My other half tore her cruciate ligament whilst skiing a couple of weeks back.

She is debating whether to have surgery or not. Apparently it’s optional, depending on your lifestyle.

Anybody done the same? Any advice?

Cheers.

Tore mine 15 years ago no surgery, works fine for me. Can walk, run and cycle, but not a lot else.

Thanks Tim – When you say not a lot else, what do you mean?

She will want to ski again, ride horses, and do a bit of sport.

I did a bad but incomplete tear of the acl a few years back, it really did seem to be toss a coin to decide whether to operate or not- there was no exact prognosis for either approach. So lacking clarity on best cases I let the worst cases guide me- I went with no surgery, on the basis we could always operate later, my consultant reckoned delaying surgery had few risks. It worked out, it might not have and her situation might be different to mine.

I did a bad but incomplete tear of the acl a few years back, it really did seem to be toss a coin to decide whether to operate or not- there was no exact prognosis for either approach. So lacking clarity on best cases I let the worst cases guide me- I went with no surgery, on the basis we could always operate later, my consultant reckoned delaying surgery had few risks. It worked out, it might not have and her situation might be different to mine.

Ruptured my left ACL entirely playing rugby 16 years ago i had a it reconstructed, the recovery takes a long time but i did get back to all sports including rugby. But then about 6 years ago i ruptured the graft in the left and also managed a complete rupture of the right ACL (rugby again…i have now learned). I have not had them reconstructed so at present have no ACLs

My rugby days are over as are racquet sports but i have skied since rupturing both ACLs using knee supports (relatively cheap ones £80 not the £500 ones) but i no longer ski moguls. Probably depends on ability and terrain that she skis the knee braces i think helped mentally as much as anything.

Hill walking i find fine except going down steep decents i am very cautious.

Cycling my only issue is trying to get power back in the legs as i cannot do any squats etc in the gym and there is the worry about coming off and the leg not supporting me which could be the same with horse riding

I tore the posterior one in a motorbike accident in 2008.
I had pretty good flexibility (can lift foot almost to my ass on that side). Only issue was pain – lots of aching, especially if I walk a decent distance (> 4 miles).

Surgeon said that the operation was only to fix major instability – that feeling of you walking through your knee and nearly falling over.
It wouldn’t sort any of my symptoms, would be very painful, I’d be off work for a good few weeks and then around 9 months of phsyio after.

Instead I bought a road bike and built up my leg muscles that way.

So, that was 5 years ago and TBH it doesn’t really bother me. Been a little achey this week (change in weather?) but I can still head on out and cycle all day long no bother.

Broke (i.e. completely gone) the ACL in my left knee 30 years ago and the one in my right knee 14 months ago. Have had surgery on neither (not sure reconstructive surgery event existed in 1984)

As the first was when I was in my 20’s the recovery was quite fast and I was back to playing reasonable level sports within 6 months and at the time without much specialist physio. I have done a lot of skiing inc off piste, moguls etc in that time. The more recent break has taken 12 mints of rehab including specialist physio, I think due to the fact that I’m now 50+.

I decided not to have surgery in 2013 as I wanted to see if I could manage without as I’d done for prior 30 years. I can ride the bike (6 months after injury) and I went skiing last week although I clearly need more rehab strength work based on that experience. As above I didn’t risk any serious moguls but could’t resist a bit of very simple off piste. A friend had the surgery and he says it’s been two years before he felt he was back (road rider and skier). You get to learn what you can and can’t do and what can cause the knee to unstable (like the top and bottom half aren’t joined together 🙁 ). Contact sports like football aren’t possible nor anything with dramatic changes of direction (which is how I broke my knee in 1984). I could play social tennis after the first break. With the second break I am now wearing knee supports.

So life is possible without but if you are going to have surgery the sooner the better as rehab won’t get any easier.

@cbsport – re horse riding she should ask her doctor / surgeon, basically without an ACL you can do any sports with a linier up/down motion (like pedalling), skiing is actually in a straight-line too the danger is a twisting fall so bindings must be loose. For horse riding most of the motion is linier, I know when I rode very recently (holiday horses on the beach so nothing dramatic) I found kicking the horse uncomfortable as it put strains on my knee joint.

Tore mine about 9 years ago (time flies!), the A&E doctor recommended I just swap all my biking/running/climbing/snowboarding/football/etc kit for a remote control! Fortunately had good healthcare through work so had reconstruction very soon after.

As above it took about 9 months before I could really push it and probably a good couple of years before I had full confidence in it (eg off piste snowboarding – hiking to chutes, cornice drops, etc) but I’ve not looked back since.

Personally I’d have the op, but I think the variability in this type of injury combined with personal preference is such that you have to weigh up each case individually.

Mrs S has had both done – climbing/skiing accidents.

She said it’s made a huge difference.

She’s was impatient though and pushed the last one too soon after the op, which has affected the outcome somewhat.

She’s given up skiing but runs, cycles and climbs.
General wear and tear rather than ACL issues tend affect her knees first these days, so I suspect the ACL’s are fine. 🙂

Thanks all, great help. I will pass all this on, and we’ll talk to the doctor and see what’s best. We also have an excellent Physio (Ex Premiership Football Club) so hopefully she’ll make a swift and strong recovery.

Complete tear 2 years ago, had a reconstruction even though it was presenting minimal issues in general use. But hockey and skiing would of pretty much been a no go.

Took about six-eight to get back on the bike for fitness, around 9-12 months to get back to full strength for hockey. Was doing a lot of weights for flexibility and strength on legs and a lot of none impact cardio, so cycling.

Amazing how quite you’ll get muscle wastage on the injured leg, and it takes a long time to get that back.

If you want to do skiing, I’d not like to bet how long you’d last with a partial ACL?

I am currently looking at this, damaged my cartilage and snapped acl coming off my bike at the start of feb. Had the cartilage repaired which has helped movement and seeing consultant in a few weeks about acl. Physio 1 suggested I’d be fine cycling without it, physio 2 said as i have had cartilage removed I’d be better off long term if my knee was more stable so should get it done.

Oops double post.

On the subject of physio – make sure you get a good one (sounds like you have!). The physios I had post-op were great but they weren’t sports physios so didn’t really get it – their aim was to get me walking again as quickly and as painlessly as possible and they did a good job at that. Fortunately I have a friend oop north who is a sports physio so he gave me a lot of good advice.

If you want to do skiing, I’d not like to bet how long you’d last with a partial ACL?

@philb – I have been skiing 30 years with a totally bust ACL, reasonably aggressive moguls and off piste. FWIW I broke it playing hockey and played for another 3 seasons including representing my Uni.

@tonyd’s advice is good (in both posts). I have been living in Paris and had advice from a specialist sports surgeon and a great sports physio who specialises in knees had some great kit including a hydraulic “torture” machine

@aa healing vibes to you too (getting pushed around in a lively bar watching a rugby match will test your nerves with no ACL)

Balancing the strength of the quad and hamstring is really important, I can tell when I’ve not done much riding as odd twists make the knee give way. Can’t jump, or change direction quickly but have snowboarded since.

@jambalaya – seems you’ve done pretty well without an ACL!

Do you wear a brace for hockey/skiing?
Honestly I’d think twice now if I ever had the misfortune to do it again whether I’d have the op or not.
I didn’t have an unstable knee when injured, and reckon I could of carried on as before.
The fitness loss and recovery time to get back to a strength level you where at before the op is extensive.

Having a very good ‘sports’ specialist physio and consultant is a must though. If they don’t understand the requirements and need to get back to competitive sport then recovery will be tailored to get back to normal walking/use. Meaning you won’t be pushed through the strength/hydraulic leg testing machines, but also will have an even longer route back to full fitness.

My physio wasn’t specifically a sports physio, she was bog-standard NHS spec but still understood what I needed and how to make it go. I did go to a very well regarded sports specialist later on, and got pretty much the exact same advice. I’m sure that’s not always the case but it’s not a given that you need to go to a specialist.

Can you explain the symptoms of partial damage to the ACL please?
I seem to have done something to my knee (not riding). I get a sharp pain when climbing or descending stairs in particular. Went for a gentle ride which was fine seated, I couldn’t stand in the pedals without similar pain to descending the stairs. I also had a limp for some days which has passed – still can’t do stairs!
Your experience of partial ACL damage would be appreciated. Oh, and it’s been almost a week since this started, straightening from a squat tending the fire at home!!

I had a “bucket handle tear” back in 2009, damaged the meniscus also. I had an knee scrape to remove the floating debris, the option was there to have a full reconstruction, on the advise of my rugby club physio I turned it down, for the 1st year it was deffo not right – there was movement of the lower leg within the knee, and it would frequently feel as if it was not sitting quite right. I played on with extensive strapping and lots of physio. It got better as my leg became stronger, and is now the best of my knees… I strap it up when skiing with a soft brace, but have had no problems with spds or running. It does feel the cold, and if I put on weight it aches more. Arthritis might be worse in old age but I figured that’s going to happen anyway.