Partial ACL rupture

[tobsta14]

Hi i'm Toby, 19 years old. I unfortunately had a dislocation of the left patella when kick boxing on 7th Oct 2010. I had many physio therapy sessions however this did not help. I finally had an MRI scan and received the results around 3 weeks ago.

Results show 'left partial ACL rupture and bony oedema of the lateral femoral condyle and lateral tibia plateau'. I believe that this is bone marrow bruising, which is painful and still is after 3 months. I don't know how long it will last however I am due to see a knee surgeon within the next few weeks. I think i will push for the ACL reconstruction as I am a competitive tennis player, I have read many stories of people without surgery who were unable to go back to competitive sport, with many ending up with a fully ruptured ACL.

I would be interested with any comments towards my post. I would be happy to take any advice, especially about the painful bone bruising as I am unfamiliar with it.

Thank you:), Toby

[vickster]

I had bone bruising in the femoral condyle - it is nasty - can easily take 6 months to resolve, indeed up to 12 months.  I had 2 MRIs - extensive oedema in October, but not obvious in August.  So I guess for me it resolved within 10 months.

Good luck

[Snowy]

I had bone bruising classified as "moderate" on the MRI after my ACL rupture. If I recall right, I started feeling some improvement at around 3-4 months...right before the bones were drilled for my ACL reconstruction. That took my mind off the bruising. I've heard that it typically takes about 6 months to resolve, but can be longer if the bruising is bad.

I also think you're doing the right thing looking at reconstruction as an option. If the knee isn't stable, then you've torn the ACL badly enough that it's no longer providing lateral support during joint movement. This leaves you at risk of further damage to other structures in the knee if you're injured again. I was in a similar situation in that I suffered a partial ACL rupture kickboxing five years ago; it was misdiagnosed at the time so I simply struggled on, but the knee never felt right and I eventually ruptured the ACL completely in a relatively tame skiing accident. If I knew then what I know now, I'd definitely have had the reconstruction at the time of the original injury.

Good luck, and do let us know if you have any questions or concerns - while most of us on this board are not medical experts, there are lots of folk here who have been through ACL rupture and repair and can share their experience and advice.

[tobsta14]

Thank you Vickster and Snowy. That really does give me a better understanding of what I have. I just got the date of when to see the knee surgeon and thats in 1 month time, so hopefully it gives the bone a little more time to heal (as it would have been 4 months by then)..and then probably another month or so to get the operation, hopefully.
At the moment i still can't walk up stairs without serious pain, so its quite bad, and also the knee is giving way everywhere i walk. I just cant wait to have the operation and get on a recovery like you.

I actually read a few of your previous posts Snowy, and found we do have a similar situation, I will just make sure i dont go skiing anytime soon ha.
But thanks again I hope your recovering well from your reconstruction!! I will keep you posted on my situation.