ACL Repair Forum » Welcome to the ACL Repair and Reconstruction forums! » Understanding ACL (time to heal)

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  • Posted by ssowada@cox.net 7 months ago. There are 12 posts. The latest reply is from ssowada@cox.net.

  1. ssowada@cox.net
    Member
    Posted 7 months ago #

    This is for all us sport players and athletes:

    They say at 4 months or so you might and should feel at 100%.

    However, at 4 months the new ACL graft is weaker than it was the day that it was secured during surgery. From 0-4 months the ACL graft is deteriorating and at 4 months it is has the same strength as a wet noodle. You can't rush biology and it takes about 6 full months for the acl to be back to the same level as the day of surgery. The acl at six months is now receiving nutrients from the surrounding structures and the graft will become stronger than your old ACL ligament.

    I hope everyone feels at 100% as quickly as possible but please don't try to rush back to sports before biology can do it's magic.

  2. snowman24
    Member
    Posted 7 months ago #

    if the docotrs are telling me that i will be good in 4 months than i think that is pretty acurate. and my doctor did tell me that he expects me to be return to sports in 4 months. and philip rivers actually came back in 3 months after having acl surgery and that is a professional athlete and i think his doctors know a lot more (no offense) than anyone posting on this forum, so i think anything the doc tells you thats what you should go by

  3. ssowada@cox.net
    Member
    Posted 7 months ago #

    If your doctor says you will be good to go in 4 four months or less, well by all means listen you doctor.

    Your greatest risk of reinjury is at 3-4 months after reconstruction. This is fact and obviously your doctor has taken this into his calculation on your rehab to sports.

    Good luck!

  4. ssowada@cox.net
    Member
    Posted 7 months ago #

    Question: How Long Does ACL Tear Rehab Take? Can ACL Rehab Be Accelerated?

    Standard ACL rehab takes 7 to 9 months to complete. For many athletes, not only does this mean the end of their athletic season, but it may interfere with their being ready for the next season. But can ACL tear rehab be sped up? How long do you have to wait before returning to sports after ACL surgery?

    Answer: The media is filled with reports of athletes who make a fast recovery and return to sports sooner than expected. Does this mean that you can have a faster recovery after surgery for an ACL tear?
    When you have ACL reconstruction, a new ligament is created and held in your knee with screws or other fixation devices. The ACL then has to heal in this position in order to withstand repetitive stresses associated with sports activities. The problem with any type of ACL graft fixation method is that, if repeatedly stressed before the graft has healed in position, the fixation will eventually fail. That means the new ACL graft can become loose.

    Furthermore, there are other risks of overly accelerated rehabilitation. For example, former NFL wide receiver Jerry Rice famously made a comeback 3 ½ months after undergoing ACL reconstruction in 1997. In his first game back, he fractured his kneecap (where the ACL graft was taken from). This new injury ended his season.

    What Is the Minimum Time for ACL Tear Rehabilitation?
    Exactly how long the ACL graft takes to heal sufficiently is open to debate. Furthermore, some sports and activities will place a higher demand on the ACL and more healing may be necessary prior to participation. Most orthopedic physicians agree that a minimum of 6 months is needed before returning to competitive sports. Because of potential risks of reinjury, however, most recommend waiting 7 to 9 months.
    You should always discuss returning to sports with your surgeon, as there are variations to standard ACL rehabilitation. Variations in rehabilitation may be due to the type of graft used, any procedures performed along with the reconstruction (such as meniscus repairs or cartilage repairs), or surgeon preference.

    Lastly, ACL rehabilitation is not only an issue of time. ACL rehabilitation involves a progression of therapeutic and sport-specific activities. In order to progress from one step of rehabilitation to the next, you must be able to complete certain activities. If a patient is unable to continue progression, overall rehabilitation may be delayed. That is why working with a physical therapist is so important after ACL surgery.

    http://orthopedics.about.com/od/aclinjury/f/rehabtime.htm

  6. snowman24
    Member
    Posted 7 months ago #

    yea jerry rice fractured his kneecap because he had a bone patellar graft taken and that was the problem, not his actual ACL. i have gotten an allograft so do you think the same thing applies, becuase supposedly allografts have quickekr recovery time. also philip river came back 3 monthds after he had acl surgery last year as well and he was perfectly fine.

  7. ssowada@cox.net
    Member
    Posted 7 months ago #

    After 100 days...River's came back to football practice! OTAs. Practice with no contact and he was heavily braced. This is well documented! He was well over 6 months before he participated in a live game.

    It is good that you keep bringing him up as your example.

    An allograft will speed up your recovery time in the intial stages because no graft was harvested. This is well known and you may be feeling like a million dollars really soon. However, your graft is 100% deteriorating up until 4+ months. Unless you are not made of human DNA?!? ;-) Biology is a process and you may get lucky and I hope you do. The younger you are the faster the healing process take place.

    Keep this in mind, you did blow a perfectly good acl already! If you did this participating in snowborading/sking (just looking at your name snowman) and you choose to do this again before the new acl (allograft) becomes a FULLY intergrated ligament in your knee, you do take a very high risk of tearing this new graft. Moreover, you are introducing a foreign body (cadaver ligament) and you are expecting your own body to fully intergrate this foreign substance at an excellerated rate...good luck!

    Jerry Rice's kneecap shattered because it was weakened due to the patella graft...you are correct. The point is that you risk injury when you come back too quickly.

  8. snowman24
    Member
    Posted 7 months ago #

    i actually only partially tore it playing basketball, and kept playing on it for 5 motnhs until i realized i needed to get it to get back to the point of my athleticm and sppeed becuase it was just not working for me playing with a partially torn acl. and i am 16 years old.

  9. Nikki
    Member
    Posted 7 months ago #

    My doc said 6 months to a year depending on the person. I myself am more of a year kind of girl. I think it depends on how hard you hit your PT and the type of graft you have. I know autograft is supposed to take longer to heal then allo. It also depends on the sport you are trying to get back into. If it's cycling or running you can come back quicker as it's not a lateral movement inducing sport.

  11. ssowada@cox.net
    Member
    Posted 7 months ago #

    Actually the limiting factor with the acl and it's time to heal is the vascularization of the new tendon.

    The bone-patella-bone graft vascularizes the quickest but is the hardest to rehab in the initial stages (first month). The hamstring and the patella both vascularize before the allograft graft because the cadaver graft is dead. It has also been irradiated to kill any disease that host had. This dead tissue takes some time to vascularize if your body doesn't reject it (low risk). The allograft has the quickest rehab in the beginning but takes to longest to vascularize. Both have pluses and minuses.

  12. ssowada@cox.net
    Member
    Posted 7 months ago #

    One more thing, as long as the graft was from your own body (you are the donor and host) the tissues/new tendon can/may stay alive by nourishment from the synovial tissues. This is one of the biggest benefits to harvesting the graft from your own body.

  13. snowman24
    Member
    Posted 7 months ago #

    but is it possible for someone with an allograft like me to recover after 4 months though?

  14. ssowada@cox.net
    Member
    Posted 7 months ago #

    It is possible but your graft will still be in a vulnerable phase. Actually, it's most vulnerable. You should ask your doctor about this and the time it takes to vascularize for allografts. Most importantly, ask him about his experiences with failure rates and time frames. Auto and allografts are both very vulnerable until they become fully vascularized.

    You are young and will heal quickly but be smart and ask your doctor for all this info.

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