Question about an MCL & ACL injury

[Chuck]

I really F'd up my knee last night running around like a fool with my dog. I heard a faint pop sound and hit the deck immediately and got nauseous.

Today I can barely walk and when sitting down I cannot raise my leg at all. The pain is excruciating, but I'm on a Oxy and Motrin right now so life is peachy at the moment.

I have a doc appointment today at 4pm, but I'm wondering if any of you have ever torn a MCL or ACL, or sprained the knee ligaments (Which I'm hoping it is). 

[Keener]

I tore my patellar tendon in high school.  Sounds a lot like your description.  A twist and a pop.

[Chuck]

13 minutes ago, Keener said:

I tore my patellar tendon in high school.  Sounds a lot like your description.  A twist and a pop.

Oh man. What was the recovery time?

[gotbeer]

Worse I got was a partially torn mediscus or something like that while snowboarding.  It hurt, but the treatment was stay off of it and wrap it up.  I did pop my ICL recently.  I heard and felt it pop while of all things lying down.  I was still able to hike back 4 miles with a 30 lb pack.  But the next day, it did stiffen up since I wasn't bending the knee, and I wrapped it up for about a week.  Hopefully all you did was strain your ligaments.  

[Tank]

torn meniscus 30+ years ago. it's a sharp pain but it's easily fixed.

hyperextended knee in college that never healed correctly and was partly responsible for the torn meniscus later on.

tore the ligaments in my ankle and heard a pop. horrible pain. cast for six weeks without surgery and recovered very well.

follow doctor's orders on this or you could reinjure it worse down the road. surgery is a pain, but it'll help tremendously, especially after you've hit 40.

[mrwicked]

you just need the tussin. will clear right up.

[Keener]

2 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

Oh man. What was the recovery time?

Seems like about 6 weeks.  It was a partial tear.   It was 30 years ago, though, so... Immobilizing brace/crutches.  It really sucked.  Missed half of sophomore year baseball.

[Keener]

I did have some pretty severe swelling, though, which you did not mention.  60 cc's of blood drained off the day after the twist.  Hopefully you have something much less severe.  Good luck!

[red321]

acl/mcl? Probably 6+ months. Recovery is a bitch, especially in the beginning...in essence they are drilling a hole in your bone to place a screw to attach a new ligament. Two choices on ligament, cadaver/calf or they can snip one of your hamstrings. Supposedly less chance of rejection since they are using your own tissue but the downside is you lose some of your "explosion" from your hamstring. That's really a conversation between you and your surgeon.

Another thing to note...you don't actually have to have surgery. This is another conversation between you and the orthopedic surgeon. Where the ACL comes in to play is lateral movement. If you don't do activities that require a lot of lateral movement you can get by without the surgery, you just have to build up the surrounding muscles like hamstring, quads, calves. Means you probably won't be skiing or playing tennis in the future...but it's not going to stop you from doing things like hiking, bowling, etc. Not having the acl also does put you at risk for meniscus type of issues in the future since there will be less stability. I haven't had a problem with mine, but my wife has blown out both of hers. Recovery from the first one was so bad she decided not to have surgery on the second one. 

 

good luck...hopefully it's just a sprain

Edited February 9, 2018 by red321

[Kevin]

You're just dehydrated.

[Chuck]

Doc said it's a sprained MCL. If it still hurts we'll get a an MRI. 

On some Oxy and Naproxen, with a weekend of rest.

[cez]

could be meniscus, acl, or mcl

doc's the only who will know for sure

i see he prescribed naproxen.  make sure to take it religiously.  gotta get that inflammation under control first and foremost

congrats if it's just a sprain.  lucky. 

the big thing we have to be careful of when we're over 40 is that scar tissue. 

[Blarg]

58 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Doc said it's a sprained MCL. If it still hurts we'll get a an MRI. 

On some Oxy and Naproxen, with a weekend of rest.

Ohtani only has a sprain so you're good!

[Lhalo]

Stem cells brah. 

[IEAngelsfan]

If you do need surgery, make certain they write clearly on the knee where they intend to cut.  You don't want to wake up and find out they removed your junk in error.

[NJHalo]

1 hour ago, IEAngelsfan said:

If you do need surgery, make certain they write clearly on the knee where they intend to cut.  You don't want to wake up and find out they removed your junk in error.

I had a close call on my knee. Tore my MCL and partial tear of ACL. When I went in for arthroscopic surgery, the prep nurse started shaving the wrong knee. I thought about keeping my mouth shut for a minute, and cashing in on malpractice settlement, but I am too honest.

[NJHalo]

3 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

Doc said it's a sprained MCL. If it still hurts we'll get a an MRI. 

On some Oxy and Naproxen, with a weekend of rest.

Don’t be afraid to get the scope if needed. It’s not a big deal, and recovery time is minimal. A couple days of R&R, and then you start PT . Get yourself a brace. Even if you don’t need it, it will give you more confidence.

Also, try to fade the Oxy asap. 

[m0nkey]

1 hour ago, NJHalo said:

I had a close call on my knee. Tore my MCL and partial tear of ACL. When I went in for arthroscopic surgery, the prep nurse started shaving the wrong knee. I thought about keeping my mouth shut for a minute, and cashing in on malpractice settlement, but I am too honest.

How in the world is that possible

[NJHalo]

23 minutes ago, m0nkey said:

How in the world is that possible

Easy; doctor speaks into his recorder to get the notes transcribed by someone in India. He talks real fast, and difficult to understand. Easy for a clerical error to be made, and put into the surgery order.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

17 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

Doc said it's a sprained MCL. If it still hurts we'll get a an MRI. 

On some Oxy and Naproxen, with a weekend of rest.

The issue is that ligaments don't heal quickly, because there is little blood supply. It may take a while before you fell 100%, even though it is a sprain. There may still be some tearing of the ligament, just not completely through. My guess is that you will be getting the MRI to determine the extent of the damage.

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

Hope you heal up fast man; knee injuries are a bitch. I have chronic knee pain from deteriorated cartilage and multiple sprains. Luckily I've never torn anything; enjoy the oxy and rest! 

[Chuck]

Question for those who had a sprained MCL. 

Is it OK to ride an exercise bike? 

[Blarg]

Until you have a real diagnosis don't do anything right now but ibuprofen.

[Chuck]

45 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Until you have a real diagnosis don't do anything right now but ibuprofen.

I'm doing 500 mg Naproxen and 325 mg Hydrocodone at the moment. Both twice a day.

I am walking, with an obvious limp. It's getting better each day, but still hurts like a SOB and cannot do certain movements. 

[Tank]

chuck, have you seen an orthopedist yet? the aw medical staff's knowledge on this has severe limits. you need to see an expert.