Anyone here ever tear their ACL?

joe123

Found out today ive torn my ACL. Not looking for any medical advice or anything just wondering if any posters on here play football and ever tore their anterior cruciate and what was their experience of the whole thing like from picking the right surgeon to the overall recovery?

Terrible injury to get and I wont play football again for 6-8 months. Gutted is an understatement.

Footballers off the top of my head that did this were Ronaldo, Owen, Jagielka, Delph, Shearer and I think Pires did it aswell.

Didnt Ronaldo re injure his after a year out in his first game back?

Paully D

Sorry to hear that, all the best with the recovery!

Mars Bar

Ouch! Best of luck with recovery.

I'm fairly certain there is one poster who is recovering from the same injury and I think it's Xavi6...

eagle eye

Dr Ray Moran is considered the best sports/knee surgeon in the country. You should try and get an appointment with him. Hope you have good insurance because he is very expensive. The number to call is 01 5262000

Wishing you a successful op and full recovery. Lots of work for you to do once the op is done to get back to where you were. Its the guys that follow instructions to the letter that recover best.

deisedevil

eagle eye wrote: »

Dr Ray Moran is considered the best sports/knee surgeon in the country. You should try and get an appointment with him. Hope you have good insurance because he is very expensive. The number to call is 01 5262000

Wishing you a successful op and full recovery. Lots of work for you to do once the op is done to get back to where you were. Its the guys that follow instructions to the letter that recover best.

That's Kevin Morans brother ya?

I know a lot of people that went to him and found him very good, but expensive.

Iago

If you can't get Ray Moran I would highly recommend going to see Fergal McGoldrick as well. He fixed up my knee for me back in the day, I didn't have ACL problems but I did have cartilage and general wear and tear issues that made it impossible for me to run or play football.

Le King

Done mine twice. First time in 2004 playing American Football. Took about 5 months to recover. Second time in 2007 snowboarding! It took a year and three weeks until I could do anything again.

It's best to take as long as possible out after it, without going to the extreme. Don't forget to get a sports brace when your back.

Best of look with the rehab. Stay strong.

dreamers75

Another plus for Moran, if your on VHI and covered not that expensive.

joe123

Cheers for the replies. Was talking to a lad I play football with who recommended Ray Moran aswell. I'm in vhi but I'l have to find out if I'm covered.

My physio recommended a guy from the galway clinic padraic Murray.

One thing I'm wondering about for those that had the surgery, which procedure did ye go for? Some surgeons take a graft from the hamstring and some take it from the front of the knee. I've heard pros and cons for both so would be interesting just to hear how ye felt after. Please don't close mods as I'l be going to physio/ consultant anyways just want to hear how people felt after the procedure they got.

dreamers75

joe123 wrote: »

One thing I'm wondering about for those that had the surgery, which procedure did ye go for? Some surgeons take a graft from the hamstring and some take it from the front of the knee. I've heard pros and cons for both so would be interesting just to hear how ye felt after. Please don't close mods as I'l be going to physio/ consultant anyways just want to hear how people felt after the procedure they got.

Tbh as your not a pro footballer, the choices are simple do you want to play again and have issues later in life, do you want to walk and maybe jog comfortably in later life.

i didnt tear ACL but crushed ligaments and was given the same choice as it was the same procedure.

toughie tbh

joe123

dreamers75 wrote: »

Tbh as your not a pro footballer, the choices are simple do you want to play again and have issues later in life, do you want to walk and maybe jog comfortably in later life.

i didnt tear ACL but crushed ligaments and was given the same choice as it was the same procedure.

toughie tbh

Without a doubt I want to play again. Love playing football. I'm aiming for next season to be back stronger and fitter than i was this year!

dreamers75

joe123 wrote: »

Without a doubt I want to play again. Love playing football. I'm aiming for next season to be back stronger and fitter than i was this year!

Im 35 so opting for the lets leave it and hope it gets better solution

Can play for max 10 minutes before i become a crying baby

event

the surgeon/physio will stress this but the amount of people that ignore it is huge. the rehab, and doing exactly what they say and when they say, is crucial, perhaps even more so than the surgery itself. loads of people get the surgery done, then 6 months down the line think its ok and ease off on what they were told or do a bit more.

it may sound obvious but you'd be surprised

Xavi6

I'm 6 months into my rehab after a hamstring graft and I won't lie, it's bloody tough, especially the first while where you can do feck all. The guy that did mine does all the AFL and Rugby players over here and he's been fantastic. He's currently looking after the guy who did this (tore his ACL, MCL and PCL all in one go).

I've been blogging about it every few weeks so you might be able to get a few hints from it as you progress.

The most important thing is not to rush the recovery. If you're told to take 9 or 12 months out of the game then so be it. The funny things is with all the rehab and gym work I've been doing I'm actually going to end up a lot stronger all round by the time I'm back playing.

joe123

Yeah I've been already told to start building strength in the knee even before surgery. So I know I'l be doing loads after aswell.

It's just I don't know wether to go with taking a piece from the hamstring or front of the knee.

Hamstring is quicker recovery but isn't as strong. The knee is stronger but the physio told me you can develop tendonitis and he didn't seem gone on it.

Don't want to tear it again a year down the line though nor develop problems in my hamstring.

Xavi6

joe123 wrote: »

Yeah I've been already told to start building strength in the knee even before surgery. So I know I'l be doing loads after aswell.

It's just I don't know wether to go with taking a piece from the hamstring or front of the knee.

Hamstring is quicker recovery but isn't as strong. The knee is stronger but the physio told me you can develop tendonitis and he didn't seem gone on it.

Don't want to tear it again a year down the line though nor develop problems in my hamstring.

Taking it from the patella is not the way to go from what I've been told. All the procedures over here are hamstring grafts at first because the hamstring has no issues with recovering as good as new whereas, as you say, you can develop issues with the patella later on. The hammy has a good blood supply so can clot easy and form scar tissue which is strong.

I was told the only time a patella should be done is if a person has had both their hamstrings used before.

I've been running (straight lines only) for a couple of months now and I have zero hamstring issues and I'm not far off sprinting. Not even the slightest twinge.

joe123

Xavi6 wrote: »

Taking it from the patella is not the way to go from what I've been told. All the procedures over here are hamstring grafts at first because the hamstring has no issues with recovering as good as new whereas, as you say, you can develop issues with the patella later on. The hammy has a good blood supply so can clot easy and form scar tissue which is strong.

I was told the only time a patella should be done is if a person has had both their hamstrings used before.

I've been running (straight lines only) for a couple of months now and I have zero hamstring issues and I'm not far off sprinting. Not even the slightest twinge.

Cheers that's good to know. Just had a quick look at your blog there looks like a good read.

It's always encouraging to hear lads after it, doing well. In a strange way I'm looking forward to coming back next year fitter and tougher than I was before even though it's going to be tough.

After the surgery how long were you unable to walk on it for?

Xavi6

joe123 wrote: »

Cheers that's good to know. Just had a quick look at your blog there looks like a good read.

It's always encouraging to hear lads after it, doing well. In a strange way I'm looking forward to coming back next year fitter and tougher than I was before even though it's going to be tough.

After the surgery how long were you unable to walk on it for?

I was on crutches for 12 days (two days longer than the minimum I was told I would need) and then I was walking, albeit with a limp. I was driving after three weeks and walking briskly after about a month. It's really not that long at all.

You can live without an ACL, I did for about four months before I knew I'd actually done it. It's just movements like walking up stairs that kill you. Hand rails and fit balls will be your best mates for a while!

Really though, the long term worries aren't necessary, especially when you google players that have done. It's almost fashionable to have the scar at this stage, and chicks dig scars! :cool: