OK, none of my friends where I live play a lot of hoops, so I thought I'd come here to share my excitement. Last week the doctor cleared me to start playing basketball again after having reconstructive surgery on my right ACL last September. (Yes, I tore it playing basketball. And yes, some of you longtime members might remember that I had previously torn the left ACL.) What's frustrating was that I was literally 2-3 weeks away from playing again around April. I was psyched because it looked like it was only going to take 6-7 months of rehab this time -- last time it took about 10 months. Right when I was about to get cleared, though, I developed tendinitis in the recently repaired knee. The doctor and the physical therapists told me not to play sports until I could run pain free. They couldn't predict how long the tendinitis would last. One week stretched into two ... two weeks into one month ... one month into two. I was incredibly frustrated because everything felt fine except for pain when I ran and did the leg press. Anyway, the doc cleared me to play last week. I finally got around to playing on Tuesday. I was damn nervous because I thought I'd suck from the layoff, but it went great. Thing is, I took two huge shots to the knee and it was sore the last couple days. Just when I thought I'd have to go back in to the doctor, the soreness was gone this morning when I woke up and has been gone all day. So, I'm going to run some hoops again either tonight or tomorrow afternoon. It's not like I play basketball severall times a week or anything, but it's amazing how much you miss being able to play sports when it's taken away from you for a few months.
Props to you, man. I had my 1-year post-op anniversary earlier this month. All good. If I wasn't taking the woman to the beach tomorrow, I'd show up at the pickup game & kick Red's ass.
Looks like I got back just in time to get this thread back on track ... Anyway, thanks Buck and Antisonic. I just got back from running two games tonight and the knee is fine. So the soreness from earlier this week was only temporary. Looks like I'm back on the courts for good. One guy said to me after the first game, "That was pretty good for the first game back in nine months". So I guess I haven't lost too much.
i've been thru acl reconstruction and it is the worst pain ever. i don't wish it on my worst enemy. i remember after a week of laying in bed i started getting sick from pain. not fun. glad to hear you are doing good.
Buck, robbie -- How long did you guys wear a knee brace after your surgery? The doctor tells me after another month I can wear it at my discretion, but that seems a bit soon (it would be 10 months by then).
I had mine reconstructed in May of last year...I started cutting after about 5 months and then started playing again with a brace in November. I moved to Seychelles in January, and now I am playing with a team in the federation here...ditched the brace in late February and I've been fine ever since...although the doc told me to wear it til May. The knee's gone through periods of soreness off and on, but that's normal I think -- just the scar tissue breaking up. I think the whole brace thing is something you have to decide on your own when you feel comfortable. Even though I ditched it a bit earlier than the doc said, I made sure I felt comfortable in doing all my cutting exercises without the brace before I went and started playing full speed. Funny thing is, my knee still cracks and pops all the time...not when I am playing, but just when I am laying down and I move or twist my knee...buck and co., do you still go through this?
lol...10 months? i was walking on it thru the UT campus after 1 month, but i am also stupid. i was playing basketball after 3 months and i ended up cracking a bone in my elbow because i was undercut while in the air and i didnt want to land on my knee and instead i landed on my arm and my elbow cracked. point being....you may not need the brace, but don't play any sports until u feel you are strong enough....also...what has your rehab program been? i found out that the program my doc recommended was just not correct after i figured out what made my knee stronger.
Robbie -- I was talking about how long to wear a knee brace for sports. Not the bulky knee brace you get right after the operation that you have to wear all the time for the first few weeks. I dropped that long ago. Now I'm wearing the light brace just for sports. I seem to remember that, when I tore the other ACL a few years ago, I was told to wear it for a year. That's why I was surprised when the doc said I could phase it out after 9-10 months. Last night I was playing hoops with a guy who still wears his brace after two years even though the doc told him he didn't have to anymore. The rehab program was pretty hardcore. My insurance is pretty good, so it covered PT 2-3 times a week for almost six months -- most people get about 2 months coverage and then have to do it on their own. They were really aggressive at PT and worked me really hard. Anyway, I think the two times I played basketball this week proved to me that it's strong enough. And p.s. -- you are stupid if you were playing after 3 months. Prempeh -- The knee that I had reconstructed in 1998 cracked and popped for a long time after that surgery, but it doesn't do that anymore.
