I will be undergoing knee surgery for ACL reconstruction very, very soon. The extent of my injuries from the mishap in June was a torn-ACL, a couple other partial-tearing of surrounding ligaments -PCL and MFL. Small tear in the backside of the meniscus, and bone fractures and contusion on the outside corner of the tibia and femur bones. I was on the borderline for knee dislocation if the other ligaments had been damaged worse than they are. So, the past two months were spent researching and becoming a knee expert. I obtained referrals from friends (especially thanks to Kelly!), co-workers, and strangers (befriended Ninja Warriors for their feedback and lots of random strangers would stop to talk to me about their ACL surgeries), sought out review for best surgeons in town and ultimately met with 3 different well-regarded orthopaedic surgeons. I researched different methods of ACL reconstruction, the pros and cons, different recovery methods, statistical analysis and medical journals on alternative approaches as well as newer techniques of reconstruction, yadda, yadda, yadda. Pretty much, I had three people (two of them being doctors) ask me if I'm an engineer from my line of questioning and detailed analysis. I guess at least it validates my profession. =P
The point to note here is that the surgeon, choices for reconstruction method, and physical therapy will impact future athletic ability. The first docs recommended a standard procedure and emphasized a lifestyle change with no more high-impact sports. The third doc said the whole point of ACL reconstruction is to hopefully allow one to go back to being active. His recommendation was for a standard procedure as well, but using a donor tendon which would allow for the fastest/easiest recovery. Statistical data, though, shows donor has a higher rate of re-tear. His comment was that it would not matter since I am "older", which puts me in the "less active". Obviously, he didn't watch my video...
So... we know of great comeback stories from NFL football players. Not only football players, but Tiger Woods, Steph Davis (rock climber), even Ninja Warriors (Drew Dreschel and Luis Moco). Some are "older", and have recovered to being stronger and better than before. Changing my lifestyle is unacceptable. So, the second doc was my doc of choice, a newcomer in town, with no personal referrals for him, but his background was head physician for the sports' team at a well-known college for NCAA Division I sports. As well as he has published papers on newer methods of ACL reconstruction. So I knew he was up-to-date on latest research AND that he's performed the newer, complex methodologies. During our meeting, he watched my video of the injury incident and identified how the injury occurred. In fact, my injury is very common among women athletes. He took into consideration that I would like to return back to ninja-ing and obstacle racing, and recommended a procedure to provide the best, strongest knee possible for a comeback. The surgery will combine the best of the traditional, Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone ACL repair for strength (which is the golden standard for football players) combined with an additional extra-articular augment that compensates for rotational torque (which is what is lacking in traditional ACL repairs based on latest research). This method is an alternative to the controversial double-bundle approach (short terms studies show it controls rotational torque better.. no long term research data, but downfall is a complex procedure with 2x recovery time) which Tiger Woods and Steph Davis both had used. Long story short... I'm so glad I did my research.
Anyhow, it's amazing how fragile the ACL is. I have been stopped by so many strangers and engaged in half-hour long conversations about their ACL injury, surgery choices, and recovery. Two people jokingly welcomed me to the ACL club, as this is so common. It seems as if anyone that's gone through this experience, recognizes the robo-leg (I have been wearing for the past two months) and is more than eager to extend their sympathies as well as share their experience along with advice and tips. I have had young and old stop and talk to me and injuries ranging from tripping on the last step of the stairs, to major skiing wipeout, to someone stepping on their foot while pivoting in basketball, or jumping off a roof (okay.. that one, you know who you are!).
Ryan's also been keeping me up to date on the latest football statistics. This year being unusually high for the number of ACL injuries sustained already, and it is only pre-season! The great news is that there have also been exceptional comeback stories.. with players coming back stronger than before and shorter amount of time of rehab. The typical rehab will be 6-12 months. And Adrian Peterson came back in 5 months from surgery!
Posts
