UKC

So recently i broke my ACL in my left knee and so haven't been climbing, obviously i don't want to loose any strength i might have though. i was wandering if there was anyone out there who has had this type of injury and could give me tips to keep training through it.
i've been swimming and am doing some basic stuff at the gym but that's all, i'd really like to get back to the climbing wall but obviously don't want to strain it.
any help appreciated.
thanks,
Ali Lee

In reply to weelee9985:

This sounds right up your street. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=REtTkCllKQw

In reply to weelee9985:

I ruptured my ACL 4 or 5 years ago - is your plan to get an op or to see if you can live without?

Firstly - see a sports physio and get their advice.
Secondly Take all internet advice with a pinch of salt, I found I got lots of well meaning but really dodgy advice off the internet (normally based on I did xyz and it worked fine - no need to see a physio type folk).

Make the effort to find a good sports physio who understands that you want to get back to sporting form (you might need to go private), rather than be OK to walk to the supermarket. A couple of mates I've had who went through NHS with similar injuries were very frustrated by the fact the physios brief seemed to be to get them capable of walking down the street, but not necessarily capable of playing sports again.

I'd be cautious climbing on it (my physio's advice to me was not to climb at all until it was healed or well into recovery)- twisting movements and unusual loading during climbing or knocking it in a fall, twisting dropping off a boulder problem or first couple of moves on a route etc could easily cause more damage or at least prolong recovery.

Between the injury and the Op, my physio had me doing gentle exercise to strengthen quads (but without increasing inflammation) as these were compensating for the lack of ACL and after the op the stronger these were, the less likely I was to re-injure. The basic idea was to reduce the swelling pre-op whilst strengthening the quads up. Anything that caused more inflammation was a definite no.

Walking on good paths (with poles) and cycling were good exercises both post injury and post surgery to strengthen the leg again. Some gym exercises too, but definitely not running or anything else with a lot of impact, or the quad curl type machines (which put a huge amount of load through the joint - really bad during early stages of re-hab, and the later weak periods.

I ended up not climbing between injury in January and about May. Frustrating, but massively less so than re-injuring and having to spend yet more weeks / months off. By the time I was climbing and properly hill walking again I was actually the fittest I'd been in a long, long time as I'd been out on the bike most mornings / evenings for long cycles or in the gym to bring fitness /strength back for months at that point!

Anyway, hope the recovery goes well!

Cheers,

Stu

In reply to weelee9985:

I had an ACL rebuild about 7 months ago.

I started climbing again after 2 months of physio and gym work. You do have to significantly change your style to look after the injury. No sudden dynamic movement and forget about bouldering altogether until you're happy to drop off from the top and take the impact.

Actually climbing in a more static controlled style can be good and will help you maintain core strength while you are recovering.

The main piece of advice is to make sure you don't substitute other exercise for your physio and continually update your physio on your progression. If you're not happy with it get yourself additional sessions booked in at your local hospital.

Remember - Ice, Compression, Elevation after every session if you can. Managing swelling/inflamation is the key to quick recovery. And be patient. It's a big injury. Total recovery is at least 9 months and there are no shortcuts trust me.

Simon

In reply to weelee9985:

Hi Ali.

I'm a physio and I can't emphasise enough how important it is to see a qualified physiotherapist re a suitable exercise programme. They'll need to know a full history: what caused it, were there any other injuries at the time, what is the extent of the ACL injury i.e. is it sprained/"overstretched", partially or fully ruptured, as well as knowing your past medical history to determine your fitness/tolerance to exercise. I guess you've seen a consultant/had some tests done already to confirm the diagnosis? If its a full rupture, it means one of the four main ligaments in the knee has torn, and these hold the knee together, which means you may have instability in the knee, or in other words a feeling its loose/wobbly and gives way occasionally. Again all this info is v imp to know before planning an exercise programme and its vital you get advice from someone who's seen you and done some preliminary physical tests as every injury/situation is different.

Having said all that StuDoig and Zootloops experiences are a good reflection of what you can expect if you end up having an operation. There is quite a lot you can do to keep reasonably fit and tone up muscles to prevent muscle wastage while carrying the injury, but there may be some positions/activities which you have to avoid to prevent aggravating it, e.g twisting knee. Your physio can tell you.

PS Sorry MischaHY but the video is irrelevant as the person in the video has injured an ankle ligament and not their knee ACL. It may be poss for Ali to do some training while deciding re whether to have an op or not but their physio can judge that.

In reply to weelee9985:
I had the op 9 years ago after a full rupture. Ran the sahara marathon 2 years after, did ironman, climbed some fairly tough routes and have skied full seasons since without a brace! It's really not as bad as it feels when you first do it!

I had the op done pretty quickly (within 6 weeks) but once the swelling was done I did; lots of swimming (not breaststroke), general upper body stuff and light cycling. I was running (very carefully) 12 weeks after the op. I didn't climb much at all, no bouldering for about 9 months, but did loads of top roping at the wall and a little bit of leading.

In reply to Cuillin Calling:

This is fantastic advice, one of the best I have seen on UKC for ACL injuries. There are some great physio's around who can really help, and can recommend some if you require, depending on where you based (I am not a physio!)but I feel that climbers are sometimes "cheapskates" and want free advice, look how happy they/we are when we find cheap/lost gear!!! and I am a guilty as the rest!!
Pay for a quality physio, ignore the internet, and you will be "having fun" much quicker than you first thought.
Presume you have had MR scan?
Cheers
Nick B

In reply to weelee9985:

I've had a broken ACL for almost 20 years now - there are plenty of sports that are ruled out as a result, but I've not had any problems with climbing. I think this is because you're always using muscle tension when the joint is under load anyway in climbing. Obviously contact sports like football are ruled out and sports with sudden movements like tennis and squash can only be played at a fairly sedate level, but plenty of other things like climbing and running are largely unaffected.

Regards, Barry.