Hi everyone: :)

I usually post on the back boards but I fell off the motorcycle last night. I got my heel caught between the foot board and pipes and when I went to get off my heel stayed stuck and I twisted my knee when I went down. I felt a pop and terrible pain when it happened. :eek: I went to emergency and the xrays showed nothing broken but the dr. said that he thought I had a ACL tear as the knee is unstable and it feels like it is going to give out when I move a certain way. Now I have some instability in my other knee which he said is sometimes normal in woman so I dont know maybe both knees are just normally like this??

My question is how do they tell if I have a torn ACL and what can they do to fix it??? :confused: Thanks to anyone who can help me I would really like to know more about this.

Take care
Janice :wave:

An MRI will show if there is any soft tissue damage. The repair is surgical. For an ACL tear, they take a little bit of the ligament that goes from your kneecap to your shin and use that to build a new ligament in the knee. I'm not an expert on knee injuries, so I can't help you more than that. But the first step is an MRI to see what the problem is. Good luck.

Ditto on the MRI.It is probably the best way for you to find out if there are any tears or other issues going on in the knee.Good luck,marcia

Same here. A MRI is required to determine if it is an ACL or something else, maybe a torn meniscus.

I tore the ACL 15 yrs ago - most of the time since I've been fine with and even played football etc. using a specially made knee-brace.

The key for me is cycling - by cycling a LOT I've kept the muscle bulk up above and below knee - when I dont cycle for a while the knee gets unstable.

Hi there:

I went to my dr. today and she is sending me to a sports medicine doc. She also said that I would probably need a MRI (YUCK). I am also not alowed to go back to work on the school playground as I walk 8-11 km a day. I asked about a knee brace and she said I could try one but she didnt think it would do any good. Well I bought one and it does make it seem a little more stable but I still hurt if I move the wrong way. So now I wait for my appt. (sigh) Is a meniscus the cartilage?? I have never had to deal knee injuries before and I dont want to freak my self out with to much info. Thanks for any info you can give me it would be appreciated.

Take care:
Janice

You'll be fine on an MRI if you think you'll panic ask for something to relax you at the time of your appointment.
Meniscus is in fact cartilage and it is completely possible you have tore that as well. Also note that MRI's are not accurate in some cases, my ACL was in tact but had no elasticity and looked completely normal but I ended up having it reconstructed after doctors scoped to see what was going on and found the problem.

You can live with a torn ACL and even no ACL, I know of many folks who do. Generally they follow a strict regimine of strengthening exercises and brace when doing sports. It is not a good idea to wear one constantly because your body or knee gets used to the support and actually ends up weakening it instead of strengthening it.

Good luck I'm sure you'll be fine

Thanks for all of your replies to my post. I went out yesterday and only took one crutch with me thinking it would be easier. We went into a resturant and it was raining outside so when I went in the crutch was wet the floors were slippery needless to say my crutch went one way my knee went another and I felt like I was going to throw up from the pain. The funny thing is the pain goes away in a few mins. and I dont have much pain unless I move it the wrong way. It always feels unstable but I am hoping that will heal soon. Is it normal to not have much pain with this kind of knee injury????

Thanks again for all of you help.

Take care
Janice

My son had an ACL tear about a year ago. At first, the knee was painful because there was swelling. He did not need a crutch at that time but he said that the knee always felt unstable and he could not walk properly for about a month. He had his repaired. Anyway, he did not have very much pain and was able to go to work and walk some. He had his surgery about six weeks after it happened. Now the knee is very good and stable but he has to do his exercises to strengthen the muscles in his legs.