I Have To Put Soccer On Hold For How Long??

by Steve D
(North Hollywood, CA)

Hello everyone!

I'm new to this site but it seems like it's going to be a great place to come and chat, vent, and hopefully gain some feedback while i undergo what will probably be a very frustrating period in my life. I got "injured" playing soccer about 6 weeks ago (8/28/10) but just found out on October 1st that i indeed tore my ACL & MCL and will require reconstructive surgery. The news was devestating. I've gone from playing soccer (Football) 3 times a week to almost being immobile. I've been going through Physical Therapy for a couple weeks now working on gaining my range back and strengthening my muscles for surgery and it has really paid off.

Briefly, my Ortho suggested I should consider an allograft for the procedure so I've been reading up on it as much as I can. Still no surgery scheduled but I'm hoping that will change once i see my Ortho again tomorrow(Oct. 15th). I'm pretty damn nervous. I'm curious to know what your knees felt like before surgery? Pain, sore, stiff? Any advice or suggestions on ANYTHING will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

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I Have To Put Soccer On Hold For How Long??

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Jan 31, 2011
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I know how you feel..
by: Melissa

Dec.10th 2010 I tore my ACL & meniscus playing soccer as well. It was devestating for me because I've been playing since I was 3 or 4 and now 17 and I was hoping to get a scholarship (hopefully i can get back at it for my senior year).
But anyways, I went to therapy for about 2 weeks before my surgery which was on Dec.27th 2010. I wanted to get everything done asap.
I never had to undergo any surgeries before so I was pretty nervous, but it really was a piece of cake. They repaired my meniscus & for my ACL I recieved the cadver's tendon (from a dead person) to put in place of mine. I am now at my 5th week after surgery & I go back to therapy in one more week.
After the surgery you will be able to go home as soon as you wake up. For me, the worst pain was that night & the next morning. But after that.. it really isn't all that bad. But when you're at school & you're wearing that brace you get after surgery, you're knee will get really stiff. So even though it's uncomfortable, you NEED to unlock it when you're sitting & let it bend. Also, use the machine they give you ALOT. After the long day at school it may hurt at first using it, but just go up in incrimints and it will loosin up. And yes, like the person in the previous comment said, the pills will make you constipated lol. So take all of your antibiotics but try to take as less of the pain meds as possible. I only took like 8 out of the 90 in the bottle. And sorry for writing so much lol but if you have any other questions, i'll try to answer them as best as I can :)

Jan 10, 2011
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response to the comment before
by: Anonymous

I was the one who had commented earlier. The reason why I tore my ACL three times... First was the left knee and someone hit me so can't really do anything about that. Then the right knee I was at a tournament and once again someone hit me. The third time was with my right knee again. I had slid and my cleat got caught in the turf and felt my knee go in. I waited a month for the swelling to go down then tried again and completely tore my ACL. The doctor did nothing wrong. As a female I am more likely to tear my ACL compared to males so that probably had something to do with it. the first time I waited 5 months and that knee is good. The other knee I waited 7 months and re-tore that one a little over a year after my surgery. I don't know why this has happened so many times but it is not something that you should be that concerned about. Just take your time to get back! Sometimes it seem like it is going so slow but you knee needs time to heal. Take care and you will be back before you know it.

Nov 13, 2010
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Sorry
by: Jael

Hey!
Sorry about your injury. I tore my ACL playing soccer too,in a pre season tournament,and it was devastating! I am 4 weeks after surgery! And I also did pre-Op Physical therapy which really helped! I think that the better condition you are in before surgery, the easier it will be after!
I know that everyone is different in there recovery because some have a lot of pain and some don't! I hope yours will be like mine and you won't be in much pain!
I know it is scary to think about having surgery but when I look back it really was not as bad as I thought it would be!
One more thing! Don't rush back too soo! make sure you have healed well enough because it would be devastating to tear it again!

Good Luck!

Nov 12, 2010
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Me Too
by: JP

Tore my ACL and MCL on Sept 2nd 2010, non-contact, playing soccer. Having reconstructive surgery December 1st.

Did about 3-4 week of pre-op PT, to restore range of motion and it helped, but I'm not all the way back.

In the past, when I sit, I often sit on one of my legs, and my knee is completely bent. I still cannot do that with my knee that has the torn ACL.

Prior to surgery I can walk, and do all daily activies, like mow the lawn, and stuff, but the knee gets tired and sometimes I ice at the end of the day. I'd love to go do some cardio exercise, but I have no faith in my knee to do so and I don't wanna injury it any before surgery.

Knee seems to ache with weather systems too, but I cannot be 100% certain on that.

Nov 11, 2010
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Wondering
by: Anonymous

This is for the comment left here. Just curious, is there a reason you tore your ACL three times? Like, did your doctor do something wrong or did you have the surgery too early? Anything?

Nov 10, 2010
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ADVICE
by: Anonymous

I'm sorry about your knee! I don't know if you have gotten any new information from your last appointment with your doctor but I have torn my ACL three times now so I figured I could share some info with you. First of all don't be nervous. People get this surgery all the time and yea it did suck for the first few days after surgery but i've made it through 3 surgeries without any major problems. As for how my knee felt before the surgery, it felt pretty good. I had barely any swelling and because I didn't know my ACL was torn for a little i was able to run without any pain. One of the times it did feel like it was catching a little when i went from my knee locked out to bending it but no major pain. The hardest part was bending it all the way and getting full extension. The better you go into surgery the easier the recovery is after. Some random advice is to ask for anti-nausea medication just incase, get stool softeners because the pain medication will make you constipated, and stay on top of your pain medications especially at night when you go to bed. Hope this helps! Good luck!

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