In reply to ellierees:
> Does anybody have any experience of this or know anybody that climbs without an ACL? I would be grateful for any advice.
Yes, right knee. Non functioning ACL for, eh, well no one knows, but consultant thought in excess of 20 yrs. Only came to light when I had an op 6/7 years ago for torn cartilage! Consultant was convinced it was the normal use of the knee and my active hobbies keeping strength in and around the knee and the leg in general that kept everything working without me knowing. I reckon I know the accident that cause the original tearing of ACL and if I'm right it was 30 years ago. Back then, young and stupid, I did not seek medical advice and carried on as normal!
Without a functioning ACL I've hill walked, skied, climbed, scrambled, mountain biked/cycled, run, etc, besides manual work. I do not do much of all that now, except MTB, but that is for other reasons, mainly OA, and not the lack of a functioning ACL. Only problems I ever had were caused by the cartilage op which upset the "tightness" of the joint, tendons, ligaments, strength of muscles and of the tracking of the knee itself which caused mainly general looseness of the joint and hyper extension for about three years. Now rarely happens, although I do get muscle imbalance.
I was refused a reconstruction due to the length of time I had done without an ACL that it was deemed unnecessary. Only downsides is since the op I do need to keep the muscle strength up, so walk and cycle regularly, and very important is to keep the three many muscles groups in the leg in balance. This means specific training, and lots of appropriate stretching. If only the cartilage had not torn, I would likely never had known!
Specifically, with climbing, I have never altered anything due to the lack of ACL functioning, before never knew of the "problem" and after the op, just as normal. Now though can't climb much but that is OA, and not due to ACL.
If you are going to leave as is, can I suggest be patient for a while building up slowly, get a good Physio for specific training exercises, and if necessary (for me anyway) a good sports masseuse for the imbalance of the muscle groups.
Hope that helps.
Any question, feel free to ask.