If so how long were you signed off from work roughly?

I am having my PCL and ACL rebuilt with donor tissue and I was wondering how long I am likely to be away from work for?

not quite the same thing but in 1997 I was cut up by a car on my commute home , Hit the car doing about 25-30mph(fitter and thinner than I am now,lol)and my left knee shattered the rear passenger window and ruptured my patella tendon(big one between kneecap and shin).

After surgery I was back to work on crutches after 2 months , but it took me another 2 months before I got rid of the crutches.

I have had the ACL done, took me about a year to get back to something like normal, although this was in the nineties and things have moved on quite a bit since then, I woiuld expect about 6 months though

Chris

6 months plus. go steady on them knees. im now gently back on bike (only bikes i sit down on though (can't stand up to pedal) after shattering patella in early aug….

🙁

depends what you do for work I guess

If you're a high wire walker, I would have thought you'd be off work longer than someone that hand knits wooly pullies

I had ACL replaced in Feb after a complete tear along with partial rupture to medial.

They had me up and walking the day after the op but you'll not be able to go anywhere near a bike for at least 8 -10 weeks. Not because it hurts but because the graft won't have healed and you risk tearing it again, it's a much more complex operation second time around. I got an absolute roasting from my physio for doing three easy miles on the towpath after 9 weeks.

Top tips from me – get a good physio, attend regularly and take their advice. Mine worked for Celtic FC and had managed a fair few ACL recoveries so knew what he was talking about.

Exercise it, stretch it but it's important to also follow RICE principles.

Be prepared for slow progress, I hit a real low when I couldn't bend it past 80degrees 7 weeks post op.

It's really important not to put it under too much stress until the graft is properly healed.

Ten months down the line I am back on the bike,doing decent mileages and not having any major issues, it does click and swell. Rest and Ice cures both of these. I also find that if I don't exercise it / ride the bike for two weeks the clicking can get worse as the ligaments loosen up.

On the plus side the surgeon did say that due to be being a keen cyclist prior to the injury my knee was in pretty good shape so the recovery prognosis is good.

Sorry for the really long post but I remember trawling the net before my op and struggling to find decent advice / info. Drop me a line if you need any more, happy to help a fellow ACL sufferer.

oh, one other plus point. The post op pain killers are ace!

G

Thanks a lot Big G, as you said there is hardly any information about it, I have already resided myself tot he fact that I won' be on the singletrack this year, but hopefully I will be able to put some miles on on a road bike (sat down) towards the end of the year.

Did they give you any exercises you can do to maintain your strength in your quads without stressing the ligaments?

Hi JC,

I was given a number of pre op and post op exercises. TBH I found that getting in bike time pre op worked best, sitting easy pedaling wasn't too painful. Post op they gave me a number of exercises to do, I have a wii fit and found some of the balancing exercises on it really helped re-educate the nerves and muscles after the op.

If you can get a turbo trainer it works well once you are well down the rehab route, there's less of a tendency to get up and strain the ligaments.

G

Maybe they will give me those after my arthroscopy as they aren't 100% sure about my ACL.

My knee's too sore to ride, plus it swells up A LOT, so I think it rules that one out, that might be the cartilage though.

Been through 3 ACLs now, twice left once right currently have none and no plans for more ops.

Had left ACL re-done once, was off work (desk monkey) for a week and then went into work on cructhes for another 2 before i started to be able to walk again. Think i was off the bike for 6 months.

Got back to playing rugby and biking and then ruptured both ACLs again among other bits and pieces and had another 10 months off the bike. Waiting to try ski-ing without any ACLs but biking is fine, my rugby days are over though.

I agree with BigG good physio and balance board or trampette exercises work you suprisingly hard with low impact (didn't have Wii fits when i was injured).

Hope all goes well

Have you not had a MRI? I got one fairly quickly after initial diagnosis (still have the scans and you can clearly see the tear).

If it hurts don't do it is the best advice though. If you're going to be off the bike for a period of time you have to accept the loss of some muscle condition (as my physio kept telling me in between hurting me)

G

The MRI showed the tear of the cartilage and PCL really clearly, but not the ACL, but from the physical test the specialist thought that it was in one piece but over stretched so had to much elasticity and would need a graft as well (this wouldn't show on an MRI), they are going to have a poke around and a better look at the ACL when i have the arthroscopy.

I had an LCL reconstructed after a grade 3 tear in 2001. I was probably off work (office based) for a couple of days afterwards – largely recuperation from the op.

Not sure how similar the process for ACL/PCL is, but my experiences was that physio was key (as above). I was up and walking about same day and the physio was keen to encourage cycling as it was a 'closed loop' exercise. Sadly her idea of gentle exercise between physio sessions might have been slightly different to mine… My op included inserting an artificial ligament to stabilise the joint immediately whilst maintaining mobility, rather than immobilising it in plaster – again, not sure how similar this is to ACL/PCL.

Another quick question, knee swelling/stiffness, treat with anti inflammatories, or put up with it if it's more of a nuesance than anything else.

Swelling happens to protect, but is it best to leave it swollen?