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Health Ruptured ACL

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tripple1zero

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Hey,

If you have ruptured your ACL before, how do you think you would go doing a two day hike up to 4,100 meters and back (Mount Kinabalu, Sabah) in these scenarios?

  1. three months after the injury, no operation; and/or
  2. two months after ACL replacement.
Thanks!
 
1 would be possible if you were mad

2 you would be insane to try

You would also not be covered under travel insurance for further aggravation of that or related injury.
 
The trek up Mount Kinabalu isn't incredibly tough, but would definently be a no goer if you are carrying any sorta injury at all.
 

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For the people who have replied... are you commenting from experience with ACL injuries? Doing Kinabalu?

Is having no ACL considered an injury? Plenty of people dont have the surgury, and if I wasnt considering going back to playing sports then I wouldnt need the operation.

As for blood clots, that is a risk with ACL surgery, including DVT. But there are risks with all operations, and part of my decision is accepting the risks from surgery, if thats what I choose.

Insurance is a good point, I didnt think of it from that way. I wont be covered either way.

I am trying to assume the operation and my recovery will go as planned. Im relatively fit and healthy so i am confident that will be the case, unforeseen complications aside.
 
tripple1zero said:
For the people who have replied... are you commenting from experience with ACL injuries?
Click to expand...

I have done one, not a pleasant experience.
The ACL keeps your upper & lower leg in alignment, so any sort of sudden stops on your hike, you may find your upper leg keeps moving for a split second after you lower leg stops. Then start saying bye-bye to your cartilage.
Tape will do nothing, I'd suggest waiting for the ok from your surgeon.
 
tripple1zero said:
For the people who have replied... are you commenting from experience with ACL injuries? Doing Kinabalu?

Is having no ACL considered an injury? Plenty of people dont have the surgury, and if I wasnt considering going back to playing sports then I wouldnt need the operation.

As for blood clots, that is a risk with ACL surgery, including DVT. But there are risks with all operations, and part of my decision is accepting the risks from surgery, if thats what I choose.

Insurance is a good point, I didnt think of it from that way. I wont be covered either way.

I am trying to assume the operation and my recovery will go as planned. Im relatively fit and healthy so i am confident that will be the case, unforeseen complications aside.
Click to expand...

I`ve completely torn my ACL. I did it 1/3 of the way into a football season. I had a few months off and played the last part of the season with my knee taped up. I could run in straight lines, but every now and then it gave way. I was booked in to see a surgeon, but being young I didn*t think it could be anything too bad. The pain when I first did it was excruciating, but each time it gave way (maybe 4) the pain was less and less and I could just run it off after a minute or so.

After the football season it was alright, but it gave way a couple more times. One time was when I was dancing and theo other was when I was chasing my sister and trying to sidestep around her.

I saw the surgeon and he after looking at my scans he said I had no ACL and if I wanted stability back in my knee I`d need surgery. This would mean basically 12 months of nothing. It was 11 months before I could run again and a few months before I could even walk.

I don`t know this mountain you`re talking about, but speaking from personal experience, I reckon I could have climbed a mountain immediately after my football season with no ACL. There would have been no chance in hell of me climbing a mountain after the reconstruction though. This is an ACL completely torn off that I`m talking about though - not a ruptured ACL. I had the patela reconstruction, and I`m not sure what you`ll need for a ruptured ACL.
 
Yeh that sounds a lot more serious BigBadCam than what I need. Mine is a "straight forward" ACL replacement, using my hamstring tendons. The Doc said they will get me on my feet the same day as the op, and the aim is to be in the pool in 2 weeks, cycling in 4, and jogging in 8 weeks.

I think the responsible choice is to have the op and see how I go. If the doc says no deal, then thats how it will be. Still go to Sabah, but not do the climb.
 
tripple1zero said:
Yeh that sounds a lot more serious BigBadCam than what I need. Mine is a "straight forward" ACL replacement, using my hamstring tendons. The Doc said they will get me on my feet the same day as the op, and the aim is to be in the pool in 2 weeks, cycling in 4, and jogging in 8 weeks.

I think the responsible choice is to have the op and see how I go. If the doc says no deal, then thats how it will be. Still go to Sabah, but not do the climb.
Click to expand...

Should say 11 months before I was running well enough to be back at football training.
 
tripple1zero said:
Yeh that sounds a lot more serious BigBadCam than what I need. Mine is a "straight forward" ACL replacement, using my hamstring tendons. The Doc said they will get me on my feet the same day as the op, and the aim is to be in the pool in 2 weeks, cycling in 4, and jogging in 8 weeks.
Click to expand...

This is pretty much the same recovery as me, but I had the same procedure as BigBadCam, with the ACL being non-existent, and the graft coming from the patella tendon.

Just depends on the surgeon I guess.
 
At 2 months post op? I would say no chance. If you want to risk rupturing the new hamstring tendon that is your acl then do it, but 2 months is simply not long enough for 1) the graft to heal and strengthen, 2) your quads strength to be strong enough to climb a mountain, which will result in more knee problems.
 
tripple1zero said:
For the people who have replied... are you commenting from experience with ACL injuries? Doing Kinabalu?
Click to expand...

I have no PCL in my left knee, I seemed to have got away without it, managing to play basketball a little less athletically for another 10 years. As I get older and heavier I find particularly when playing golf, that I'm having more pain in the joint which is always a concern as you finish with your weight on your left hand side..

I definitely wouldn't recommend not having an ACL done.
 

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Falchoon said:
I have no PCL in my left knee, I seemed to have got away without it, managing to play basketball a little less athletically for another 10 years. As I get older and heavier I find particularly when playing golf, that I'm having more pain in the joint which is always a concern as you finish with your weight on your left hand side..

I definitely wouldn't recommend not having an ACL done.
Click to expand...

Pretty much everyone I know who has had it done has had massive problems for about 3 years afterwards and a whole heap of related problems. The surgeons` big cover all is "We can give you a new knee, but it will never be the same as the old one." ie. It might be completely shit. The Op mentioned he might not be playing football again, so he might be able to get away with it. The rehab period is a massive prick.
 
tripple1zero said:
Hey,

If you have ruptured your ACL before, how do you think you would go doing a two day hike up to 4,100 meters and back (Mount Kinabalu, Sabah) in these scenarios?

  1. three months after the injury, no operation; and/or
  2. two months after ACL replacement.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

1) Possibly. Some people can function relatively well without an ACL although to return to sport you really need one. If your knee is not giving way on you in every day life and you are getting up and down stairs ok, your quad strength is good and swelling has minimised, then your a chance.

2) No, at this stage you will still be slow and sore going up a fight of stairs let alone a mountain.
Also if you trip, and and tear your graft your in a fair bit of stife.

Blood clots not a big risk factor at two months either.
 
Having climbed Kinabalu, your concern is not going to be the climb itself - it will be the descent.

I could hardly walk for two days after walking down from the summit (4100m) to the end of the trail (1700m). Knees and quads were totally shot, just from fatigue and jarring. These are not normal steps - some are well over half a metre in height. And did I mention there were a couple of thousand of them?

I was fighting fit before doing the climb; I would strongly recommend against attempting it with any sort of leg injury. A crook knee would be particularly bad.
 
I had a reconstruction 13 months ago and there is no way in the world you could climb a mountain after 3 months. I wouldn't feel confident doing it now. While I waited for my operation my knee regularly locked because my cartliage was stuffed, you wouldn't want that happening half way up a mountain.
 
For those who commented in this thread, I recently got back from my trip to Sabah to climb Mount Kinabalu. Perhapd stupidly, I went with option 2 - have the op and see how I go. Physio and orthopedic surgeon didnt tell me I shouldnt go, and I was confident in the knee.

My recon was on the 14th of December 2009, and last week I was standing at the summit of Kinabalu, a full hour before sunrise, and before most people attempting the climb were there (5/8 from our group got there).

I did do prep starting 4 weeks before the climb by walking up and down a big staircase (Jacob's Ladder for those in Perth). As mjr_42 said, the decent was the hardest on my knees, but funnily enough, it was my good knee that became the problem (compensating?).

So the risk paid off and I highly recommend the experience. It was hard work, but worth it.
 
tripple1zero said:
For the people who have replied... are you commenting from experience with ACL injuries? Doing Kinabalu?

Is having no ACL considered an injury? Plenty of people dont have the surgury, and if I wasnt considering going back to playing sports then I wouldnt need the operation.

As for blood clots, that is a risk with ACL surgery, including DVT. But there are risks with all operations, and part of my decision is accepting the risks from surgery, if thats what I choose.

Insurance is a good point, I didnt think of it from that way. I wont be covered either way.

I am trying to assume the operation and my recovery will go as planned. Im relatively fit and healthy so i am confident that will be the case, unforeseen complications aside.
Click to expand...

I had my ACL rupture back in july 08, had the reco done in March 09.

I still wouldn't do it. I'm scared to even run in anything other than a straight line at the moment, a year after the surgery.

edit: good for yo getting through it - I also had my cartilage removed though - so maybe that's hwy mine are struggling still?
 

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rick James said:
I had my ACL rupture back in july 08, had the reco done in March 09.

I still wouldn't do it. I'm scared to even run in anything other than a straight line at the moment, a year after the surgery.

edit: good for yo getting through it - I also had my cartilage removed though - so maybe that's hwy mine are struggling still?
Click to expand...

Well, years after my full reco/cart. repair, my reconstructed knee is as good as it ever was. Unfortunately though, the rest of my body has for whatever reason decided to head up shit creek as well. You're still in early days. Give it plenty of time. Don't rush it. I remember when I first went back to footy after mine and believe me, it might seem that there's no hope, but time is your friend.
 
rick James said:
I had my ACL rupture back in july 08, had the reco done in March 09.

I still wouldn't do it. I'm scared to even run in anything other than a straight line at the moment, a year after the surgery.

edit: good for yo getting through it - I also had my cartilage removed though - so maybe that's hwy mine are struggling still?
Click to expand...
From what I understand, having no cartilage is not cool. I would say that is probably the difference.
 
tripple1zero said:
From what I understand, having no cartilage is not cool. I would say that is probably the difference.
Click to expand...

I've got holes in mine. My old football coach used to play with no cartilage in one of his knees. He gave himself cortisone injections before each game... Crazy. They can operate and try to scratch the bone putting scar tissue where the cartilage was missing, but it is not always successful. If they removed an entire section of cartilage, you're up shit creek basically.
 
BigBadCam said:
I've got holes in mine. My old football coach used to play with no cartilage in one of his knees. He gave himself cortisone injections before each game... Crazy. They can operate and try to scratch the bone putting scar tissue where the cartilage was missing, but it is not always successful. If they removed an entire section of cartilage, you're up shit creek basically.
Click to expand...

Yeah they removed my medial meniscus
 
BigBadCam said:
What did they tell you about whether you'd be able to play footy/run again?
Click to expand...

Reckon it should be ok, but then, public system - they seemed pretty average. They ****ed up the operation a bit, or the painkilling part of it, and I've got no feeling in my right leg from my ankle to my knee on the non-shin side, all the skin is numb.

Also, they made me wait from July to March for the op, not a good idea - meant to get it done within three months at most.

Still, I've done all the physio (got a private physio even though it meant paying cash) and had the Surgeon look at it a few times. All seemed to go relatively well and its getting better in my opinion.

Hoping to play basketball again soon.
 

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