Knee surgery question

moto said:

Hi all,

I just recently found out I have been living without an ACL in my right knee. My Dr. said the cycling has pretty much held my knee together but I need to fix this up as it is starting to cause problems with my cartilage.

Has anyone recently had ACL reconstruction on this forum? Roughly how long will I be unable to train seriously?

My Dr. acted as though I would be back on the bike within a few weeks...albeit at lower intensity.

It would depend on your surgeon's protocols. Also it depends what sort of training you are thinking of. Cycling is ok fairly early since it is a closed chain exercise so it can begin sooner than other exercises without as significant a risk of graft compromise. ACL reco is a "season ender" and you will be looking at a good 6 months or even longer for a full return to sport. Early return and weakening of the graft can lead to failure and increased risk of arthritic changes, instability, etc in the long run. In the end, you recovery will depend on your surgery, your rehab, and many other factors.

Just a brief few words - in no way is this official medical advice. cheers!

Thanks for the reply. My Dr.'s reasoning is that I have lived without this ligament for many years and my knee is quite stable without it. The issue is that occassionally (probably from other sports), I put too much stress on my cartilage.

His thoughts are that I can cycle at competitive levels within a few months depending on how everything goes. This seemed highly optimistic so I was hoping to get some feedback from other cyclists who have had this procedure.

moto said:

Hi all,

I just recently found out I have been living without an ACL in my right knee. My Dr. said the cycling has pretty much held my knee together but I need to fix this up as it is starting to cause problems with my cartilage.

Has anyone recently had ACL reconstruction on this forum? Roughly how long will I be unable to train seriously?

My Dr. acted as though I would be back on the bike within a few weeks...albeit at lower intensity.

I lived, and cycled, without an ACL for many years and in that time my knee got worse and worse. Then I had it repaired and since then it has improved until it is as strong and stable as the other.
There was a thread on this subject recently, I'll try to find it and bump it.

moto said:

Hi all,

I just recently found out I have been living without an ACL in my right knee. My Dr. said the cycling has pretty much held my knee together but I need to fix this up as it is starting to cause problems with my cartilage.

Has anyone recently had ACL reconstruction on this forum? Roughly how long will I be unable to train seriously?

My Dr. acted as though I would be back on the bike within a few weeks...albeit at lower intensity.

My advice: I would seek a second opinion on this as not all cases require reco's. Also, if you are not currently suffering any functionality issues then a reco may not be warranted - 2nd opinion is best as you may be able to treat carteledge issues without such a major operation

I had a complete knee reconstruction (ACL and some repairs on carteledge and medial ligament) 4 years back (football injury). I was told similar things prior to the surgery. I will say straight out that the recovery for me was long and required much rehab, strength work and physio to get myself back. This was primarily due to me wanting to play football again. I'm amazed you never noticed when you damaged your ACL, as it was the most painful injury i've ever had - and i've had a few. It took me a full 12 months of rehab to get back to playing football post op, but i was cycling within a month (exercise bike only). The key to recovery time is how quick you can get the muscles & leg mobile again and doing the exercises prescribed. The leg muscles waste away rapidly in the first 2 weeks when you are not able to put any load on them - i looked like an ethiopian 2 weeks post op.

I don't think the recovery is as rosy as your Dr suggests (it varies by person as i found out). Granted, recovery times to sports such as cycling are much shorter then running sports because the motion is much more controlled and there's no lateral twisting/rotating to impact the ACL graft. In fact, cycling is a fundamental rehab tool - it's one of the reasons i'm hooked on it now.

Apologies for length of response - let me know if you have any more q's. My knee is 100% now, though i have lost some flexibility through the joint.
cheers

moto said:

Hi all,

I just recently found out I have been living without an ACL in my right knee. My Dr. said the cycling has pretty much held my knee together but I need to fix this up as it is starting to cause problems with my cartilage.

Has anyone recently had ACL reconstruction on this forum? Roughly how long will I be unable to train seriously?

My Dr. acted as though I would be back on the bike within a few weeks...albeit at lower intensity.

Well cycling brother, I had somewhat of a more intrusive knee surgery when I ruptured my patellar tendon. It took me roughly 5 months to even get on a bike. You may notice quite a bit atrophy of the quad after surgery. The affected leg will be weaker and smaller than the other. If you get to that point, I advise you to train according to what your body is telling you. You may recover quiclky or not fully at all. Im 2.5 years post surgery and I ride hard. But I will always fell the effects of my surgery.

Good luck

Mr. Mega Megamorph

muslimon said:

Well cycling brother, I had somewhat of a more intrusive knee surgery when I ruptured my patellar tendon. It took me roughly 5 months to even get on a bike. You may notice quite a bit atrophy of the quad after surgery. The affected leg will be weaker and smaller than the other. If you get to that point, I advise you to train according to what your body is telling you. You may recover quiclky or not fully at all. Im 2.5 years post surgery and I ride hard. But I will always fell the effects of my surgery.

Good luck

Mr. Mega Megamorph

Maybe not. In 15yrs time you might not be noticing at all.

Thanks for all the advice. I knew I blew my ACL 15 years ago but I was 14 at the time and the Dr. advised against reconstruction because of my age and the fact that I was getting by just fine after a month or so of rehab.

My joint is starting to feel less stable and I don't want to get into a position of harming my cartilage further. I will seek a second opinion but will most likely go through with this one.

I will let you all know how I progress.