ACL injury plz help

[dr_dre]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I'd like any opinion on this:

My brother found out yesterday that he has a complete ACL tear in his knee (from basketball). Last year he got a partial tear in the other knee while snowboarding.

His partial tear was never reconstructed and it would give out on him a lot at first but with therapy got a lot stronger and he played basketball fine afterwards.

He's finding that with the complete tear he has much more stability than he did with the partial tear + a lot less pain. So now he's become skeptical of the diagnosis.

His basketball injury occurred 2 months ago and we didn't think it was this serious because he was walking fine, going up/down stairs with no instability, and even went for very short runs + swimming.

Is it possible that MRI results could be wrong or misinterpreted? Is there a point to jump right into reconstructive surgery? We're thinking that maybe the doctor would benefit from doing this surgery ($$).

My main question is, would someone with a completely torn ACL be able to walk around + go up and down stairs fine....it just doesn't seem to add up.

Any info or similar stories or anything is appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[TMP-SMX]

I'd like any opinion on this:

My brother found out yesterday that he has a complete ACL tear in his knee (from basketball). Last year he got a partial tear in the other knee while snowboarding.

His partial tear was never reconstructed and it would give out on him a lot at first but with therapy got a lot stronger and he played basketball fine afterwards.

He's finding that with the complete tear he has much more stability than he did with the partial tear + a lot less pain. So now he's become skeptical of the diagnosis.

His basketball injury occurred 2 months ago and we didn't think it was this serious because he was walking fine, going up/down stairs with no instability, and even went for very short runs + swimming.

Is it possible that MRI results could be wrong or misinterpreted? Is there a point to jump right into reconstructive surgery? We're thinking that maybe the doctor would benefit from doing this surgery ($$).

My main question is, would someone with a completely torn ACL be able to walk around + go up and down stairs fine....it just doesn't seem to add up.

Any info or similar stories or anything is appreciated!
Thanks!

Isn't this why you get a second opinion from another physician and not a bunch of pre-meds?

 

[MossPoh]

Boards are not for medical advice. Anything is possible but don't ask here. You wouldn't, or shouldn't rather get an answer. Nothing personal just not the intention of the message boards.

 

[dr_dre]

Boards are not for medical advice. Anything is possible but don't ask here. You wouldn't, or shouldn't rather get an answer. Nothing personal just not the intention of the message boards.

Hey well this IS a message board...it's a communication site.

I'm simply using a communication forum where students interested in medicine, maybe even sports med or orthopedics, come to discuss various issues.

Maybe some of you have had this injury or know someone who has or have researched it and know more about it. I'm just using this as an educational site and looking for some information NOT personal advice. Just trying to broaden my horizons and get as informed as possible.

I'm not stupid. I'm not looking for a cure or medical advice and I'm not going to take some pre-meds advice as THE solution to this problem.

 

[braluk]

I actually partially (if not completely) my ACL about 2 years ago, and didnt get it repaired. It hurt like hell the first few weeks, but went away. In fact, that winter I ran a 10 mile mini marathon and was fine, but it would always hurt a little bit or feel sore. About 1-2 months ago, i reinjured it again in basketball (id never play and be completely aware of it). Some days I couldnt even walk before the injury cause it would hurt so badly. I found out that my ACL was completely gone and torn up, and half my mesnicus was cracked. I cannot dispense medical advice here, but I opted to go into the surgery and got a petallar graft completed for a new ACL and had a 50% medical menisectomy. Im still going through physical therapy but it was one of my better decisions and wished I had gotten it done two years ago (doctor never followed up). to the point: yes you can go without your ACL and do normal every day things, but odds are, you probably wouldnt want to play any sports which will reinjure it (the basketball i played 2 months ago was the first time i played in two years after that injury and look what happened). And also, there will probably be days in which walking will be extemely painful- the mesniscal discs will be constantly rubbing on each other and will probably permanently damage it, as it did for me. I was told that I have a 100% chance of getting Arthritis in my knee for this very reason.

 

[spospo]

this isn't medical advice, just my story:

i play basketball and have bad knees because of it. in 8th grade i tore my ACL as well as my meniscus. doc never did an MRI, he just said he was 95% sure that is what it was. it was hard for him to say 100% though because the swelling in my knee was so bad. he gave me two options. reconstructive surgery or to just do PT and strengthen the leg. i went with the latter because i didn't want surgery. i could do most things fine. stairs didn't bug it. walking hurt only a little. i had limited range of motion due to the swelling. for the most part though, things were pretty normal. i couldn't do lateral motion or really pivot on that leg because my knee would pop out. i could run pretty fine (with some pain) but couldn't pivot on it or take a hard jump stop without my knee coming out of socket. i eventually elected to have the surgery because i didn't want that happening the rest of my life. remainder of the story: i sat out of basketball my freshman year of high school. played softball in the spring coming back too early from surgery i guess and retore my meniscus. i had to have it removed. i now play basketball in college with pain and a small bit of instability due to not having a meniscus.

this is just my story, not any sort of advice. the OP asked for stories, and i felt like sharing.

 

[wrong_answer]

disclaimer: this is not medical advice... he should go see (another) board certified physician.

It is unlikely that an MRI would give a false-positive on an ACL tear... you're looking for a big black line through the ligament. Many people (older people especially) don't undergo any reconstruction if they don't plan on doing any sports. Have your friend run _really_ fast in a straight line and then cut left or right (90 degree angles should to it)... if he falls on his face he has an ACL tear.

 

[braluk]

The "falling on his face tactic" is probably the same medical diagnostic technique that will be used by a sports medicine osteopathic surgeon. Its recently replaced MRI as the number 1 diagnostic tool 😉

 

[Dookter]

I love how the mods close threads that are actually interesting just b/c they are sick of looking at them, but threads like this that seek medical advice seem to not get shut down instantly.

 

[wrong_answer]

I love how the mods close threads that are actually interesting just b/c they are sick of looking at them, but threads like this that seek medical advice seem to not get shut down instantly.

well... at least its a fun diversion from doing work...

 

[MossPoh]

Hey well this IS a message board...it's a communication site.

I'm simply using a communication forum where students interested in medicine, maybe even sports med or orthopedics, come to discuss various issues.

Maybe some of you have had this injury or know someone who has or have researched it and know more about it. I'm just using this as an educational site and looking for some information NOT personal advice. Just trying to broaden my horizons and get as informed as possible.

I'm not stupid. I'm not looking for a cure or medical advice and I'm not going to take some pre-meds advice as THE solution to this problem.

Yes, but it is not intended for medical advice. I've had lots of injuries...I'm suffering from one right now. The general rules of the board are against medical advice. If anything, it is for legal reasons but also it is just something you should talk to your own doctor about. I'm not going to go into the internal medicine/oncology part and ask about my sister's cancer, nor am I going to ask in the orthopedics part about my messed up knee. One relies on medical specialist who have the full context of the situation, along with diagnostic tools at hand. If you were to phrase it into a theoretical situation and an open discussion as to whether the acl tear can be misread...then it may have been different. As is, it seems like you are asking for direct advice. I do wish you the best of luck with the diagnosis/treatment but there are much better sources to ask about this stuff.

 

[DrBowtie]

Closing. SDN is not for medical advice. Please seek out another physician in your area for a second opinion.