Should I have ACL reconstruction?

[Polejen]

Hi all,

I found this forum when trying to find answers to some questions and this is my first post.

I completely tore my ACL nearly 6 weeks ago as well as a couple of other injuries. It was only officially diagnosed a week ago after an MRI. Unfortunately the knee is still very swollen and the range of movement I have is still very restricted. However the knee surgeon has spoken to me about ACL reconstruction surgery. I'm not sure if I should go for it or not.  I partake in pole fitness (pole dancing but not in a club) and I'm worried that if I don't have the surgery I won't be able to return as it requires quite a bit of pivoting and knee holds. There is also the concern of running around playing with my 3 young children and American Bulldog puppy to consider. Are these activities I can continue doing without the surgery or are they going to be harder?

I know its a decision I need to make for myself but I'm just looking for some advice really on what is possible with/without surgery so I can make a completely informed decision.

Thanks!

[Vickster]

Sorry to hear of your injury. There's a bunch of articles in the learning portfolio area of the site including

https://www.kneeguru.co.uk/KNEEnotes/primers/cruciate-ligaments/cruciate-ligament-reconstruction
https://www.kneeguru.co.uk/KNEEnotes/articles/journal-interpretations/2016/2014-anterior-cruciate-ligament-reconstruction

The biggest issue is that if your knee is unstable and you participate in high impact activities there's a risk of doing further damage to the structures in the knee, such as the articular cartilage on the bone surfaces, which if damaged are extremely hard to fix and can lead to much more advanced arthritis down the line

Just be aware that recovery from ACL surgery can be reasonably expected to take 12 months plus and it's a pretty hard intense rehab especially the first 3-6 months