Tore Acl

[MikeD860]

Tore my acl at big springs. MRI says torn acl and brusied bone. Luckily no other damage was done. Wondering if anybody has finished out the season with a acl tear? Not really wanting to have surgery right before summer starts.

Dillingham #860

[Btrigg88]

Sorry to hear that. Is it an incomplete tear or completely severed? Lots of people are running around on partially torn ACLs. Missing this summer is a lot better than years of pain if you force the issue. Get some good medical opinions and pick what works for the big picture. Hopefully harescrambles are not how you make a living. Forward motion will be here next year. You can always ride the hillbilly this winter. Good luck and I hope you get some good news soon.

[slomojo]

I partially tore mine in 06 then I finished it off at Big Springs in 2010. A partial tear should feel much better in about 3 weeks,(good enough to ride)complete tear and you will have trouble walking for months. I had mine replaced and raced the last 2 races of the season.(without doctors okay) So I'm at the Drexel race that year and I'm talking to a guy that raced the series and he tells me his ACL has been torn since high school,apparently not having it reconstructed is also an option.

[blister]

MikeD860,
Sorry to hear about your injury. I have never injured my ACL but I do make my living rehabilitating people with ACL injuries and associated surgeries. To humbly give some credit to my input, I have worked in Sports Medicine for 21 years. I pretty much have at least one ACL patient on my books at all times. I have spent countless hours in study, research and clinically observing this injury.

Informational points:
Complete vs. "Partial" ACL tears. Research and clinical observation show that an actual "partial" tear is extremely rare. You pretty much either tear it or you don't. You will hear of partial tears, but even then we consider it torn from a functional stand point. It's not doing its job in there if partially torn.

The ACL is a major ligament stabilizing anterior translation of the tibia on the femur. Now due to the increased instability of the knee, returning to sport with a torn ACL puts other structures in the knee (cartilage, collateral ligaments, meniscus, etc) at increased risk of injury. If you do plan to return with ACL deficiency, it is strongly recommended that you first regain full motion, full strength, and additionally utilize a functional ACL brace. Even then, chances of additional injuries are higher compared to a surgically reconstructed and properly rehabilitated knee.

On the other side, with surgical reconstruction you can anticipate 6-9 months before being "medically" cleared to return to a sport like racing an off-road motorcycle. And that is if everything goes smooth and you work your tail off.

Hope you don't mind my 2 cents worth and I would never judge your decision. I do believe you need the facts to make a good, educated decision for yourself, though.
Chad

[slomojo]

I know that I am glad I had mine reconstructed,and if it happened again I would do it again.

Rehab exercises are very important,my knee almost never hurts because I did EXACTLY what the therapist said.I still do one of the exercises now.

[MikeD860]

Thanks for the input guys. Pretty sure its a fully torn. I talk to my doctor tomarrow. Going to discuss about the possibility of waiting on surgery until Aug. No harescrambles . But will ace wrap and lightly ride trails with the fam bam.

Also gotta thank the big springs fire guys for getting me off the track, the female who helped me, she's in the sportmans class. The racer who helped get my bike back to my vehicle. And of course the crew of FMHSC. Thanks guys and gals.

[Dillingham.Mike]

Had to change my user name since my old account with this website does not seem to work.

Decision has been made to have my surgery in late august. Knee really doesn't give me a whole lot of problems. Most of the instability is gone. just some pain and discomfort when fully bent. Do want to thank the gal in the sportsman class for helping me out at big springs. And to the other rider who got my bike back and loaded on the trailer at big springs. That's why I love our race series. @ Btriggs840 it was a complete tear.