Try the PT first.

I tore my left ACL 25 years ago.  After consulting the orthopod and accepting the fact that I would never ski, play basketball, ice skate, mountain climb, or ballroom dance again , I chose not to get it repaired.  The only thing I really cared about at the time was golf, which he said wouldn't be a problem - and hasn't been.

My biggest regret about not having it fixed is that I would almost certainly lose any unarmed fight.  I been in a couple of friendly tussles, and every time my knee has collapsed and I've gone to ground.


But day to day, if I don't do anything stupid, like jump to the ground from the bed of my truck, I don't even know it's a problem.


I did talk to another ortho after feeling something pop in my other knee (no damage, thank God) and asked him about getting the old injury repaired now.  He said "No, you're too old, and it would be too difficult to rehab.  Just keep exercising your leg muscles, and stay off the ski slopes."


(As a side note:  The day after I felt the other knee pop, I couldn't put any weight on it, and really thought I'd screwed up.  But the ortho told me that the brain shuts down the leg muscles after a strain like that, to force you to keep weight off the knee.  Remarkable.)

I tore mine october 2013, had surgery in january 2014. Chose to get the hamstring graft. Surgery took around an hour, no complications. I was on crutches 100% for a bit over a week. Started rehab after 2 weeks, cleared for full duty after 5 months. The first 3 weeks after surgery suck balls, but it gets easier. Pain was minimal and I rarely had to take a pain pill.

If you have an active lifestyle, get the surgery. My knee feels almost as good as before. Crouching is still uncomfortable but I can run, hike, golf, play tennis, bike, etc without feeling unstable.

Have them amputate your leg... It's the only way to be sure.

Or, you could just listen to your Doc.

I tore my acl about three months ago.  Well, actually I level 3 my ACL, level 2 my MCL, and tore my meniscus. Fucking owwww.  Because of the MCL it took a couple of months to get my range of motion back by which point I could tell my knee was seriously loose.  I am now at week three from surgery on ACL.  Fucking owwww.  Basicly right now I am in constant pain at about a level 4 or 5 because I have to stand all day for my work.  Physical therapy is IMPORTANT. But now that the knee is loosening up I can already tell I have more stability.  I figure another month or so of general pain.

My doc said to keep it elevated as much as possible for the first month or so. I didn't have nearly as much pain, but then I wasn't standing up all day either.  I can't imagine the swelling you're probably getting. What's really fun is when they test the acl by yanking the upper part of your lower leg away from your upper leg while your knee is bent so they can feel the clunk of the acl catching. It was very unnerving the first time he did it. I was thinking, damn I just had surgery a couple months ago, and you're trying to blow it out again.  Is this a job security thing???  

That right there tells me, you need to get your knee fixed.
 

This. Nursed mine for 3 years after completely tearing , went from being extremely active to gradually nothing due to knee getting worse the more i did.
Had surgery in January , wish I would have gotten it as soon as it tore so I would not have slowly ended my playing of sports.

Now I am still doing PT to get to where I was before the tear.

INSTABILITY

Assuming that you have ever intention to continue your previous activities, that's your key word. Try the conservative route first. Get P.T. and see if after a few weeks your leg feels stable when doing your work activities. Does the leg feel solid? Does it hurt? Does it lock up? Does it feel like its going to give out under the load?

There are instances where a full tear will not need surgery if your leg is solid and stable. If after a few weeks it is unstable and severely limits your activities, stop wasting your time and get the surgery done. A torn ACL does not mean you need surgery but an unstable knee due to an ACL tear does.

If you end up having surgery, there are 3 options for harvesting a new ACL.. Theyr'e all minimally invasive these days so you won't see the long ugly scar people used to have years back. First, they can get it from your patellar tendon. Second, from your hamstring tendon. Third, from a cadaver.

Patellar tendon repairs are supposed to be the strongest of the three. The problem with it is a lot of patients develop anterior knee pain from the donor site. A lot of athletes choose this option.

Hamstring grafts are sliiightly not as strong as patellar tendon grafts. The first few weeks is critical so that the graft heals properly. Make sure you follow your post-op instructions. Once it heals, the repair is very strong and will stand up to most of your previous activities.

Cadaver grafts are the least popular. Not as strong as the first 2 but still strong enough for most folks.  However, a lot of people tend get creeped out by having somebody else's "part" implanted into them. They heal quickly because there is no donor site and cutting is much less.

Post surgery rehab is very important. Make sure your PT and MD are communicating with each other so that the surgeon's instructions are followed to the letter. Don't do anything stupid unless the surgeon says its okay. Remember, that's his knee from now on and you only get it back after he's done with you.


Disclaimer: This post is for entertainment purposes only. Always consult first with your doctor for any health questions.

I had the surgery, used my own patella tendon.  I've had no problems.  If you knee is going sideways on you, you need surgery.  I put mine off for a few months after tearing it, in that time I new I needed it.

I'm a PT and I see this about 4x weekly.

If its a partial tear, you may be able to go to physical therapy for a month or two and beef up your leg strength, quads, etc to compensate. Basically get by without surgery.

But if youre young (looks that way from your pic) and you do a job that involves a lot of the use of the leg, I'd just bite the bullet and have it operated on sooner than later.

Youre looking at at least 4 weeks in a large obtrusive leg brace, and inability to do any type of demanding work. Probably more like 6 weeks. Youre looking at 3 months minimum before you can jog lightly. 5 months before you can do anything more 'dynamic' than jogging in a straight line (safely, at least). Expect significant pain for a couple weeks but steady improvement after that.

If your doc is the discussion-oriented type, request that he use a tissue graft from your own body, rather than one from a cadaver. The cadaver graft isn't as stable over time, and you risk re-rupture if you play sports, etc.

Good luck.

In this case, I would agree.  If it were genital warts, I would recommend posting it here for our entertainment.

I say do the surgery now & get it over with.

When I was 19 I injured my knee, dislocated it.  Turned out I had also torn my ACL, but didn't know it at the time because MRI's were a rare thing at that point.

When I finally had to get my knees scoped 16 years later, it was pretty fucked.  Doctor said there was no point in doing an ACL reconstruction as the damage had already been done at that point.  Next stop, knee replacement.

Going up, not so bad.  Going down, not good, not good at all.

I would try to find an ortho that specializes in sports injuries.  Someone that actually treats people that want to be able to do things with their body again, rather than just get along.

 
The hard part for me was the first check my surgeon did.  Her thumb was on the incision.


I got a week off after the surgery. It was more painful the day after the injury when I went to work.  THAT SUCKED.

 
My surgeon said no brace after surgury.

I had mine fixed, but I wish I hadn't.  It's worse now than it was.  I had the original repair, then a screw started giving me a lot of pain, so I had it removed and the tissue cleaned up.  I swear it's worse now than when I just lived with it.

I blew my ACL 8 years ago.   I went into have a hamstring graft and the doc didn't have the right tools so without my knowledge or consent ( as I was under) did a patella tendon graft.   I woke up in severe pain because they didn't do a nerve block.   4 months into rehab the doc didn't like how far I could bend my knee and decided to force it and was bending my knee and *pop* torn the graft.   I had a second surgery, cadaver tendon, and went to rehab until they started trying to bend my knee.   I quit going and did it on my own and regained full range of motion over time.    I had to have a third surgery to have screws removed that were backing out.  I'm 100% now except I can't crouch without putting most of the weight on the other leg otherwise the one that had surgery locks up and I can't stand unless I fall to my butt first.

Good info, thanks

Based on the terminology you used saying "package car" I am going to guess you are working in Delivery for UPS.  I can't give you any advice on the knee because that's not my specialty, but I am in Feeders so I can say without question is to get out of delivery and go into Feeders if you can.  Will save a lot of wear and tear on those knees as well as your other joints.  Jumping into and out of a package car for 30 years can really tear stuff up.

I've had two ACL replacements - meniscus clipped both times & facing a TKR due to arthritis now.

If you didn't tear the meniscus I'd do the PT route and try to strengthen the muscles to compensate for any instability.  

This plus do all the PT they tell you to do.

Had my knee reconstructed in the mid 80s. By comparison to today's medicine I'm just glad they spread fresh straw down on the cave floor before opening my leg up.

Nailed it. In our building it takes at least fifteen yrs. of seniority to jump up to feeders and I've only got ten.

Meniscus is torn as wel.

I will let you know about surgery after July 7th.  I am going the cadaver route, but it doesn't seem sporting not to have to harvest it myself.  I thought it would be better to best a drifter in single combat at least.  I did notice there aren't any homeless people around the Orthopedic's office.  Coincidence?

Anyway I detached my ACL this winter via my awesome skiing skills.  I went the PT route and it was the right thing to do as it was explained to me that the stronger I went into surgery the better.  

Monitor the size of your knee and surrounding muscles.  You will probably notice atrophy occur within a month.

Get a good brace for your knee.  I have a Donjoy brand one and it is solid.  You can do just about anything in the brace but it is a hassle and it can be uncomfortable.  Ask your insurance about the copay for durable medical equipment.  It can be different than your usual deductable.  A good brace costs about a grand.  Yea, it sucks.

Best of luck, OP.

 
This can impact recovery times significantly.  A lot of that depends on the surgeon.  Mine was incredible.  When I did the injury I did a partial MCL tear, complete ACL, and a small meniscus.  By the time I was ready for surgery the meniscus was healing enough for her to let it be, I was "on" my feet in three days.  And working on my feet in a little over a week.  With meniscus repair there are two ways the doc can go, either cut out the damaged part, or stitch it.  Cutting it out means no weight bearing for 2 weeks, stitches means up to 6 weeks no weight bearing.  This will seriously fuck your recovery.


No matter what you need to find a very good physical therapist.  That will make or break your recovery.  You will need to do the PT leading up to when you decide to do the surgery, and honestly you can not make a good call till you get more mobility and strength back in your knee.  When I was back to full range, I could feel how unstable my knee was even with good muscle control.  So surgery it was.

Is this from your go or from an ortho?

If I were you, I'd find another job or go on a two month vacation.

I believe the level of arthritis in my left knee is related to the two menicus removals. I'd push for meniscus repair if it's at all possible.
My first repair was patellar tendon autograft - 15 yrs later it still hurts to kneel on my lft knee.  Second surgery, "revision", was a patellar graft from a cadaver (allograft) - no way I was taking it from my right knee.

I wore a leg immobilizer for a week or so after each surgery.

I've had a CTI2 brace since 1999/first surgery for when I ride dirtbikes, play volleyball or other risky activities. Original ACL tear was 90% with torn menicus from playing basketball. I tore something in my left knee a week ago Sat playing volleyball - yes, I was wearing my brace.

I had the surgery too.  Tore my ACL riding a quad.    Doing the therapy/PT is the key to success.  



I went to the gym everyday in crutches after surgery, and did cycling and other exercises.  At first I had to pedal super slow, like 5-8 seconds per revolution.  It felt a little awkward being in the gym on crutches, but it was worth it.  I regained about 95% range of motion.  Using a nylon-fabric slip-on brace (with small aluminum supports) I have been able to ski, ride motorcycles, wakeboard, rollerblade, etc ever since.



Also, immediately following surgery, I kept my leg in an automatic "stretching-rotating" machine.  You strap your leg into it, plug it in, and it makes a kind of cycling motion with your leg constantly, while you lay on the couch or in bed...I would highly recommend using one.

Recheck the MRI again layer by layer.



My doctor did not notice that my PCL had torn off and slip down to another ligament. It was 6 months when I question the so-called inflammation on the knee compared to the 3D model in my hand. A second MRI showed the damage. Now the two ligaments are fused together.

I had a knee sugery to remove tissue and the IT band from being pulled into the underside of the knee cap.

The knee cant be fix without making it worst. The doctor said that workman's comp said to wait until the knee gets replace some 10 years down the road.

If Dr. Andrews can't fix it (if he would happen to be your doc), then no one can.

Ortho.

 

Travel if you can.  The place is amazing.  I'm 10min from it.


Seriously, some of the work they have done for family members is amazing.  There is a reason why we have pro athletes there all the time..

 
ACL is one of the most common surgeries these days.  

O I quit reading because it made my knee start having sympathy pains.  Partial tear to my left acl wrestling in high school.  Quack recommended no surgery, no physical activities, and obviously no impact sports.  He never scoped it and just recommended a knee replacement in 10 or so years. He did recommend that I just pt myself because I was familiar with a weight room but don't do any running....

I skipped a year and a half of wrestling then went back my senior year.  Left knee was fine.  Jacked up my right one a little but nothing a brace didn't take care of for the remainder of the season.  Fast forward 11 more years and I finished my left knee off doing judo.  Went to the ortho after about 2 months when the pain and swelling finally centralized to one location.  MRI showed what might have been a scrap of acl left or might just be something else.  Ortho and his father both said mine was the weirdest injury and acl they had ever seen in a combined 60 years of experience.  Looking at the MRI I have a piece of something that if it is an acl it is literally 1/20th of the width it should be and everything around it is gone.


I was given the option of surgery or just pt myself and tough it out since I was already used to the pain from the original injury nearly 15 years prior.  Surgery would take me out of work 4 to 6 months because we don't offer light duty.  I don't want to burn all of my time so I chose the tough it out option.  I've had instability in my left knee since 97.  Sometimes it will give out while walking and the more tired I become the more it does it.  most days it is minor enough I don't even think about it.  I still go to the gym, run around and do whatever, hike, and even try to chase down bad guys sometimes.


I'm still unsure about surgery but I've heard too many horror stories about pt to want to jump in unless I have to.  Oh and my right knee isn't a lot better from carrying the extra load plus it has had injuries of its own.  at this point until pain gets beyond what aleve can handle I'm going to grind it out.


Good luck with whichever route you go.  A good brace works wonders and even a cheap neoprene sleeve will make it feel better.

 

I am recovering from ACL surgery right now and am at 7 months post op. THE RECOVERY SUCKS!

I tore my ACL snow skiing @ 32, I had hoped initially it was just sprained and waited a bit to see the doctor. After finding out that I had torn my ACL and meniscus I waited 8 months to have the surgery as I couldn't have the down time from work. The first four or so months after the tear kind of sucked and I was limited on certain movements and activities due to instability and pain.

About four months after my tear, I decided that I was too heavy and wanted to lose some weight. I went from 255-193 in 3 months and really focused hard on diet and exercise. What I found is that after losing some of the extra weight and getting my legs stronger my knee had become fairly stable. I could trail run, surf, hike, work etc. I decided to have the knee repaired because I wanted to ski again and figured that would be the best option. I was in very good shape physically going into the surgery, the recovery is absolutely the worst part. Plan on the muscles around your knee atrophying and becoming weak. My doctor said 6-9 month recovery and I had figured I would be back in 6 months no problem, I am not. There are certainly days where I question if I made the right decision having the operation, especially considering how active I was in the few months prior to. At this point I am still fairly limited on what I can physically do, I'm working on it but it is a slow and at times painful process.

Only you can decide if it's right for you. Best of luck in whatever you do!

Same thing happened to me
They repaired it but a few years later I had it replaced with a cadaver acl.

Feel good now days and the knee is nice and tight. Now hiking and running are none issues.

Good luck

 
Just because it's common doesn't mean anything.  


Football is a common game, does that mean all players are equal?  

Who would you rather have on your team.  Some guy from a Community College or a Heisman Trophy winner with a national title.


Surgeons are the same.  Most are ok and can get the job done.  Some are good.  Very few are a artist with a scalpel.

Just look at plastic surgeons.


 

OP-

Tore my PCL/MCL a few years ago...

My Doc said if I was an 80 year old man he would recommend PT only.

Being that I live and active lifestyle he suggested and performed the surgery.

Yep, it was painful but the outcome is much better.

I would suggest talking to a sports specific Dr. and getting into a sports specific PT facility. Their goal is to help you get to peak performance as quickly and medically possible.

Went to work out today for the first time since my acl surgery (not leg except for physical therapy exersizes).  Fuck am I out of shape.  I hit the gym, and it hit back.

I started PT yesterday and it's amazing how fast your leg goes to shit.

The thigh just shuts itself down. My left leg is skin and bones now.

Even the simplest excercises had me like

 
Stick with it.  I had a partial MCL tear when i blew the ACL  and when I was doing the PT for my knee and that slowed me down.  I one week tried to push through the pain more (suck it up Marine) and actually set myself back about 2 weeks for surgery.


 

Welcome to the suck.

Your thigh probably feels "frozen" from the nerve block.

Work hard at PT, do everything they say, and do all of your home exercises.

Strengthening those leg muscles will be the greatest insurance you will have against re-tearing your ACL.

Also, don't do anything dumb while you're on crutches and don't take any unnecessary risks. You will be at your most vulnerable during these first 2-3 weeks.

If you have any questions, let me know. I've done this 3 times now

The extent of the scars from surgery.   Not for weak stumachs.

The problem with that picture isn't the scars

BTW - the patellar graft scar looks a whole lot better than mine.

 
Dead person graft.  That plus a few other small holes is all I got out of it.  Small cut, then it is all power tools drilling out holes in the knee.