Any footballers torn their ACL AND MCL?

[nick157]

Hey,

I've posted this on the MCL board as well

I tore both my ACL and MCL to grade 3 a year ago. I am currently 5 months post ACL reconstruction and coming along nicely. However, despite it being a year later, my MCL still feels VERY weak. I had a kick about with friends last weekend and still found it extremely difficult to side foot a football, or tackle with the injured leg. It still has no strength at all. I did mention this to my OS some months ago but he brushed me off saying the MCL will heal on it's own. However, at the point of injury I was never braced (which it seems is common practice with a MCL injury) and I'm worried I will never regain its strength. Could I possibly need surgery on my MCL as well if the tear was that bad? I'm aware "rarely does a MCL injury require surgery" but am confused as to why it does not seem to be healing (very well) after all this time

Anyone who has some experience of this, your input would be helpful.

Thanks

[tiggs]

Hi Nick,
I,m not a footballer, but have just had my MCL completely repaired along with few others but if your MCL is completely gone it wont repair by itself! My OS was explaining to his team that when they examined my knee and pushed it (did all the various tests)around the reason it didn,t hurt or cause significant pain was because it was no longer in tact. He said that if it were it would be extremely painfull when examining it. I would say it was painfull to walk on though but thats a different type of pressure as it obviously effected and put a strain on other areas of the knee to compensate!

If your worried push to have it checked out. My xrays showed up the spaces in the knee joint due to MCL and they compared bad knee with my good knee on xray also.

This is only my experience but cant hurt to have it checked again.
Good luck Tiggs.

[TweakFreak]

Grade 3 MCL can actualyl repair.  The normal healing period is 9 - 12 weeks.

[susanrdh]

Hello,

     Unfortunately a Grade 3 tear of the MCL will not heal on its own and will continue to cause you significant pain as well as instability if it is not treated properly.    I had my MCL reconstructed 2 yrs ago after learning that I had a Grade 3 rupture which I had for a very long time and never knew it because I was misdiagnosed for many yrs.    Having an unstable & compromised MCL is serious and I myself am still having much medial sided pain now over 2 yrs. after the recon. because there may still be some unrecognized problems along my medial side such as a deficient posteromedial corner, a ruptured posteromedial capsule, or unstable posterior oblique ligament.    I recommend you discuss your MCL problems in detail w/your OS and even if he seems to be paying more attention to you I would still obtain an evaluation from another well experienced OS who has much knowledge w/multi-ligament injuries.    Don't ignore this issue because it will only get worse.    I wish you the best.

Susan     

[TweakFreak]

Im not sure where you guys are getting your information from but a grade 3 mcl can heal on its own.  Only in a few cases is surgery needed.

[smiley196]

The weakness your feeling may also be just because your legs are quite as strong as they were before, but Im not sure. My MCL is still loose, but is healing well. A good person to ask for advice about the MCL is Shade. SHe is having some troubles with getting her MCL to heal, and would probably have alot of info on it for you. Goodluck
krista

[shadehawk]

Im not sure where you guys are getting your information from but a grade 3 mcl can heal on its own.  

  not always......

Nick,

It has been explained to me like this:  It depends where your MCL is torn/how badly it is stretched/if the medial retinaculum is also torn/stretched!! 
If your MCL tear is at the lower attachment point you'll probably need surgery - they reattach and reposition the MCL.  If your MCL is stretched out it will need to be restitched and reattached to tighten it down - if in bad shape (once inside) the OS will reconstructuct the ligament.

Mine would have had a chance to heal possibly if I had been put into a hinged brace 16 months ago - wish I had found my current OS way back then.....

You could always get a second opinion. 

Good luck to you,

Shade

[susanrdh]

If a Grade 3 MCL tear is suspected for instance upon clinical examination, the ONLY real way to determine the integrity and appearance of your MCL is to have a thorough diagnostic arthroscopy.    If you have greater than 10mm of joint space opening then a Grade 3 tear is definite as was in my situation.    My MCL was literally totally ruptured from my femur.    I also sought the advice of Dr. Frank Noyes who agreed that reconstruction was the only choice for me.    On a conservative note, you can wear a brace for 12 wks to possibly help but I have not talked with many people who have had Grade 3 MCL tears who had successful outcomes after being braced.     The end result was to have the MCL  reconstructed.   

[nick157]

Thanks for all the responses guys. I was of the opinion that surgery was only required in the most extreme of MCL cases. The thing is, I can guarantee when I mention this to my surgeon on Thursday he'll brush me off and say it's fine, probably admiring his reconstructive work on the ACL - I have no idea how proficient he is with MCL's so I'm thinking a second opinion may be the way to go.

For info, he told me back before the ACL reconstruction that a MCL tear will not heal if there is an ACL deficiency, so I was expecting to see a marked improvement in MCL feeling after my ACL surgery, but this has not happened.

I mentioned this to my PT last time I saw him, he tested the MCL and said it is a little looser (apparently they always heal a little laxer anyway) but he said this wouldn't cause me problems. I'm specifically thinking about football - sidefooting a ball with my injured leg is extremely difficult if I try it with any sort of power, not a good sign seeing as my ultimate goal (pardon the pun) is to get back to football.

What I would like, is for someone to examine/scan me without the knowledge of the ACL reconstruction and take the MCL on it's own (though the 6 inch scar across my patellar makes this rather difficult, not to mention to screws coming up on the MRI!  )

[tiggs]

Hi Nick,

I would get a 2nd opinion, it doesn,t matter if they can see your surgery scar, my OS knew I had hda surgery but that was it. I gave him no further info, nor did he want it !! I had new xrays which he did in a totally different way to any of the others, but touch wood it seems to have paid off and for the 1st time in 4 years my knee feels the most stable it has ever been and I,m ONLY 3 weeks post op. !
He looked at my knee from a totally different angle to that of ACL injury.
Have you found a new Os to see ?

Tiggs.