I recently tore my ACL and MCL in my right knee for which I’m going to have surgery here in the beginning of December. I know about all the rehab I’m going to need, but what about training my upper body? I mean my legs are huge and my upperbody has never been ridiculously big nor proportional to my legs. Should I continue training my upperbody or should I just wait for after surgery and rehab?
Any help at this point would be awesome.
T-M@tt
I have a player in rehab who is currently coming back from an exact same injury.
His date for surgery was approx 4 weeks after the accident so for those weeks leading up to the op all we could do was upper body work.
It is about finding out which exercises work best for you.
As for the post op phase get a sled great bit of kit.
I have torn my ACL in both knees and it sucks! I would say hit the gym real hard now as much as you are capable of, a la Coach Thib’s tip of the day from a few days ago. The only thing is you may have problems eating for a few days after the surgery. You will definitely be laid up for quite a while, but it doesn’t take too much mobility to hobble your ass (even on crutches) to a machine at the gym. Machines will be better at first because you don’t have to carry around the weights.
Prepare yourself for the fact that you are going to have some serious atrophy in your leg. It will come back quickly though once you get into P.T. and eventually start working out. The whole process can be mentally trying but keep your spirit up and realize that this is a lifelong game!
I appreciate the advice. Yeah, I have already noticed significant atrophy in my right knee–to the tune of 3 1/2 inches. It also feels very soft.
This whole situation really does have my spirits low… I was at the gym a couple days ago where I was sitting down staring at a 55 year old guy running on the treadmill. I trickled a few tears and I have to admit that I was jealous that a 55 year old man could run and all I could do was hobble. This has also demonstrated to me how important stretching is. Guys out there, if you don’t think stretching is important, come visit me in Tampa, FL and I’ll show you how important it is.
Any more advice would be appreciated. Also, if anyone knows of any good surgeons in the Tampa/St. Pete area, I’d be more than happy to hear any suggestions. Right now, it looks like I’m going to go with Cocoa Eaton.
Thanks,
T-M@tt
Cocoa Eaton…! That sounds like a porn name! LOL.
Good luck with the surgery. I know what you mean about watching the 55 year old run. I’ve never been into treadmill running or jogging in general, but I remember the first time I jogged on the treadmill after my surgery was exhilirating.
About the stretching thing, I don’t know about that (I’ve been loose every time I’ve been injured), but it definitely doesn’t hurt.
One of the best knee surgons in the country is on the east coast of florida. His name is Dan Kannel (yes he’s the father of the NFL QB). He does most of the procedures for the athletes down there with knee problems. I believe he’s in the Ft. Lauderdale area.
A porn name? LMAO… Yes it does… That’s about as close to sex as I’ve been since I injured the knee…Yeah, Cocoa is supposed to be the best over here in this neck of the woods…
I’m definitely not looking forward to the 3-5 months of rehab, it’s gonna suck going from squatting 5 or 6 plates for reps to being stuck doing leg extensions…
Boss-Thanks man, I’ll check him out…
I’ll follow up on this thread and give you guys feedback on how the rehab is going…
Happy Holidays everyone!
T-M@tt
my first surgery the PT advised against leg extensions.
as far as the sex, SUCK IT UP PUSSY! You’d be surprised what the adrenaline will do for you. When I tore my first one I was at the club that night, a couple drinks made the discomfort go away. I went home with this girl that lived in one of the other dorms, yadayada in the morning I had to have her put my pants and shoe on for me. I did the walk of shame across campus with a pretty bad limp!
after surgery, the leg is in this full length brace that has a locking device at the knee. lets just say i managed to git er done!
All the best man.
T-Matt,
Don’t get discouraged. I, too, tore my ACL and was really pissed about it. However, I ran into TONS of people who had the same thing happen and they bounced back with no problem. Keep in mind, that half of the people that I talked about ACL rehad were women. Meaning, it only takes confidence and a strong mind to get back to you where you were.
Ian King did the same thing and he wrote about it in his Ten Lessons, I think you should check it out. Also, for that it’s worth, Ulimate Fighter, Tito Ortiz tore his ACL during training a few years ago. Seven (7!) months later, he garnered a brutal and descisive victory over the legendary Ken Shamrock.
Take this situation and turn into an advantage. You may now get a chance to explore other hobbies to their fullest that aren’t as physical or work on personal growth. Keep us posted on your progress. Best of luck.