I have been following these forums for sometime now and have been impressed with the amount of knowledge and support shared on this site, but seen as none of the previous topics seem to fit my situation quite right, I figured it was time I post my own. So here I am, part of the knee club that nobody wanted to join
In December (8.5 months ago) I tore my ACL, almost complete sMCL, and got a bucket handle tear in my external meniscus. I had ACL reconstruction (BPB) and two sutures in the meniscus 7 months ago. I am a professional athlete so I have been doing my rehab religiously and have seen a lot progress. However the one area that I am most worried about is my MCL. Of all the injuries to my knee, the MCL was by far the most painful/swollen/bruised… it was pretty bad. I had to wait about a month and a half to get surgery to let the swelling go down and to let the MCL try to heal a bit. Even though it was still pretty lax, the doctor decided not to touch the MCL as its best to leave the MCL to heal on its own. I know that in the vast majority of cases the MCL should heal up just fine in a month or two, but mine has a persistent feeling of instability. It doesn't hurt (more than expected) and it certainly has healed a lot, but when valgus force is applied it moves and I can still feel it open up a bit. I also notice a strange feeling in my medial upper tibia area when I make certain movements - as if something is pulling or maybe moving slightly - when I make certain fast movements.
As extra information, there was also some damage done to the pes anserine tendons, bursa, and retinaculum, as well as some straining to the hamstring tendons. The swelling at the time was crazy, and now it's much better but still present in that area and the external adjacent area on the other side of the patellar tendon.
Everything else feels really good except the instability on the medial side. My physical trainer is very good, but she has suggested to just wait and see if it will continue to heal on its own. It could be fine but it also could be a problem, and I'm scared that I might need surgery again to repair the MCL. I play basketball professionally and my knee is crucial to my performance (obviously haha), so I'm pretty nervous about the whole situation. If anyone has been in a situation like this or knows what could be going on, I would super appreciate any help you can give!!
Thanks!!