ACL tear/need info

mwbeah · Feb 9, 2005

Just wondering if anyone out there has had an ACL and meniscus tear and what were the treatment for it. If surgery was the way to go, how long was recovery. Meaning how long off feet, to partial wt. bearing, being able to walk around. Have a limited time to get ready for clinical rotation and trying to research options.

I had a partial tear with meniscus injury and was out of sports for 6 weeks but was able to weight bear after 2. If you have surgery, you ought to consider a lumbar plexus/sciatic block for your anesthesia.

TexasCCRN · Feb 9, 2005

Just wondering if anyone out there has had an ACL and meniscus tear and what were the treatment for it. If surgery was the way to go, how long was recovery. Meaning how long off feet, to partial wt. bearing, being able to walk around. Have a limited time to get ready for clinical rotation and trying to research options.

I have not had one myself, but being an old athlete seen many. Have surgery asap and start PT...if you are healthy the recovery is pretty fast. Good Luck

Cabgman · Feb 9, 2005

Just wondering if anyone out there has had an ACL and meniscus tear and what were the treatment for it. If surgery was the way to go, how long was recovery. Meaning how long off feet, to partial wt. bearing, being able to walk around. Have a limited time to get ready for clinical rotation and trying to research options.

I tore my ACL playing basketball, had the ACL reconstruction using the middle 3rd of my patellar tendon and its actually now more stable than my unaffected knee. My downfall was the time between the initial insult and repair which was about 2 months where I lost a lot of muscle mass from atrophy. Surgical recovery lasted a week with weight bearing occuring the day after surgery. You will be on crutches for 3-4 days postop and shortly thereafter you should start rehab which for me lasted another 4 months. Its been nearly 3 years since Ive had my ACL reconstruction and I still havent gained back the muscle mass to the affected leg. Unfortunately a cutaneous nerve was cut with the midline incision to access the graft and now the end of that cutaneous nerve is imbedded in scar tissue. As a result I end up guarding my reconstructed knee as i flex the knee with stairclimbing and running. Do i regret having the repair? Nope not one bit because it brought back full functionality to the knee when before it would buckle even with the slightest internal rotation of the knee. If you decide to go with the surgery, plan for at least a week off. I dont think your clinical staff will allow you to practice anyway especially if you have an analgesic like percocet on board.