Surgery need it / no more tennis after it?

[KHSOLO]

I need a knee surgery for a broken ligament on my knee, its one of the cruciate ligaments on my left knee

Now my doctor tells me i "should" never play contact sports again specially not tennis since the cruciate ligaments are the ones that hold the knee in place when you change your vector, for instance your leg is pointing to the right but your torso is looking forward

So he says that there is a chance even after full recovery that if i keep playing i will again break it again

I didnt break it playing tennis i broke it playing volleyball some years back but didnt have surgery at the time cause it was recommended that way so now i find myself almost crying

I will take the surgery but im totally positive i should keep playing i just need to know what should i do to have my knee work out so badarse that it will never break the ligaments again

[Mick]

you should get a second and third opinions. if all the doctors are saying the same thing then you should quit the game.

[hifi heretic]

Originally Posted by KHSOLO

I need a knee surgery for a broken ligament on my knee, its one of the cruciate ligaments on my left knee

Now my doctor tells me i "should" never play contact sports again specially not tennis since the cruciate ligaments are the ones that hold the knee in place when you change your vector, for instance your leg is pointing to the right but your torso is looking forward

So he says that there is a chance even after full recovery that if i keep playing i will again break it again

I didnt break it playing tennis i broke it playing volleyball some years back but didnt have surgery at the time cause it was recommended that way so now i find myself almost crying

I will take the surgery but im totally positive i should keep playing i just need to know what should i do to have my knee work out so badarse that it will never break the ligaments again

I would recommend finding the best sports orthopedic surgeon you can find within a few hundred miles. ...Considering the blown out knees that football players recover from I find it hard to believe there is no hope for a recreational tennis player like yourself.

[KHSOLO]

Originally Posted by hifi heretic

I would recommend finding the best sports orthopedic surgeon you can find within a few hundred miles. ...Considering the blown out knees that football players recover from I find it hard to believe there is no hope for a recreational tennis player like yourself.

I have found a bunch of articles and videos on the internet that say it takes about a year to fully recover so i think the dtr was being overly protective about my knee

Ill talk to him later with these articles to see what he thinks

Thanxs for sharing

[badcook]

really sorry to hear about your knee. i sincerely hope you get better and resume regular duties at the courts again.

i've been off tennis last 4 weeks with a busted left knee as well. damaged/tore my cartilage. first opinion gave me only one option - surgery. second opinion is due on the 9th.

just dry swinging my one handed backhands in front of the mirror thinking if my knee was alright federer would have nothing on me.

should start the busted left knee club.

[KHSOLO]

Originally Posted by badcook

really sorry to hear about your knee. i sincerely hope you get better and resume regular duties at the courts again.

i've been off tennis last 4 weeks with a busted left knee as well. damaged/tore my cartilage. first opinion gave me only one option - surgery. second opinion is due on the 9th.

just dry swinging my one handed backhands in front of the mirror thinking if my knee was alright federer would have nothing on me.

should start the busted left knee club.

There is a bunch of stuff on the internet about it, just google up things like acl surgery or acl recovery or knee + tennis and you will see

I posted some videos of the surgery im getting here with my 6 raquets im now selling cause when im back ill get the BLX ones

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...8273909&ref=nf

[couch]

khsolo- I had acl surgery (patella tendon graft) 11 years ago and don't feel like I've missed a beat. I was back on the court feeling comfortable in six months and felt like I was pretty close to 100% in about 9 months. I didn't rush my rehab and did exactly what my doctor and pt said. It was a lot of hard work but it was well worth it. As with a lot of things- you get out of it what you put into it.

Make sure you see a sports physician who understands what you are going through and what your goals are. As you've mentioned there really isn't any reason you shouldn't be able to play tennis after an acl surgery. Just make sure you have the right physician do the surgery and rehab it correctly.

Good luck!

[El Diablo]

heretic forgot to mention that some of those football players who "recover" develop such severe arthritis as a result of returning to the game that some of them can barely walk. When formulating goals, try to look beyond a mere game and consider if you want to be able to get around comfortably for the rest of your life.

[KHSOLO]

Originally Posted by couch

khsolo- I had acl surgery (patella tendon graft) 11 years ago and don't feel like I've missed a beat. I was back on the court feeling comfortable in six months and felt like I was pretty close to 100% in about 9 months. I didn't rush my rehab and did exactly what my doctor and pt said. It was a lot of hard work but it was well worth it. As with a lot of things- you get out of it what you put into it.

Make sure you see a sports physician who understands what you are going through and what your goals are. As you've mentioned there really isn't any reason you shouldn't be able to play tennis after an acl surgery. Just make sure you have the right physician do the surgery and rehab it correctly.

Good luck!

Thats good to know, cheers

[KHSOLO]

Originally Posted by El Diablo

heretic forgot to mention that some of those football players who "recover" develop such severe arthritis as a result of returning to the game that some of them can barely walk. When formulating goals, try to look beyond a mere game and consider if you want to be able to get around comfortably for the rest of your life.

Sure thing, ill make that a priority, no use not being able to walk after 50

[KHSOLO]

Originally Posted by couch

khsolo- I had acl surgery (patella tendon graft) 11 years ago and don't feel like I've missed a beat. I was back on the court feeling comfortable in six months and felt like I was pretty close to 100% in about 9 months. I didn't rush my rehab and did exactly what my doctor and pt said. It was a lot of hard work but it was well worth it. As with a lot of things- you get out of it what you put into it.

Make sure you see a sports physician who understands what you are going through and what your goals are. As you've mentioned there really isn't any reason you shouldn't be able to play tennis after an acl surgery. Just make sure you have the right physician do the surgery and rehab it correctly.

Good luck!

Did you have any feelings of "loosiness" on your knee or have had it since then?

Im terrified of those feelings

[charliefedererer]

Is he going to do the repair arthroscopically?
If so he should get a good look at your menicsi and the overall condition of the surfaces of your knee joint. He can give you more information as to whether you are already on the road to chronic arthritis, or have a pretty clean knee joint. He also should have some feeling as to the quality of the tissues he is repairing in you (i.e. a really shredded tendon or enough healthy tendon to suture to and do an optimal repair).
I'm sure he now is giving an honest opinion on the best thing for your knee over the long term. But he should be able to give you an even better opinion after what he sees at surgery, and in periodic followup examinations as you recover and do your physical therapy.
It is also true when he tells you that a repaired tendon is never as strong as it was before the repair. But I would not yet abandon hope that may be strong enough to return to tennis, albeit after many months of letting it heal.

[KHSOLO]

Originally Posted by charliefedererer

Is he going to do the repair arthroscopically?

Yes he is.

[DrpShot!]

I tore the acl in my right knee 15 years ago playing basketball, it was a total tear. Surgery with a patella tendon graft. Rehabbed for a year then started playing again, slowly at first. The knee never really felt exactly the same, and I've torn menisucs in the same knee three times since then, all while playing tennis. Over time I've also shredded the reparied acl, there's just a sliver left, looks like a frizzed out rope with one shred left on the MRI images. Doc says 15 years is about the warranty on that type of repair anyway, so its time for a new acl surgery. I still play 3 to 4 times a week though, and plan to keep playing after the next surgery, if I actually decide to do it, or when it becomes unavoidable. Doc said if I didn't want to play then I could avoid the surgery, forget that. Without the surgery I'll keep tearing meniscus or other things since the acl is so weak.

You should have the surgery and plan to be playing again in a year, just take the rehab slow. Plan to keep your leg muscles around the joint strong for as long as you want to be playing - lunges are best - and you'll be good to go.

[EKnee08]

Originally Posted by KHSOLO

Sure thing, ill make that a priority, no use not being able to walk after 50

Good point! Thats how I felt after microfracture surgery on my right knee. At a recent follow-up exam by my doc, he told me there is no reason I can't play into my 80s (late 40s now) if I am smart about it. (My left knee has aches and has a similar problem as the right but will not require surgery)
Rewind 20 years ago, I had arthoscopic surgery on my left knee with a well respected sports orthopedist in NYC for a basketball injury. While I was in recovery, he told my family that I would never be able to play tennis again. He kept me on crutches for almost 3 months (different philosophy back then). 1 year later I was fooling around on a tennis court (hadn't played seriously) in over 10 years and the doctor changed his prognosis and allowed me to go back.
Its now been 20 years since the 1st surgery and I can still play. Played last night and have some aches today in the left knee but the doctor said no problem. The one with the microfracuture does not bother me anymore.

Bottom line is your doctor maybe just trying to prepare you for the worst possibility and is giving you a conservative prognosis pre-op. Keep a positive attitude!... and as others have said get a 2nd or 3rd opinion pre and post op!

[EKnee08]

Originally Posted by EKnee08

Good point! Thats how I felt after microfracture surgery on my right knee. At a recent follow-up exam by my doc, he told me there is no reason I can't play into my 80s (late 40s now) if I am smart about it. (My left knee has aches and has a similar problem as the right but will not require surgery)
Rewind 20 years ago, I had arthoscopic surgery on my left knee with a well respected sports orthopedist in NYC for a basketball injury. While I was in recovery, he told my family that I would never be able to play tennis again. He kept me on crutches for almost 3 months (different philosophy back then). 1 year later I was fooling around on a tennis court (hadn't played seriously) in over 10 years and the doctor changed his prognosis and allowed me to go back.
Its now been 20 years since the 1st surgery and I can still play. Played last night and have some aches today in the left knee but the doctor said no problem. The one with the microfracuture does not bother me anymore.

Bottom line is your doctor maybe just trying to prepare you for the worst possibility and is giving you a conservative prognosis pre-op. Keep a positive attitude!... and as others have said get a 2nd or 3rd opinion pre and post op!

...and at worst at some point (when you are older) you could get a knee replacement which I understand has worked out great and allowed older people to regain their mobility as well as play tennis.

[couch]

Originally Posted by KHSOLO

Did you have any feelings of "loosiness" on your knee or have had it since then?

Im terrified of those feelings

No, I have never felt any feelings of looseness in my knee. From what I understand the graft is actually tighter and/or stronger than the original ligament. I don't think there is any reason to be worried about that.

[escii_35]

Originally Posted by KHSOLO

I will take the surgery but im totally positive i should keep playing i just need to know what should i do to have my knee work out so badarse that it will never break the ligaments again

Get it done. Recovery time will depend on age, your own bod and how well you rehab.

My time line:

4 mo to X-Country skiing
6 mo throwing good tele turns
6 mo starting tennis drills and footwork
9 mo starting a 5000 bike trip
12 mo playing tennis (Application for a ranking drop denied, bastages)
16 mo beating -some- of the people I used to.

Things I don't do anymore:

Downhill ski, Basketball

Oh, Wii tennis + bicycle trainer = good times. Investing in the Wii was one of the best rehab purchases I made.

[Fedace]

Originally Posted by Mick

you should get a second and third opinions. if all the doctors are saying the same thing then you should quit the game.

If you keep getting opinion after opinion, you are just searching for a doctor that will tell you what you want to hear. You should seek out a Orthopedic surgeon that specializes in Sports Medicine. I am sure there are some in your city. and tell him what you have done so far and what that other doctor told you. Look at his background and credentials to make sure he is one of the best in the area. and also check out what the reputation or credentials are of your doctor.

[LeeD]

Yeah, Docs always like to prepare you for the worst possible recovery, so they cover their butts. Don't get me wrong, I've relied on Docs more than most, and they do a great job.
Tennis is not a contact sport, unless you count contacting the ground, which you do when you walk to your bathroom. Rugby is a contact sport, as is wrestling, football, karate, judo.
In tennis, when your opponent hits a wide ball, you can choose to say ........" NICE SHOT " ....
One year recovery is nothing. 3 years after surgeries, then you can start to job, is something.
And it all heals, believe me.
You weren't going to make top 30 ATP anyways!