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**update AGAIN - it's worse - I feel like Glum from Gulliver's Travels

8circles

By 8circles,
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8circles

8circles

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Final update:  Met with ortho today.  Nothing in my knee is unscathed.  I knew that my ACL was gone, a meniscus was torn, & my bones were bruised.  MCL & PCL are also sprained and my LCL is partially torn.  He doesn't think forgoing surgery is a good option because too many things are damaged.  He may or may not be able to repair the meniscus and he doesn't know how extensive the damage is to my LCL.  We will see during surgery.  If my LCL is damaged enough, the surgery becomes more complicated with a much bigger scar (not a huge deal but I can't say I don't care if I have a huge scar).  If it needs repair & he doesn't do it then my new ACL is likely to fail so that's not optional.  Either way, he probably won't clear me for sport-activities for 8-10 months after surgery.  I'm just feeling really glum.  I'm tired of hobbling around.  I'm no professional athlete but I'm far from sedentary.  I have weight to loose & I was working on it & now what?   On top of that life goes on - my washer started leaking this week and found out today it isn't worth repairing.  It's all just life-stuff but it's really piling-up and getting to me.

 

Update #2: finally heard the MRI reading. Complete ACL tear. Partial miniscus tear. Possible fracture somewhere but more likely severe bruising on the bones. Please help me not be so bummed and depressed about this.

Update: Got a brace and crutches at urgent care. Xray showed nothing broken. Will have to call primary tomorrow to try and get in for more thorough DX. I'm quite down about it. I'm icing it but its getting more painful rather than less. I have too much to do for this to be happening. It was a rainy day this morning - one where you just want to curl up with a good book - but I forced myself to go to class, it was the 'responsible' thing to do. Regretting that.

So since the littlest munchkin has turned 4, we can now all participate in TKD. I've been excited about it. Iv even been stepping up my workouts at home (not over doing, just being more consistent) and stretching regularly to be ready. Today was my 2nd class - SECOND - and we were just warming up - JUST WARMING UP - and my knee popped and now no longer functions as a knee.

So here I am, with ice on it as I wait for the class to finish so I can take the whole gang to urgent care and see if I tore a ligament and need surgery.

Plus I feel like a complete moron.

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wintermom

wintermom

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Sorry you're on the injured list. You'll be back - the ol' bones and joints WILL keep on healing, sometimes just a little slower than when we were 20. ;)

 

BTW, I have my 3rd degree Black Belt in Taekwon-Do and was one of the "old ladies" of our school at age 47. I just retired from the sport and moved on to playing tennis, where I'm suddenly one of the "babies" of the club. In this sport, I can foresee 20 years of playing to improve my game. Martials Arts are wonderful and I loved my years in TKD, but there are so many movements that just don't feel right for me anymore, and it was always a gamble of whether I'd be injury-free for the next black belt test. I got lucky, and only had one injury in 14 years - I broke my big toe breaking a board in my 2nd degree black belt test.

 

So, if you love the sport, keep going. Just listen to your body and warm-up REALLY well. There was never enough time in my classes for ME to warm-up sufficiently. I usually arrived early and did some warm-up on my own. Ditto with the cool-down and stretching. There was never time in the class, but it's really important for recovery and injury prevention.

 

All the best!

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gardenmom5

gardenmom5

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if you aren't screaming and crying in pain, it might just be a meniscus.  (very common injury.).  (i've messed my meniscus. very annoying.  I've torn my mcl. (2nd degree.  they don't do surgery for that.)  I was crying if anyone so much as touched my foot and couldn't even bend my knee let alone walk.  six months later, it's still not 100% healed.) 

 

I have a sports medicine DO who can rotate the knee so that mesniscus will go back.

 

I didn't have the sports med guy when I did the meniscus, (I'm 99.99% positive that's what it was).  I was walking around costco (slowly - as it is a really annoying sensation.) and at one point there was a crunch crunch crunch, and all of a sudden I could walk just fine again.

 

 

 

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Rebel Yell

Rebel Yell

Posted
Posted

Awwww....  hoping it;s nothing serious. 

 

BabyBaby is a black belt, and her dad is a green belt, which is the exact middle of their system. He wanted to practice a throw that she advised against, and "Listen to Dad" won out over "DUDE!  Listen to your sensei!" and as she threw him, he landed wrong and separated his shoulder.  She was 11 and TINY, and he is a "substantial" man, so it was loads of fun explaining to people why his arm was in a sling. :ph34r:

 

Just last week he went back to class, over a year later. He gained 30 pounds in the time off, and the workout left him hurting for a week. :nopity:

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8circles

8circles

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I didn't read the original thread so I just saw "vent - I hate getting old - update in op" and I thought the update was going to be "I'm older". ;)

 

Sorry, just trying to add some humor.

Yes, it was funny. You got half a smile. Is there a half-smile emoticon?

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  • 2 weeks later...
Plink

Plink

Posted
Posted

Boo. That sounds painful.

 

Torn ACLs usually require surgery, but take hope, that isn't always the case. I had a complete tear 20 years ago and was able to build up my muscles with PT and avoid surgery. In exchange I agree to wear a brace while skiing. I still have zero knee pain.

 

Wishing you a similarly easy recovery.

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Tammi K

Tammi K

Posted
Posted

A positive story -  how about this? .....last year my 22 year old had a ski accident. The alphabet soup of damage was this: Severed ACL, torn MCL and LCL, chipped tibia, bruised femur (it hit and chipped the tibia), and torn meniscus. The only thing inside her knee that escaped damage seemed to be the PCL.

 

She spent Feb - May in a variety of braces. At first it was a slightly bent full leg brace. (He surgeon feels the leg heals with better range of motion if the leg is initially bent) After a few weeks, as the swelling went down, she was fitted with a much shorter, more comfortable brace and began physical therapy. She wore a brace until surgery in May. The surgeon felt that best success is achieved after full range of motion is achieved, therefore no immediate rush to surgery - unless, he says, you are a pro ball player and millions of dollars ride on you playing next season. :001_unsure:

 

Last May, 12 weeks out from injury, she had an autograft using the tendon and portion of her patella to replace the torn ACL.  She was up and walking within a few days, switched to the short brace as soon as the swelling went down to allow it to fit, was free of crutches within a few weeks.  Physical therapy was aggressive and she was back to good, comfortable movement in a month or two. Originally she was told she would wear the brace for 6 months, but her recovery was quick and she was only wearing it for sports about 3 months.

 

It is now a year out. She still has some tenderness when she kneels on the injured knee and there is a bit more flex in the repaired knee than the other one.   She hikes all over the local trails in the mountains of Alaska. She swims, camps, you name it. She's pretty much back to normal. (Although she's not brave enough to go snowboarding - she could if she wore her brace - and she swears she'll never get on skis again!)  During the months after the injury it seemed long and tedious to her, but now, looking back, it seems so long ago.

 

Best of luck. Find out all you can before surgery. Know your options. Take your time and heal well. You'll be up and running in no time.

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wintermom

wintermom

Posted
Posted

That's too bad. It's beyond belief how seemingly simple movements can cause so much damage sometimes. At least you can take pride and saying you were injured training in a martial art, and not just stepping "wrong" off a curb. A young lady from our choir sustained serious leg fracture from stepping off a curb. She certainly didn't like talking about the "how" of her cast.

 

All the best with the recovery and your future physical activities. 

 

 

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fraidycat

fraidycat

Posted
Posted

:grouphug: :grouphug:

 

So sorry you're injured. Sounds like a fairly lengthy recovery time, too. :(

 

How not to be depressed? Um... Now it's a good time for the offspring to learn all about housecare and take over all your chores. ;) Does that help?

 

Seriously, though, I hope they come up with a good plan of action for you to get on the road to a (hopefully) speedy recovery.

 

:grouphug:

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OneStepAtATime

OneStepAtATime

Posted
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Final update:  Met with ortho today.  Nothing in my knee is unscathed.  I knew that my ACL was gone, a meniscus was torn, & my bones were bruised.  MCL & PCL are also sprained and my LCL is partially torn.  He doesn't think forgoing surgery is a good option because too many things are damaged.  He may or may not be able to repair the meniscus and he doesn't know how extensive the damage is to my LCL.  We will see during surgery.  If my LCL is damaged enough, the surgery becomes more complicated with a much bigger scar (not a huge deal but I can't say I don't care if I have a huge scar).  If it needs repair & he doesn't do it then my new ACL is likely to fail so that's not optional.  Either way, he probably won't clear me for sport-activities for 8-10 months after surgery.  I'm just feeling really glum.  I'm tired of hobbling around.  I'm no professional athlete but I'm far from sedentary.  I have weight to loose & I was working on it & now what?   On top of that life goes on - my washer started leaking this week and found out today it isn't worth repairing.  It's all just life-stuff but it's really piling-up and getting to me.

 

Update #2: finally heard the MRI reading. Complete ACL tear. Partial miniscus tear. Possible fracture somewhere but more likely severe bruising on the bones. Please help me not be so bummed and depressed about this.

 

Update: Got a brace and crutches at urgent care. Xray showed nothing broken. Will have to call primary tomorrow to try and get in for more thorough DX. I'm quite down about it. I'm icing it but its getting more painful rather than less. I have too much to do for this to be happening. It was a rainy day this morning - one where you just want to curl up with a good book - but I forced myself to go to class, it was the 'responsible' thing to do. Regretting that.

 

So since the littlest munchkin has turned 4, we can now all participate in TKD. I've been excited about it. Iv even been stepping up my workouts at home (not over doing, just being more consistent) and stretching regularly to be ready. Today was my 2nd class - SECOND - and we were just warming up - JUST WARMING UP - and my knee popped and now no longer functions as a knee.

 

So here I am, with ice on it as I wait for the class to finish so I can take the whole gang to urgent care and see if I tore a ligament and need surgery.

 

Plus I feel like a complete moron.

Ugh!  I am so, so sorry!  That just stinks.  Huge hugs.   :grouphug:

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creekland

creekland

Posted
Posted

Yuck!  You definitely have my sympathy and well wishes/prayers for as simple and complete of a recovery as possible - then for mental wellness too.

 

Any chance you can watch a comedy or two to help pick up your spirits?

 

It's definitely a bummer getting old - esp when the number we're at doesn't match our thoughts of "old!"

 

:grouphug:

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Trish

Trish

Posted
Posted

I'd like to extend my sympathies for your situation. I have to admit it caught my attention all the more because it didn't seem like you deserved such an injury! (from what you were doing)

 

Can you tell us exactly what you did? I'd like to know if my middle aged body is going to give out on me during the normal course of exercise/activity, or if you were doing something especially vigorous that caused this. (like, an unusual kick or something) I've done some self defense type of stuff so I'm just trying to picture how this happened!

 

So sorry for your situation.

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