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I screwed up my knee last night during fight class. The pop that I heard/felt and the resulting instability lead me to believe that it’s an ACL tear. However, there wasn’t any real pain associated with the initial “pop” and no swelling at the time. There’s pain and swelling today, but it’s still nothing horrible. So, there’s hope that it’s not all that serious.
Looks like I won’t be able to see a sports medicine doctor untill tomorrow morning so I won’t know the full ramifications ’till then. Right now, the not-knowing is bugging the heck out of me… well, that and the limping…
If this is an ACL tear, how long can I expect to be out of commission? Any suggestions as to what can I do KM-wise during the recovery period? I know kicking will be out of the question for a while, but how about upperbody (punching, elbows, etc.) stuff that keeps your weight on both feet?
I need to keep going with KM or I’ll just end up sitting on the couch drinking beer getting fat (ok… fatter) and out of shape.
Re: Possible ACL Tear, How will I be out of action?
I’ve had friends out 3-6 months, maybe longer. Even coming back, you can’t come back 100% to start. You could probably do upper body exercises initially until you get movement again in your knee and then work lower body till you can do both.
Really, you’ll get good guidance from the doctor once you know the extent of your injury. Giving suggestions is cool but the doctor and you will know best how to take it.
Hope you heal up quick
Re: Possible ACL Tear, How will I be out of action?
James / LeeJam just had the same thing happen I don’t think it ended up being an ACL issue.
When I did mine I hit the ground grabbing my knee but I torque’d it doing a round house. So I was told mine was a radial tear. I still wear the brace and dont kick anymore.
My right knee however was meniscal and that felt like I was hyper extending it when I walked. That one took almost a year to heal. And LOTS of theropy
Re: Possible ACL Tear, How will I be out of action?
Thanks for the advice.
I know I’m overthinking things (I’m an engineer, I can’t help it) but it’s the unknown quantity that’s bugging me now. That darned WebMD has me all sorts of paranoid as to what could be damaged. I’ll see the doctor in less that 12hrs so I’ll know better then.
Re: Possible ACL Tear, How will I be out of action?
I had something similar happen to me when I was doing Kung Fu. I never went to the Dr. because like you said, I didn’t experience a lot of pain, hardly any swealing, etc. It felt fine in a couple of weeks.
It wasn’t until this past year when a friend of mine (a nurse) commented how my knee cap look off. What ever damage I did, when it healed the knee cap now doesn’t move. The only problem I experience from time to time is numbness when I train hard with kicks and knees and I know when we are getting bad weather. LOL
Moral of the story, I’m stupid for not getting checked out… I hope it’s minor, maybe a sprained knee. My prayers are with you.
Re: Possible ACL Tear, How will I be out of action?
Have a Dr. check it out.
I tore ligaments in my knee 20 years ago and I still deal with it. I now wrap my knee AND wear a level III brace in class. If I don’t do this, I walk with a limp. (I’ve been called Robo-Knee in class)
Here’s my advice.
Get a Dr. to check it out.
Get a good Physical Therapist to help you rehibilitate it (This is the most important part.)
RS
Re: Possible ACL Tear, How will I be out of action?
i had wot i think was a acl sprain/tear not long ago, the doctor i saw struggled to speak english so i am still in the dark to wot it was exactly. Anyway im pretty fit, 22 years old & i was off work for 6 weeks maybe more, started back at krav after 5 weeks in order to test whether my knee was alright to go back to work. Had to wear a knee support for a long time & it still plays me up now & again.
Re: Possible ACL Tear, How will I be out of action?
A classmate tore their ACL and was out for ~6 months, he is definitely back at 100%.
I had a different type of knee problem, my kneecap wasn’t “tracking” right and it caused problems. Took 3 months of physical therapy to get it about 50% back, then another 3 months on my own before I could start jogging again, then I waited 2 more months to “really” get it back before resuming Krav, and I am now a happy camper but if I slack on the special exercises the bad knee comes back.
These physical therapists are magicians, you follow their treatment and you’ll be fine. Good luck!
Re: Possible ACL Tear, How will I be out of action?
It’s official… I had my knee checked out by a sports medicine doctor and he sent me for an MRI. At the follow up appointment yesterday he confirmed that I’d ruptured my ACL… which is pretty much what everyone already knew. So, in three weeks the surgeon will take a hunk of one of my hamstrings and go in and replace my ACL with it. Then after two weeks of crutches, and six months of physical therapy, I may… check that… I WILL be back in action with Krav Maga. Maybe even earlier, but then probably just light upper body work in heavy bag class. Unfortunately I’m worried that I may never feel comfortable going full out on kicks which annoys me since they’re the only combative that I felt I was really good with. I guess I’ll just have to work my boxing from now on. 😉
I’ll say this, when I do get back into action I certainly won’t be wearing shoes in class anymore. Well, maybe specific martial arts shoes, but certainly not regular shoes or the indoor soccer shoes that caused this problem.
I was wearing a pair of Adidas Sambas which I’m sure make excellent indoor soccer shoes since that’s what they’re designed for. I’d read a lot of on-line recommendations, both here and elsewhere, that they’re also great martial art shoes and up untill last Tuesday I would have agreed.
The Sambas have this nice big circular piece of tread right under the ball of your foot which makes an excellent pivot point when you spin for a kick. With my previous cross-trainers I had to cheat and make a little pivot-step at the start of my kick. With these puppies I could easily snap out fast, powerful, round-house kicks straight from my fighting stance w/o any tell-tale mini steps. Unfortunately, the rest of the tread is very grippy and if you keep too much of your foot down they’ll stick to the mat like they’re welded in place… especially when you’re on one foot and you weigh 220lbs like I do.. the cross trainers would at least slide a little bit. In this case I was hopped up on adrenalin, yet also tired after a few rounds of sparring, and when I rushed that last kick but didn’t get fully up on the ball of my foot so it stayed glued to the mat and I pivoted on my knee joint instead…. “Pop!”… So, let this all be a warning to all of you out there.
I appreciate all of the advice. While I’m not happy with my doc’s news, it’s better than the not knowing. Now that I know what the problem is, I also know there is a solution. I’ll definitely be back with the Krav Maga stuff in the future.
Re: Possible ACL Tear, How will I be out of action?
CC
Sorry to hear that. Good Luck on your recovery.
I agree completely about the shoes. I started with shoes designed for sailing (big mistake). They stuck to the mat like glue, NO pivoting at all. I realized quickly that that was a recipe for blowing out my already bad knee. I’ve been on a search for the best shoe for training ever since.
I haven’t tried the MA shoes yet but I plan to. The best I found so far is a really cheap shoe at payless with near plastic soles, they slip pretty well on the mat.
The only advice I have is do not skimp on the physical therapist. Doctors know how to repair injuries….NOT rehibilitate them IMHO. I’ve had brilliant orthapedic sergeons who totally sucked at helping you recover after the knife. I didn’t recover from my injury AT ALL until I got the right physical therapist.
RS
Re: Possible ACL Tear, How will I be out of action?
I tore my ACL near the end of March, I had surgery May 6 and did the hamstring graft. I’m still recovering; I have graduated to home therapy. I have been amazed at how fast conditioning and strength left me. I am now allowed to run but no pivoting sports yet. My next doctors visit in early November when he will decide if I can start pivoting sports again and if I need a brace or not. Stopping (taking a break from?) Krav after going regularly has been very frustrating. I hope to be back at Krav in a limited way by the end of December or early January.
Everyone’s recovery is unique. Carefully follow your doctor and therapists instructions and do your exercises. The simple goofy movements your therapist tells you to do make an incredible difference. Don’t exceed what they tell you to do or you risk re-injury. Many people hurt themselves at the four month mark by ignoring their doctor and doing too much. http://www.kneeguru.co.uk is a great place for information. One more bit of advice, carefully go over your insurance plan and be sure you are going to the right therapist and doctor to maximize benefits. This stuff can get really expensive quickly.
Good luck, I hope you have a speedy and successful recovery.
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