surgery or not at 50 in California

by patrick
(California)

Have a complete tear of the ACL from playing basketball in my left knee. What to do? Have about 4 weeks of therapy to improve range of motion,and then must decide on surgery or live with it and a brace. Still enjoy basketball,softball and golf.

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surgery or not at 50 in California

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Nov 11, 2011
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Educated decision
by: Marco

I am 50 and had my 2nd ACL surgery (right knee)cadavor (sp?)tissue, 7-6-11. Blew out both knees so I have twins...LOL. My first surgery (left knee) I had surgery in 07, my own hamstring tissue. Surgery and rehab was great. No problems with the knee since surgery. I was still playing soccer until I blew out my right knee. For my most recent ACL replacement, surgery went well and rehab is going well aslo. At approximatley 4 1/2 post surgery, I am working out 45 min on cardio equipment (elipitical, bike, stair master). I have aslo been doing agility exercises 2-3 times per week as persribed by my therapist. I lift wieghts (mostly leg exercises)2-3 times per week. Leg strength is about 95% before injury. I jog on a custom treat mill at 85% of my weight for 10 min under the supervisoin of my therapist. By the end of the month, I am scheduled to start jogging on my own if I continue to progress.

Educated decision: I dediced to have my 1st surgery because I wanted to stay active since I played college soccer and really enjoy. My doctor was very confident I coud return to playing agian as long as I followed his instructions and rehab.He cleared me to play agian after 6 months of therapy but took another 2 months to continue therapy on my own lifting heavier weights, focus on more agility exercises, increased running to sprints. When I blew out my other knee, I wanted to return to playing soccer agian and had a good idea what the process looked like to get back to playing soccer. Since my doctor already I wanted to play soccer agian and discussed my options, I opted for tissue from a cadavor since I was 50 and surgery recovery would be faster. However, the tissue would take longer to heal. Currently, I am 2 months ahead of schedule. I feel great. This time my doctor wants me to rehab for 9 months before I play agian, not a problem as long as I don't get to excited and play before the 9 months. He believes that I need to let the tissue reach it full strength eventhough I can perform my exercises at a high level. He doesn't want me to stretch the tissue, comprimising the stability of the joint. I enjoy working out on a regular basis 5-7 times per week, 2-3 hours per session. Note: I had to build up to this level with the guidance of my therapist. My therapist will most likely give me a green light to start playing at 9 months but I am going to add an additional 2 months to my therapy to make sure, once agian, that my knee is srtong and ready to play agian.

Most important, research your surgey options, ask your doctor any questions that pertian to your specific case. Look into a good and reputible Physical therapist, and be patient with your therapy.

Good Luck!

Jul 04, 2011
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Your surgery decision
by: Marty

I'm 59 and also making a decision about surgery. If you have had yours already, what advice could you give now? What has your experience been/

Jan 26, 2011
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I've going for SCL Reconstruction
by: I'm going for it

I popped my right ACL while skiing about 4 years ago in 2006 at age 53. My surgeon did not want to reconstruct my ACL them.

The reasons he gave were my age, not enough participation in high-risk activities and the arduousness of the rehabilitation. Though I'd rate a 6 month rehabilitation commitment as less than a lifetime conditioning commitment.

I lift weights, do some yoga, ski, and go on long-distance backpacking trips.

No problems except ... I've been having sudden falls. It's taken years for me to come to the conclusion that it's my knee. I usually am just walking along on a sidewalk and am suddenly on the ground.

What seems to happen is that I'll get a nice solid heel strike then as I transfer my weight to the bum knee, I'll unconsciously pick my foot up. (Try doing that on purpose!)

In June of 2010, this happened to me while on a hike, except that I caught the fall half way down. The result was a torn medial meniscus, some damage to my MCL and miscellaneous pain spots in my knee.

It's now January of 2011 and I've had about 7 months of greatly reduced activity. Since June, I've had two similar falls. One that was an inconvenience and one that sprained my MCL and pulled a couple of other tendons.

I saw another surgeon and he says that I'm a candidate for ACL reconstruction. My knees are in good shape except for the ruptured ACL. So I'm going ahead now at 57. It would have been better to get it fixed 3 or 4 years ago.

Jun 13, 2009
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surgery
by: Bart - SII

If you enjoy sports and an active lifestyle, a reconstruction may be a good idea. Most people are not able to actively participate in these types of things ACL deficient. Some are, depending on their dynamic stabilizers, but the vast majority have pivot shift episodes when trying to cut or change directions, or with landing from a jump.

So, you have to decide on what you want to be able to do post injury - if recreational sports are important to you, and you have the motivation to recover from the surgery and go through the rehab, then surgery is likely a good choice.

The process is long, but much of it comes as dedicated strengthening - the first 6-8 weeks are the hard part - regaining motion, walking again, dealing with the pain, etc. After that, it is just diligent strengthening and being patient.

Bart

Jun 11, 2009
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To surgery or not? that is the question
by: Rebecca

Patrick - If you are an active person, i would seriously consider weighing the good & bad. I am 8 weeks post op (I'm 36 yrs old) and was not given the choice for surgery. I am not saying I regret it - just make sure its the right thing for your life style. Dr told me it would take alot of rehab & dedication to rehab - at the time I didn't have a CLUE what he meant, but now I do. I am in the gym 2-3 times per weeks for 2-3 hours at each time. PT wasn't bad after the surgery. Pain was minimal until I started to ambulate. If your lifestyle allows for the time & dedication it takes to become back to pre-injury - go for it. What have you got to loose? Its making me stronger physically as well as mentally (that is after going insane on the couch for 2 months!! )

Best of luck - keep us posted please

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