, and that is why they are asking you to take the next step. Follow the advise of the MD . You do not need an MRI to diagnosis an ACL tear . The ATC on the field could tell if you have a tear, the ER doctor could tell if you have a tear, your family doctor can tell you if you have a tear. The MRI confirms the suspicion , the degree and the plan of care. The orthopedist is the only one who can perform the repair , thus they are the one to diagnosis your condition ( tell you that you do or do not have a tear) . Yes MRI's are expensive and MRI's are not done without cause or reason. However, if your knee is extremely swollen the image may not be as good as it can be. If you are extremely painful you may not be able to lay as still as you need to be . So , It may be in your best interest to wait on imaging to get the best diagnosis you can get. I hope that your doctor has your ( the patient's ) best interest at heart and bases their decisions on what is best for the patient. A PCL injury is a tough one and not your usual injury , that is an interesting one. good luck .
 
My 04 daughter tore her ACL in lovely lancaster during state cup, 2/4/17. Longest ride home ever. Urgent care was no help. Went to a sports ortho and the MRI revealed that a piece of bone was actually stopping her from fully extending her knee. Surgery on 2/14, happy valentine's day. That piece of bone was actually still connected to her intact ACL. The surgeon was able to re-attach the piece and her existing ACL to her fibula or tibula. It fit in like a puzzle piece...I saw the pics. The bone was anchored with some titanium. Ortho said because the ACL was intact, and it doesn't have to vascularize, she should be ready to resume in 4 months compared to the usual 12. That's the upside. The downside was the pain.

She was on a passive motion machine for six hours a day for 12 days after surgery. She goes in for PT twice a week and does similar exercises at home 2 times a day. She was on crutches with a heavy brace for a month and currently walks with a slight limp. We are in no hurry to get back in the game. All in all, my DD took this in stride, pardon the pun. She is my hero, she is undaunted and determined to come back.

It has been a huge adjustment for our family. We were really wrapped up in the game...You all know the drill - 2 kids, 2 clubs, no weekends, practice 3 nights a week. This has been a bit if a reality check. We love the game but life has a lot more to offer, especially if you and your's are healthy!
 
One issue is if your athlete is still in their growing stage meaning height then having an ACL injury can be an issue down the road, it can cause problems as they grow taller and the repaired parts of their knee don't keep up causing other issues.

Finding a top surgent is very important, do research ask questions, you may get different answeres from different surgeons. We used one of two best specialist in Southern Ca, his bed side manor is horrible but he did a good job.

And the most important part of a ACL injury is the rehab, I have seen so many push to end rehab early. Take your complete rehab time of 6-9 months to the end, no matter what anyone says take it to the end! AGAIN NEVER push to finish rehab ahead of schedule.

The operation is very invasive and painful for the patient, we were surprised on the size of the scar and swelling.

The truth is the probability of re injury on a repaired ACL is very high in certain sports soccer being one of them.
Good luck.
 
The ATC on the field could tell if you have a tear, the ER doctor could tell if you have a tear, your family doctor can tell you if you have a tear.

Yes! This forum is meant to share experiences but by no mean is it medical advice. Honestly, go to the emergency room instead of Urgent Care because Urgent Care is known for misdiagnosing, did the same with us. Be careful with the ATC, ours misdiagnosed too.
 
Yes! This forum is meant to share experiences but by no mean is it medical advice. Honestly, go to the emergency room instead of Urgent Care because Urgent Care is known for misdiagnosing, did the same with us. Be careful with the ATC, ours misdiagnosed too.
maybe time to find a different medical group?!
 
maybe time to find a different medical group?!
nah, it's good group, just have some areas that, while they aren't the greatest, could be better. This is a pretty rare instance for us But, there are several groups that are the same way from what I've heard.
 
D1 Senior year, first game of pre-season and my DD tears her ACL. First injury of her career. She is just over 7 months of recovery and making sure other leg stays strong also. She is not rushing it and her mindset is strong. Full recovery puts her back in time for July workouts. Rough through some of the early months with emotional letdowns and what she thought were setbacks but her trainer said she is on track. Keep your kid connected as much as possible so they don't get down during the recovery process. Her surgeon said at 6 months the repair and knee looks great and strong. Chomping at the bit to see her play again.
 
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