Posted on Jun 29, 2015
I'm faced with a possible ACL reconstruction. Has anyone else had this done, or declined to, and have some input?
11.7K
74
45
6
6
0
I was told that my ACL is present but not functioning as intended, or at all. I'm just reaching out to see if others have some valuable input as to the value of doing it or not. I'm also interested in retiree responses, as the retirement system is unknown to those of us who haven't done it, and I don't want to face bureaucratic issues later on as a result. Thanks to any and all that might have some advice.
Surgery
Retirement
Sports
Therapy
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 26
6
6
0
Absolutely do it. I blew mine coming off the back end of a Herc in a LZ. Great start. You can only do so much with PT and will be limited and likely degenerate the joint needlessly over time. It's a good fit and you can spare some hamstring.
I'm adding to my original post. Make sure you do the recovery PT fully to get range of motion and strength back. It will take time. Although the fix and diligence will reduce your VA percentage, I can't tell you how much better it is to feel good vs. not much more money. I was able to start refereeing soccer when I was 49 and that side hobby/job was more therapeutic than getting in touch with my chi. Your health and ability to do things is much more important as you age. That said, I get some pain when sitting on the floor and an itch on the outside has to be scratched on the other side so it conducts through the screw. Not a bad trade for movement.
I'm adding to my original post. Make sure you do the recovery PT fully to get range of motion and strength back. It will take time. Although the fix and diligence will reduce your VA percentage, I can't tell you how much better it is to feel good vs. not much more money. I was able to start refereeing soccer when I was 49 and that side hobby/job was more therapeutic than getting in touch with my chi. Your health and ability to do things is much more important as you age. That said, I get some pain when sitting on the floor and an itch on the outside has to be scratched on the other side so it conducts through the screw. Not a bad trade for movement.
(6)
(0)
(0)
(0)
SFC Walter Mack
Sadly, the Murray scaffold wouldn't work for me. The scaffold has to be done during the healing process, which excludes most military injuries because our providers drag their feet in identifying this type of injury. Even if they order an MRI, it's not an emergency, so it's likely to take 3 to 4 weeks at least to get it done. My injury is 18 months old, so the healing process is pretty much done.
(0)
(0)
PV2 Chad Eimers
SFC Walter Mack - So in other words your injury and or pain is now re occurring? I understand. It's truly sad with the technology and experience our medical professionals have, they falter and hesitate to properly define a condition like yours. The medical staff needs to re evaluate the parameters based only on facts with each individual case. Good Luck friend.
(0)
(0)
SFC Walter Mack
PV2 Chad Eimers, no, my injury has been persistent since it happened. The funny part is that I don't have pain. None. It just feels strange, and every now and then it seems like it's loose & falling out of place just slightly. I still do everything & haven't been on profile. The initial injury was gruesome, but it seemed to heal OK.
I'm just irritated that it was so easy for the ortho doc to push it around a bit and know my ACL wasn't stable. The PA could have sent me for an ortho consult or put in a consult for an MRI and I would have been able to consider the implications sooner. The problem with the scaffold is that it requires treatment within a week or two of diagnosis, and the military won't diagnose an ACL injury that quickly under the current system. Also, the initial read was a torn meniscus, with no mention of the ACL. The ortho doc went back & got a second read of the MRI to diagnose the ACL tear. Possibly due to the fact that the natural healing process has long since completed.
I'm just irritated that it was so easy for the ortho doc to push it around a bit and know my ACL wasn't stable. The PA could have sent me for an ortho consult or put in a consult for an MRI and I would have been able to consider the implications sooner. The problem with the scaffold is that it requires treatment within a week or two of diagnosis, and the military won't diagnose an ACL injury that quickly under the current system. Also, the initial read was a torn meniscus, with no mention of the ACL. The ortho doc went back & got a second read of the MRI to diagnose the ACL tear. Possibly due to the fact that the natural healing process has long since completed.
(0)
(0)
4
4
0
I blew my ACL and my Meniscus. Still weak, but glad I got it done. But listen to the Drs. at your physical therapy, take your time healing, don't push it like I did. I think that is where I went wrong. O.o But I hate being a gimp and relying on others to help me. Hated it. But I love softball, so I had to get back on the field. (too early) But, I'd do it. :-)
(4)
(0)
CPL Bill Siggelow
What Veronica said. I did the same thing on Jan 28th. Had surgery on March 10th. Was on crutches for a month, then 1 crutch for 2 weeks, and then a cane for 2 weeks. I just finished my last day of Physical Therapy today. I can walk, but not very fast. It still is stiff, and when the weather gets crappy it pains me a bit. I can walk down stairs and climb stairs with no difficulty. I use Zim's MAX Freeze to loosen it up in the morning, and if I have any discomfort, I take 800MG of Ibuprofen and I'm good to go. If I know I am going to do a lot of walking that day, I wear a DeRoyal knee brace. It has thin material, has a cut out for your knee cap, and it provides just enough stability to walk without any difficulty. Typical recover time with Physical Therapy is about 3 months, after about 6 months you can start to jog again, after a year you should be able to run again with no problem. The biggest thing is to make sure it heals straight (I.E. no bend to your leg) or you will limp the rest of your life.
(0)
(0)
3
3
0
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google