ACL Tear tips..

dont do anything stupid, and as soon you can, get to the gym and get those muscles strong. my friend had 2 acl tears. first time he did lots of exercises and he was all good in5 months, but second time he was lazy and it took him 8 months to recover
 
Do your PT. It'll hurt like hell for the first 3 days after surgery but it's a quickly improving road from there.

Have you decided what Graft you'll do (Hamstring, Patellar, Cadaver)?
 
are you scheduled for prehab? if not, make some appointments. the stronger you are going into surgery, the faster you will build it back up.
 
Don't slack off when it comes to rehab excercises. See it as an oppurtunity to become stronger and better then you were before the injury. That's how I'm approaching my torn acl
 
Start workin on your biceps, it doesn't matter if you have chicken legs and no core for the rest of your life, bitches love biceps
 
Listen to your doctor, he probably knows whats best for you;)

Work hard to get your knee strong, think of skiing as the grand prize u will get after 9 months of terror. I promise you it will be worth it!

i also tored my acl 2 years ago, i know how shitty it is to loose a whole skiseason, but work hard, and you will be out there skiing sooner than you think:)
 
do not "go to the gym and work the muscles." go to a legitimate pre-surgery physical therapy regimen with a professional PT. i recommend hamstring graft as patellar grafts are notorious for future patellar region pain. go to your PT and literally don't do anything you aren't supposed to do.
 
I will never have feeling again where they took my patellar graft. It's numb for life, no chance of future pain.
 
Once you get surgery, write on a calender 7 months from that day with your end goal in mind. Mine was to do a standing back flip on the ground. I figured that was the hardest physicaly dynamic thing I could do before I was hurt. So In my mind that would mean a %100 recovery. When your recovering at the begining you will see a lot of progress quick. But as the healing process goes on into the 4-5 month marks it really slows down (that is normal). Having the date written on a calender really helps the fustration by reminding you that your not scheduled to be good to go yet. Everyone is all about the muscle strenthing and it is very important, but in my opinion the most important thing is to not re injure your self. I didn't go super hard in the gym untill the last 2 months. Just do everyday life as best as you can without pain. If it hurts STOP! and go back a notch. The best advice you will get is from your own body. When you knee hurts its pissed. So go easy on it.

The best advice I can give you is, this is a serious injury and it will heal with time if you take care of it properly. Don't make the next ski season your main focus. Make the rest of your life your main focus.

I got a Hamstring graft in May 2010, In November I achieved my goal of the Standing backflip and worked as a Ski Instructor that Ski season. I wore a Knee brace for that first ski season, with some discomfort some days. But now I no longer require a Knee brace and I competed in the Freeride World Tour this past year with no pain.

Good Luck life goes on and remember your going to be alive for a long time. The ^ months will be brutal but once its over you will forget all about it.
 
Don't take advice from anyone who isn't an MD or a DPT (doctor of PT), even those who have had similar injuries to yours. Your knee, injury, and surgery are unique to you and so will be your recovery timeline. Let your pt know about your goals to get back to skiing/ jumping etc., they will help you get there safely.
 
Find a PT that works primarily/entirely with athletes. They will have a much better feeling for how hard you can/should push it during your recovery.
 
same.

But patellar grafts completely heal eventually, they are "the gold standard" according to my surgeon. The down side is that if your growth plates are not fused, you can't get it. Hamstrings never fully recover.
 
In that case I would probably change doctor, because he doesn't seem to be up-to-date.

At least here in Europe there is a strong tendency towards hamstring and patellar is usually the last option. In fact most hospitals don't even own the drill anymore, which is necessary for cutting out the little bone piece which goes with the patellar graft.
 
Not to threadjack, but what is the general numbers of Patella vs. Hamstring vs. Quad vs. LARS? Post up your own graft.

Im going to get mine operated on asap, and was wondering some options.
 
Ask your doc about a brace for skiing. My dad has done both ACL's in the past 5 years, and he says that they help a massive amount. Also, physio with a sports medicine clinic. From a few of my friends / dads experience, they say that they make a massive difference, working on different muscles. Vibes to your knees, you have a grim few months ahead.
 
I had hamstring graft and my hamstring was fucked for a while...took a while to get the strength back. Best of luck and be religious about the PT!
 
Had my ACL and MCL operated nearly 4 months ago, it's frustrating at first but it gets easier along the way. Just do the physical therapy every day no matter what. The results seem to be slow and small but as I look back now the progress has been huge, from not being able to get up from the couch to jumping and jogging in less than 4 months. Yet I still got many months ahead since the acl strengthens for a year and then it's as strong as it'll ever be so basicly 8 more months of rehab and 5 months till I'm going back on snow. Gotta take it safe, patience and motivation on the rehab process!
 
-Do as much as you can before the surgery to build up your quad and especially your VMO. Your VMO will become probably the most important leg muscle for you to stabilise your knee before and after.

- Do exactly what your PT says. Nothing more, nothing left. And you can never do too many VMO tense. Get so good at them that you can just tense your leg to make your VMO work not press on the ground.

-Set goals for your recovery so you have something to work towards.

-Don't do anything stupid before your PT says you can do it. I have a lot of friends that went back to skiing and trampolining at 6 months when their grafts weren't fully strengthened and did their knees again.
 
i hade acl and mcl surgery when i was in the 5th grade. dont be afraid of the surgery because they keep you asleep and very drugged up after its done. take your medication and stay off of it for as long as the doctor tells you to. once they say it is ok to walk on it with a brace do that as much as you can. the more you walk the better it gets.
 
Do your PT, and play xbox or computer all day. It sucks but it will be stronger than ever once fully recovered. Also i suggest remounting your skis with FKS's and wear braces to prevent any knee injurys again. I completely blew out my knee last year
 
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