Collateral Ligaments and other non-cruciate tendons & ligaments around the knee :
MCL & LCL Damage Grade 3 - - Posted by Lizzie (Lizzie - UK), 30 June 2003
How long on average do you think it will take me to recover from Grade 3 MCL and LCL damage? It is just that I was supposed to be having surgery on 16 June for an arthroscopy to repair or take out a medial meniscal tear and a LR and the sooner the ligaments are repaired, the sooner I can get this darn fibre glass cast leg cylinder off and get to have the surgery to get my left knee into some sort of order to concentrate on whether or not a have a HTO on my right knee.
TIA
Lizzie xxx
Posted by Lizzie (Lizzie - UK), 17 July 2003
Can anyone answer this one for me 
TIA
Lots of love
Lizzie xxx
Posted by Janet (Janet), 17 July 2003
Lizzie:
I'm not sure because everyone is different. But my daughter had a grade 3 tear of her MCL last summer. She was in a hinged brace for about 6 weeks, then worked with the trainer at her college for several months. She was walking fine and without pain pretty quickly (2-3 months). However, she was a softball catcher and was not cleared to play until about 6 months following her injury. But of course, catching is really hard on the knees.
Janet
Posted by ATsoccergirl (ATsoccergirl), 17 July 2003
Typically an athlete with a grade 3 MCL tear can return to play within a month with a knee brace. With both a MCL and LCL tear the time will be longer since there is a greater amount of instability. If there is any period of immobilization the recovery time will be significantly longer and will have a poorer outcome.
Posted by SL99 (SL99), 17 July 2003
Hi Lizzie,
Normally a grade 3 MCL or LCL would take a couple of months to heal, with braces and physio. But with HMS/EDS sufferers it's likely to take longer with the inherent ligament laxity and poor healing qualities linked with the condition. Things tend to take longer and have to me done more cautiously, as you've already witnessed with having to be in cast rather than a brace for the injury.
Your best bet is to talk thinsg over with your OS and PT about the extra time it will take and the neccessary physio/treatment it will require. Sorry I can't be more help though Darl 
Take care and go carefully with the PT, it's easy to injure other joints doing physio when you are hypermobile so take it easy! Thinking of you and here when you need me. 
Love and hugs....Jo
xxx
Posted by amazonia (amazonia), 19 July 2003
Hi Lizzie,
I don't know if I can answer your specific question about length of time either, since everyone is different in their recovery rates and what they can or can't do to start with. I did complete tears to my ACL/PCL and PLC 1 1/2 years ago, and in May underwent my 3rd surgery - reconstruction of the PCL (allograft) and PLC (hamstring tendon) I also had a HTO in December prior to this reconstruction. Unfortunately 3 weeks before my surgery I slipped and re-tore everything, so when he did the surgery none of the 3 ligament repairs were in place...so I still don't have an ACL. Anyway, I'm now at 9 weeks post op and am doing OK - I was allowed to do partial weight bearing from week 1, and I'm no longer using crutches or a cane. I have a Generation II rehab brace which I wear when I'm walking around outside, but inside I don't use anything. I've been going to the gym and doing some light exercises - and am able to ride the stationary bike already. I also go to the pool and do deep water running which helps with ROM. My OS still doesn't want me doing physio, as he wants 3 mo's for the grafts to heal, and I don't go back to see him until the end of August. The bad news is, that I can already tell there's still a lot of instability laterally as well as from the PCL, so I'm really not sure ultimately how 'successful' the operation was. (the OS said best case scenario would be 70%)
I don't know if any of that helps you with the injury you have, but I have been surprised that things have progressed so quickly after this last surgery. If you have any questions about your possibly upcoming HTO as well - just ask!
Anne
Posted by KJ (KJ), 20 July 2003
Anne
I've been wondering how you have been doing. It's a horrible feeling, not knowing about the outcome of surgery for months and months and yet being worried that it doesn't feel right. How has it all felt so far?
I'm feeling nervous about my surgery as I haven't found anyone who has had anything similar. I also can't bear to think about the pain again - it's only over the last few months that things have settled down to some extent.
These knee things just go on and on!
KJ
Posted by amazonia (amazonia), 20 July 2003
I've actually been surprised at how quickly things seem to have progressed considering the amount of surgery that was done. (6 hours!) I'm walking without much of a limp, and can ride the bike, swim, deep water run etc., but I know that there's still a lot of instability. I couldn't imagine things like running, jumping or changing direction, so there's still a long way to go. However, I'm hopeful that it'll end up being better than it was prior to surgery. I've also come to realize that there really isn't an 'end' to knee injuries....just a continued work in progress with continual changes and readjustments. I never imagined when the injury happened that this would be the result, but there's no point in dwelling on that aspect of it - it was an accident, and accidents happen! I've actually been feeling really positve and happy since the surgery - the long wait and disappointments were the hardest to deal with - and at least now I have something positive to work on. As for the pain, I don't know if I've just become accustomed to how things feel 'not being right', but I was only on prescription pain killers for 1 day out of the hospital before I decided that the side effects were worse than the pain. All in all, out of the 3 surgeries this one has been the easiest to recover from! Keep you chin up, and keep me posted with your plans!
Updated Mon Oct 13 2008