Complete Rupture of Patella Tendon, ACL, MCL and tear in ITB and meniscus

[JC55]

Perplex, WOW!  Quite the injury.  I guess they did the RPT and IT repair first since the other injuries may be able to be performed by arthroscopy due to their location in the knee joint space?  It makes me cringe a little thinking about another surgery, but it seems the worse is over in your case.  I really can't add much to what everyone else has said, but remember to listen to your knee.  ROM is a destination, some of us take the non-stop flight while others have a lay over.  Either way you still get to where you are going.  In my case, I reached 155+ before the 16 week mark but did it in a very methodical way.  But as you say, you are a quick healer. 
I hope you continued success in your recovery!
PS: glad to hear you are coping mentally.  I was a VERY active 50 year old and my injury caused great anxiety.  I really felt a loss and it took me awhile to put on my "happy face" 😃

[Stuart Rulka]

Perplexing. I certainly sympathize with your predicament. Most of us have trouble coping with one injury never mind the multitude you have sustained. Kudos for your positive attitude!
  My personal thanks for relating an experience similar to my own. Another "Nutter!" I too was walking sans crutches at five days but not having a PT in the family experienced a fair amount of trepidation when my PT told me to jump on the bike and see how far I could go,forward and back, at 2 weeks, my first visit. A Professional myself, I trusted him, (I knew his CV) and at 3 weeks I was able to complete a full revolution, without load. I never looked back , and at six weeks resumed a relatively normal,and active lifestyle!
  For the record I turned 66 one week ago.

[Perplexing]

Hey guys it’s me again.

Not going to lie, it’s been a tough ride; there were times when I broke down. I am sure I don’t have to tell you guys that this injury affects all facets of your life. But I am still hanging in there and refuse to give up. I have my second surgery coming up on April 11th. This time the surgeon is going to repair the ACL, MCL and Meniscus. On my last visit at the 2 month follow-up he asked me to take off the brace. So for the past 3 weeks or so I have been walking without any support. Still feel wobbly but it’s coming along. Rehab is picking up, a lot of strength work.

Currently I have 150 degrees ROM. I can stand on one leg (the affected knee). I can do leg raises every which way. I can go up the stairs. Although, coming down is a little challenging. So feels good. But at the same time it saddens me to know that he will slice me open again from the same place, may be not all the way. And poke holes on the side. All of this is going to lead to loss of strength and muscle atrophy AGAIN!

Oh well it is what it is. I did get to see the video surveillance footage of my accident and after reviewing it realized that on the way down (maybe a 2 feet high jump), my hips were slightly facing to the left which made my knees go in that direction as well. And as soon as I landed on the trampoline the right knee buckled to the left.

I really appreciate everyone’s feedback and input. I really couldn’t have done this without the help of this site.

[SellaVee]

Good luck with the surgery tomorrow and keep us posted on how this next lot of rehab goes.  You'll get there in the end.

[John42]

Likewise - good luck with the upcoming surgery - 150ROM is brilliant, but listen to your knee - remember the keyword  PATIENCE


JohnK/ Manchester UK

[Stuart Rulka]

Perplexing. Suggest you read the post by SE27Eagle (aka James) on the RQT thread. His is the best summary of the healing process I have seen!
 Good luck tomorrow.
John42 . I have never paid much attention to ROM, with my stocky build it was not great to start with, but pedalling a bike at 3 weeks I was probably over 100 myself

[fishy]

perplexing, congratulations, your surgery should be behind you by now. Enjoy the meds, keep us posted on your journey...patience and we all leek forward to your next posting... bob

[JC55]

Perplexing, hope all went well.

[ialzeera]

Hello Perplexing and everyone else,

This post has honestly helped me get through my injury woes as I have quite a similar injury and could not find much info about it online.

I am a 22-year-old male from Bahrain and would consider myself a very athletic and active person. On April 21st, 2014 I was playing football (aka soccer in the US) and got tackled from behind only to find myself on the ground shouting in pain with my left leg basically frozen at a 90 degree angle. It didn't look right and definitely did not feel right.

To make a long story short, I was taken to the hospital and the x-ray showed no broken bones. The MRI, however, had plenty to show. I was informed that I had the following problems with my knee:
1. Patellar Tendon tear with secondary patella alta
2. ACL tear
3. Bucket-handle tear of the lateral meniscus
4. Tear of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus
5. MCL and LCL grade II sprain
and a few other things

On April 23rd I had my patellar tendon surgery and now i'm slowly recovering. The doc said that the rest of the injuries can wait, kind of like the impression I got from Perplexing.

I really like what you guys have built here as this website has acted as an informative resource as well as a great support system. Thank you Perplexing for all the information you have shared. It has helped me a lot mentally and physically. Please keep on updating us with your progress and I will hopefully do the same.

Currently, I am 25 days into recovery. I was in a full leg cast for 19 days post surgery and have been in a brace for the past 6 days. Currently, the doctor has allowed me a maximum of 30 degrees ROM and will change it to 45 degrees ROM tomorrow.

Overall, it's been a tough road that I do not wish upon anyone. But, I'm keeping my head up high and looking for motivation where I can find it. I hope you guys keep on sharing your experiences as I've really found very little information on such a combination of a knee injury. Any info would be very much appreciated! I am looking for the do's and don'ts, what I can leave to natural healing, and what I can do myself to push the healing process even further.

Best of luck to you Perplexing and to everyone else out there. Let's make sure we learn from such hiccups and return stronger than ever.

[Perplexing]

Hey everyone limpy here.

 ialzeera I am so very sorry to hear about your injury and if I say I know how you feel, I really mean it. I wish there was something I could say that would magically make things okay. But the truth is its a hard and tough road. But there is definitely hope and light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

I know I haven't been here in a while so apologize for that. My rehab had been slow, I was walking fine without a limp and by looking at me you wouldn't have known I had an injury.

But something happened couple of days ago. I moved some furniture around the living room. Nothing too heavy and nothing that I thought at the time would have caused problems. But later on that night my knee was hurting and the pain was different. When I woke up the next morning, it felt wobbly. And since then its been three days its been hurting off and on and feeling wobbly. I can't pin point what exactly is wrong and where the wobbliness is coming from. I just know there is something wrong. I can walk fine, go up the stairs fine. But just feel unsure of the knee, like it will give out.

So needless to say have an appointment scheduled tomorrow with the surgeon. Lets see what he says, I honestly don't think I did anything that bad to cause a tendon/ligament to tear. There is no swelling, no bruise, and the pain is not constant either.

The main thing I guess would be the unsure feeling that the knee is going to give out if I put all my weight on it. I really hope nothing is torn and I don't have to get another surgery.

[Perplexing]

... one thing I forgot to say that my PT discharged me two weeks ago. Saying I didn't need to come anymore. I have full ROM, both extension and flexion. My quad has gained muscle and looks slightly smaller than the uninjured leg.

[John42]

Hi Ialzeera
Welcome to KneeGuru

If you look at the thread Ruptured Quadricep/Tendon surgery thread, you will then learn a great deal about your serious and rare injury, with a long rehab period.

Also read the undermentioned thread, as it cotains quite a number of documents which I have put together with KneeGuru.

Ask questions, many fellow buddies to help you.

Take care
JohnK/ Manchester

p.s. Have been to Bahrain a long time ago, before the bridge was built linking S.A to Bahrain.

https://www.facebook.com/QuadricepsPatellarTendonRupture

[Perplexing]

...just got back from the surgeon's office and apparently all is well

He said that I just strained the MCL and the reason it hurts so much is because the way I injured my medial side of the knee. Its like a clean cut all the way to the back of the knee. So so the cut goes through the MCL, capsule, menisuc, flesh, muscle...etc.

I am glad there isn't anything majaor wrong. I just don't like this wobbly feeling. He prescribed some NSAIDs and said I am doing great and that I should stay away from furniture...LOL

[ialzeera]

Hey guys,

It's great to hear from you John42 and Perplexing, and I'm glad all is well with your with your knee Perplexing.

Just thought I'd give everyone a few updates and ask for a few tips.

Currently, I'm at 11 weeks post operation. I can walk fine, do leg raises, go up the stairs (not down), balance on one leg, and I just started muscle building exercises like squats, light leg press, light extensions, and a few other exercises. Due to the meniscus tears that still haven't been treated, I do feel pain when exercising and I try to go really easy whenever I feel like the pain is getting too much in the meniscus areas. The pool has helped me a lot quite frankly. The water resistance helped me fix my walk and has also strengthened my leg and I've been able to stay in shape by swimming everyday.

Having said all that, I am still struggling to regain my full ROM back, and was wondering what kind of exercises you guys used to get yours back. Active ROM on my injured leg is at 125 and passive ROM is close to 130. Getting back my ROM back has been the hardest part so far. So, I am not sure what kind of experiences you guys had trying to regain ROM but I would appreciate any information, tips, and insights.

Hope to hear from you guys soon!

[John42]

Hi ialzeera

You will not get your full ROM back for about six months and even then there might be a shortage due to loss of the tendon during your operation - be safe and say that anything over 120ROM is a bonus and you should be able to accomplish most movements - DONT push it in the fear that you may reruputure
your .

Listen to your knee - PATIENCE is required

Keep posting
JohnK/ Manchester UK