Cruciate ligaments :
Has anyone else had 3 ACL ops in 14 months? - - Posted by babs (babs), 23 January 2005
My 18 year old son, a pro footballer (academy level) ruptured the ACL in his right knee 14 months ago, he had a reconstruction in Sheffield by Mr Bickerstaff and all was going swimmingly! Just as he was about to make his return to full contact training he ruptured the ACL in his left knee. Another successful op followed and, again, all was going very well. He was ready to start non contact training and had had all the necessary muscle strength tests etc, which proved his knee was extremely strong. Then the unthinkable happened and the newest ACL recon ruptured. My son is due to have a revision in three weeks (patella tendon graft this time). Luckily there is no other damage to the knee.
Has this happened to anybody else here and have you overcome it? Does anybody know of a pro footballer that this has happened to? And, final question, is Mr Bickerstaff the best man for the job?
Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.
Posted by andrewc (AndrewC), 23 January 2005
Hi Babs
I am now seeing Mr Bickerstaff as my second surgeon and he has a reputation as being a VERY GOOD surgeon (because he is!!)
So I would not worry if your son is in the right hands! Mr Bickerstaff as you will know only does private work and Pro footballer ACL recons are his daily bread and butter so to speak so he has lots of valuable experience in this field.
I'm not aware of people who have had so many ACl tears/recons in this timeframe but I have heard of people having this many injuries over a slightly longer timeframe. It might be a good idea to get the surgeon to investigate if their are any underlying isssues causing your sons propensity for ACL tears as well as doing a revision ACL op?
Good Luck to you both
Posted by babs (babs), 23 January 2005
Hi Andrew, thanks for your reply.
Mr Bickerstaff has been honest enough to admit that he can find no valid reason for the damage to my sons ACLs - the reconstruction to the left knee had 'taken' well and there was a healthy blood supply to the new ligament. It seems that he is just unlucky.
My sons physio has been trying to find other pro footballers with a similar case history but it seems that he is a rarity. We would be very interested to hear of other pro sportsmen/women with the same condition and if they were able to resume a professional career.
Thanks again for your reply.
Babs x
Posted by Elly (Elly), 24 January 2005
I'm presuming he already has a really good physio?
Did you know podiatrists will do detailed analysis of a persons weight distribution through there feet and make custom insoles to provide support if there is a problem area? Could be worth asking about.
Anyway, this may be entirely unhelpful as it sounds like you have some good health professionals behind you!
Posted by Kaz (Kaz), 26 January 2005
Hi, Im not a footballer but im a gymnast and i tore my ACL and they did an ACL repair and my ACL has become Lax and needs replacing. I was 11 when this started and im now 15 waiting for a ligament replacement
I know this isnt the same but I see John Aldridge a Specialist in sports injuries, and he said that hyper mobile athletes are more likely to get ACL ruptures or tears! So it may be your son could be more hyper mobile (very flexible) in his legs making him more prone to this injury! I know me and Laura another girl from my Gym Club we are both very hyper mobile and we both tore our ACLs. I managed to go back to full time training but as it kept relapsin i had to quit. Mainly because i had to land from quite high heights and the pressure on my knee was too much. But for football it may different. I hope this has helped and wish your son a speedy recovery.
Kaz x
Posted by Marek_Bowman (Marek_Bowman), 26 January 2005
I believe wes brown of Man Utd has had ACL problems in both his knees, I think he may had medial problems at some stage too.
Updated Tue Oct 7 2008