Torn ACL

Surf Zombie said:
My 2007 9th grader just tore her ACL in a game. Essentially half way through her HS season. Cleared a ball with her right foot and as she was bringing it back down slipped on the wet turf and her knee twisted awkwardly.

We are In the process of scheduling surgery. Will miss the rest of her HS season and probably all (most?) of her ECNL season which is early December-late May.

Anyone else been through it and have any tips on the recovery process? She made it from U8 until now without ever being injured, so it’s going to be a big adjustment I’m sure.
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So my DD is 8 months post surgery this week and also has her return to play test with her surgeon in a couple days.

Crazy how fast it flew by, which was hard to imagine when the injury first happened. She starts her sophomore HS season in early September, so she is on track for that. Running, doing PT and strength work 5 days a week this summer. She said the hardest part (physically) was the first week after surgery and (mentally) watching her teammates play while she had to watch from the bench because she wanted to play so bad.

Just wanted to say a quick thank you for all the great advice on this thread since my original post. I hope the rest of your DD’s are back in action and killing it.
 
Echoing SurfZombie's post its nice being on the other side of the tunnel journey to recovery. My daughter got cleared right at the end of last month, her club team is on a bit of a break but she is looking forward to Surf Cup this weekend. She could probably play a full 90 minutes right now but we are still asking the coach to throttle her time to 20 min's a half to make sure she is fit for it. I would love to take credit for my daughter's recovery but it's all her and the extraordinary work of my spouse who spent countless hours, driving to PhysTherapy, and one-on-one training with my daughter. I was just the emotional cheerleader, admin and money guy. Biggest thing to anyone coming into this thread with a daughter or son starting the process I would say is make sure your daughter/son's expectations are realistic, don't rush to a six month return to sport because "FAMOUS PLAYER X" did. Put in the time, the homework and don't neglect physical fitness along the way so when you do get the RTS from your PhysTherapist you are physically ready not only injury leg ready.
 
Hi all, this my first time posting on here and unfortunately looking for a support community as we just found out my 14 year old son has an acl tear. We haven’t met with a knee surgeon yet but wondering if you have tips on OC surgeon or recommendations. Thanks
 
anita said:
Hi all, this my first time posting on here and unfortunately looking for a support community as we just found out my 14 year old son has an acl tear. We haven’t met with a knee surgeon yet but wondering if you have tips on OC surgeon or recommendations. Thanks
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I'm sorry to be reading this and I'm not in Orange County (I'm in Northern California) but whoever you see, my strong rec would be that she or he has a significant practice in pediatric orthopedics. It's great if a surgeon works with this pro team or that college team but you want someone who works a lot with adolescents (athletes in particular if your son is aspiring to higher level play). A 14yo's physiology, mentality, etc is not the same as a 20yo college athlete's or a pro. All the best to your son (and to you as you have to navigate this as well)
 
Thanks for that. At this point trying to figure out how to stay proactive even though we need to wait for surgery until the swelling is down. Has anyone got advice on resources for strengthening the leg before surgery? It sound like this can help with the recovery process but want to make sure we do the right exercises.
 
anita said:
Thanks for that. At this point trying to figure out how to stay proactive even though we need to wait for surgery until the swelling is down. Has anyone got advice on resources for strengthening the leg before surgery? It sound like this can help with the recovery process but want to make sure we do the right exercises.
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It's amazing how fast leg strength falls off after surgery. Our surgeon had DD doing PT before surgery to get the leg as strong as possible. Since the knee is weakened, you'll need to be careful to avoid injuring it further, so I recommend a professional PT guide you.
 
I have an appointment set up with PT for “prehab” on Monday so we are eager to get started with that. As I am doing more research I am reading about the BEAR method for ACL repairs. Did anyone consider this option? It’s a pretty new way of helping the ACL repair itself and there are 5 pediatric orthopedic surgeons in socal that do this. I’m not sure what type of procedure will be best for my son because he is still growing but will hopefully be able to speak to knee specialists next week.

I’m also wondering how did it is work out for your child to stay connected to the team? I’m wondering what to do as he is relatively new to this team and now he will miss all or most of the season. We plan to attend local games etc but not sure if there will be any point in going to practice?

It is encouraging to read everyone’s experiences because right now it feels like a mountain of losses between the start of the club season, missing surf cup and camps and then high school starting as well. We will try to take it one day at a time.
 
anita said:
I have an appointment set up with PT for “prehab” on Monday so we are eager to get started with that. As I am doing more research I am reading about the BEAR method for ACL repairs. Did anyone consider this option? It’s a pretty new way of helping the ACL repair itself and there are 5 pediatric orthopedic surgeons in socal that do this. I’m not sure what type of procedure will be best for my son because he is still growing but will hopefully be able to speak to knee specialists next week.

I’m also wondering how did it is work out for your child to stay connected to the team? I’m wondering what to do as he is relatively new to this team and now he will miss all or most of the season. We plan to attend local games etc but not sure if there will be any point in going to practice?

It is encouraging to read everyone’s experiences because right now it feels like a mountain of losses between the start of the club season, missing surf cup and camps and then high school starting as well. We will try to take it one day at a time.
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My daughter did the Pre surgery rehab as soon as she was able to get around. I think it helps. I don't know what method is best she just went the traditional route for surgery. She was doing post op rehab shortly after they really want them up and around when they can.

she was with her team for a few seasons so she had friends that checked in on her and with social media it was much easier. She just focused on the rehab and didn't go to practices but did attend a few games. she took some privates prior to going back to limited practices. she is still out for a couple of months.

it is devastating at first but when the dust settles and you have a plan I think it eases some anxiety and then he can focus on rehab. Follow a schedule and don't rush it. My daughter is going into senior year so the timing was really bad. She is missing all the tournaments where coaches are looking at kids. This too shall pass. good luck
 
anita said:
It is encouraging to read everyone’s experiences because right now it feels like a mountain of losses between the start of the club season, missing surf cup and camps and then high school starting as well. We will try to take it one day at a time.
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College soccer recruiting is later for boys than girls, so you're timing is totally fine. He's 14...so, whether he's going into Fresh or Soph year, he'll still have Junior and Senior years to be recruited etc. That's the typical time for almost all boys college recruits to get started. No need to rush...just be back for next year's Surf Cup. Best to your son.
 
anita said:
I’m also wondering how did it is work out for your child to stay connected to the team? I’m wondering what to do as he is relatively new to this team and now he will miss all or most of the season. We plan to attend local games etc but not sure if there will be any point in going to practice?
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My DD was super motivated and attended alot of practices. She would do all her rehab exercises on the sidelines. I actually think it was motivating for the healthy players to see her working so hard. And vice versa.
 
supercell said:
My DD was super motivated and attended alot of practices. She would do all her rehab exercises on the sidelines. I actually think it was motivating for the healthy players to see her working so hard. And vice versa.
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Same. Mine has been with her team for 3 years and missed her entire club season after getting injured about 6 weeks prior to the start. She really wanted to remain connected, so she attended 90% of the practices, games and tournaments. Her coach was great, keeping her busy during practices. As soon as she came off her crutches she was helping organize drills, shagging balls and just helping out in general. We joked that it was a “coaching internship” for her this year.
 
myself said:
Curious, did anyone try a non-surgical route? E.g., rehab or stem cell treatment?
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Our DD was a so-called "coper" who was still high functioning even with a torn ACL. Our ortho told us that she could likely live a normal life without surgery, but not as a college athlete and to try was risking a much more significant injury. Her ACL was fully ruptured, and there is no natural recovery from that, although the knee can certainly be strengthened with rehab. I am not sure if partial tears would benefit from stem cell or other treatments.
 
We met two surgeons today and they each had very different recommendations which is a bit confusing. The issue is because he is just on the cusp of closing his growth plates but hasn’t yet. That means although a patellar tendon graft would be the best thing for his future ability to play and be active there is a tiny risk of interrupting growth. On the other hand a hamstring graft has a much higher risk of failing in the future and requiring a redo. I’m wondering if anyone considered a quad tendon repair?
 
anita said:
We met two surgeons today and they each had very different recommendations which is a bit confusing. The issue is because he is just on the cusp of closing his growth plates but hasn’t yet. That means although a patellar tendon graft would be the best thing for his future ability to play and be active there is a tiny risk of interrupting growth. On the other hand a hamstring graft has a much higher risk of failing in the future and requiring a redo. I’m wondering if anyone considered a quad tendon repair?
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My identical twin girls tore their right ACLs w/in 8 weeks of each other. Twin 1 had patellar tendon and Twin 2 (whose growth plates were still slightly open) had quad tendon. Recovery has been pretty much the same for both. Hamstring was never considered and our surgeon would only do that in a 2d repair.
 
After doing 2 months of research (I too read about the BEAR method for ACL repairs, but there is not enough data on long term results), and talking to many surgeons we decide to go with the quad tendon. It is a much stronger tendon and is also a good choice if the growth plates are still open. Studies show that the Patellar tendon often times leads to osteoarthritis down the line. Always keep in mind that a surgeon will not always recommend a tendon that is best for the child, but instead the one they are trained on.

My kid went to every game, both home and away(caught rides), and almost all of the practices. Helped the coach set up and did the PT exercises on the sidelines during practices and was an assistant to the coach during the games. It worked out well.
 
Here in SoCal I am unable to find anyone who is routinely doing quad grafts in kids. We met with a pediatric ortho at UCLA yesterday who is strongly advising the hamstring graft with an IT band tenodesis which reduces the retear rate by 50%. We are going to go with her advice at this point and although I’m worried about the risk of rupture in the future I don’t think I can take a chance on damaging growth plates. We will likely do surgery in 3-4 weeks and will continue PT in the meantime so his knee is as strong as possible going into surgery.
 
My son had surgery yesterday and so far things have been gnarly. Surgery went well but he is in a lot of pain. For those who have been through this which postop day did things start to improve? We are icing, elevating and doing CPM. I’m hoping tomorrow is a little better.
 
This thread has been quiet for a while…wondering how people are doing. My son is almost 6 months postop and continues to work on strengthening and PT everyday. Like many said it has gone by pretty fast. Other than not playing soccer his life is pretty busy and normal. This last stretch before return to play is going to be challenging! It’s hard to know how cautious to be with him nowadays since he feels so good! Hope everyone else’s kid is doing well. I’m curious how long it took your son or daughter to get back into the groove after returning to play?
 
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