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ACL tear pain

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ACL tear pain

Old 03-05-22, 10:18 PM
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walkingCorpse
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ACL tear pain

3 years ago I had my right knee ACL torn by falling right over a tight rope that stung inside my knee, then after it healed I had been able to cycle just fine (the seat post height should be that the knee is fully extended), although I have had to manage with a knee brace for the excessive walking which I do also. But about a month ago I fell from a motorcycle and the knee got injured in the general ACL area and its been a month without exercising on the cycle now. I was hoping that after the acute phase of the healing is over I would be able to cycle but when I tried yesterday it still pains in the frontal ACL area when pressing down the pedal if I increase the resistance. Also while pedalling back up there is some sort of a slight clicking sensation in the middle of the knee joint, not in the front, which is a new type of pain that is noticed after this more recent injury. These 3 years I had been able to cycle, and I thought this new injury last month should be just an impact injury without causing any more severing but I'm now getting concerned, and losing the ability to do the only form of exercise I have been able to. Any advice on what could be going on?

Last edited by walkingCorpse; 03-05-22 at 10:43 PM.
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Old 03-05-22, 10:30 PM
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DangerousDanR
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Yes. See someone who can take an MRI of that knee and tell you what the issue is. Nobody can tell you what is injured without an accurate image of the inside of your knee.
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Old 03-09-22, 12:46 PM
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Bmach
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How can you heal without knowing what the problem is? How did you know you tore your ACL the first time? A torn ACL will not heal on its own. You need to get that knee checked out by a doctor.
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Old 03-30-22, 05:04 PM
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Sounds a lot like when I tore my ACL. Pain went away in a couple days and I stopped thinking about it. Went to the orthopedist four years later. One of the first things he said was most young guys (I was one once) in my position only make it three years. It did not heal, you have just been relying on collateral strength in other places.

Nearly all ACL injuries can be handled with just a few simple exercises. Don’t fake it on your own. Go to the doctor, go to the physical therapist. If your doctor is a surgery-only doctor get another doctor. The docs who don’t do surgery at all are called sports orthopedists. That’s a board certified title. They know better than anyone who really does have to have surgery because they lose real fast when they attempt to treat someone with physical therapy when that patient really did require the knife.

Skiers and other competitors use physical therapy for ACL because they are back in training and back in competition far quicker than after surgery. Thirty years later I have to remember to do my exercises for a couple days about twice a year. My nephew who was a World Cup skier blew out both knees more than once and is therapy only, same as all the guys he used to race.
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Old 03-31-22, 04:38 AM
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See a doctor. Blindly trying stuff and seeing if it works could make everything worse. /thread
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Old 03-31-22, 05:10 AM
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You might have better luck if you could find a forum dedicated to orthopedic medicine, not a bicycle-related forum. All you're going to get here are personal experiences and anecdotal stories.

Better yet, just ask your orthopedic doctor what the MRI actually shows, and follow their advice. Getting a second opinion is always a good idea, but you're not going to get that here.
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Old 03-31-22, 07:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Jeff Neese
Better yet, just ask your orthopedic doctor what the MRI actually shows, and follow their advice. Getting a second opinion is always a good idea, but you're not going to get that here.
Yes, doctor! It's an aggravated knee injury, they're always complicated.

Au contraire, he may get many, many opinions here, they'll just be contradictory and ill-informed.

Wait long enough and someone will suggest supplements, another pickle juice, another a "good" weight loss diet, another will suggest adjusting the saddle height, and someone will blame the knee pain on a driver's cell phone use.
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Old 03-31-22, 07:21 AM
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Originally Posted by livedarklions
Wait long enough and someone will suggest supplements, another pickle juice, another a "good" weight loss diet, another will suggest adjusting the saddle height, and someone will blame the knee pain on a driver's cell phone use.


I blame the victim.
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Old 03-31-22, 08:11 AM
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I always consult a bike forum before the doctor when I need medical advice.

ACLs don't heal. They need to be replaced surgically. I have had ACL surgery on both knees.
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Old 04-02-22, 10:44 AM
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Originally Posted by walkingCorpse
3 years ago I had my right knee ACL torn by falling right over a tight rope that stung inside my knee, then after it healed I had been able to cycle just fine (the seat post height should be that the knee is fully extended), although I have had to manage with a knee brace for the excessive walking which I do also. But about a month ago I fell from a motorcycle and the knee got injured in the general ACL area and its been a month without exercising on the cycle now. I was hoping that after the acute phase of the healing is over I would be able to cycle but when I tried yesterday it still pains in the frontal ACL area when pressing down the pedal if I increase the resistance. Also while pedalling back up there is some sort of a slight clicking sensation in the middle of the knee joint, not in the front, which is a new type of pain that is noticed after this more recent injury. These 3 years I had been able to cycle, and I thought this new injury last month should be just an impact injury without causing any more severing but I'm now getting concerned, and losing the ability to do the only form of exercise I have been able to. Any advice on what could be going on?
https://www.bikeforums.net/training-...-meniscus.html

^^^Thread on my possible torn meniscus^^^

Not too long ago I injured what I believe was my right medial (innner) meniscus, but after sometime I also believe I injured my ACL as well. I do feel pain on my meniscus at times when I do twisting motion; however, when I fully squat down (all the way), I feel discomfort in the back of my knee, leading me to believe I also injured the ACL.

At one point, shortly after I injured my knee, it was locking up bad, even locked up on a bike ride. However, that locking is now a thing of the past and I simply have discomfort on the meniscus, but the discomfort in the back of knee is gone...until last week when I attempted to do some squatting. I didn't attempt anything crazy, but squatted about 300lbs and felt fine, until the next day. No pain, but the discomfort is back now when I squat Ass to Grass (all the way down).

I can still cycle pain free, but this has probably lengthened my recovery for getting back running at full capacity. My point is, if something is causing pain, I would stop it and find another exercise to do what does not cause too much pain. For me, that is working out with machines vs free weights -- then get back into free weights, a little more cautiously. And continue doing very slow, easy runs.

Luckily I can ride with no problems, but it wasn't like that for about a month. I would seriously consider NOT using a knee brace. I know I could have reduced the pain I had in the early days by using a knee brace, but I wanted to allow myself to feel the pain, so I could adjust.
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Old 08-13-22, 04:54 AM
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I've had a missing ACL for over 22 years. Just found out. Met with one of the best knee surgeons there is and his fellow. He advised just leaving my knee as is. No surgery. He was also especially enthusiastic about cycling. Less so about basketball. If you have a proper fitting bike, bike touring helps strengthen one's knees. You are good to go.
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Old 08-14-22, 08:27 AM
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One of the few surgeries I'd recommend

Originally Posted by prj71
ACLs don't heal. They need to be replaced surgically. I have had ACL surgery on both knees.
I tore my left ACL and tried to let it heal and slowly return to normal activities. Walking, cycling, easy jogging, no problem. First time I played basketball, I pulled up at the foul line on a fast break, to take a shot. Boom, reinjured just like that.

Went to sports doc after that. He diagnosed full tear, recommended reconstructive surgery using middle third of my patella tendon as a replacement ligament. I had the surgery, wore an ACL brace for sports from then on, and have been generally ok since.

Surgery was 29 years ago. I had pain and arthritis the first couple years, and would take about 8 ibuprofen on days when I played sports. Now I cycle, walk, and golf on foot with no brace and only slight discomfort.

If you don't get reconstructive surgery you can reinjure it easily, and suffer torn cartilage as well. Losing cartilege can come back to haunt you when youre old. I've known people who tried to go without surgery as I did initially, and they all reinjured it and had surgery later. Best to get it done soon if you plan to do sports or hiking in mountains, etc. My surgeon said that without surgery all you can do is walk and cycle, and you can reinjure as easily as a false step on the edge of a curb.
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