So I've got a suspected grade 2 tear to my ACL from kite surfing early into the season and treatment recommended is stay off it and strength all the stabilising muscles and I'll be good to go again in a few months.

One thing the doc said which was pretty interesting is there are quite a few kiters with full ACL tears out there who continue kiting no major issue. Ie just need to strengthen everything else to offset the lack of an ACL.

So who's kiting with ACL injuries and how have you coped?

Just ask the Pros - all there knees and shoulders a funked already and end up on surfboards or foiling lol

A shame really to see normal young kiters destroy themselves but great stuff for keeping rehab specialists employed... think of the positive :)

Yep, that's why I'm on surfboards now hahah. You can definitely go without your acl

Had mine replaced 2 years ago after snapping it. Surgeon said definitely necessary to get done. Physio told me after that the new consensus was OK to go without, just work the muscles surrounding and can function perfectly.....and no surgery. Surgeon got 15K for an 45 mins in surgery plus 3 x 5 minute follow up consultations. No wonder they push you into it.

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sandyscott said..
Had mine replaced 2 years ago after snapping it. Surgeon said definitely necessary to get done. Physio told me after that the new consensus was OK to go without, just work the muscles surrounding and can function perfectly.....and no surgery. Surgeon got 15K for an 45 mins in surgery plus 3 x 5 minute follow up consultations. No wonder they push you into it.

yep. I see so many people go under the knife with unrealistic expectations. If your just going under to be pain free, forget it. The amount of scar tissue you are still going to be sore, with a really short hamstring. However if it's really really unstable. I would consider it.

just remember. Surgery should be the last resort.

@Bara
Just to share my experience with ACL tear here.
I tore my ACL in October 2016. It was full ACL and MCL tear on my left knee. I didn't go to surgery following the advice of one of mine closest friends, ski and kite buddy, who happens to be one of the best orthopedic surgeons in my country and does ACL reconstruction for living. He did immobilize my leg for a month, then in mid December I was skiing wearing a brace. In May 2017 I was kiteboarding with a brace. Since 2018 season I kite without a brace. I do not feel any pain, don't have (noticeable!)side effects. I still use the brace for skiing and basketball(but mostly for peace of mind ). So strengthening your leg muscles does work, but not with every one. You preferably should be on the lighter side and in good condition.

PS. My ACL & MCL tears are confirmed via MRI, actually did 2 of these before and after immobilizing.

People have to remember that surgeons have a vested interest to refer you to surgery. Its actually borderline criminal.

I used to work with a Doc and his mate was an Ortho surgeon, The Doc I knew was discussing a case with him that was heading for surgery and asked that if this was the Ortho's son would you do the surgery, the Ortho said no. That's pretty BS.

Obviously there are always case for surgery but I personally have done my knees x3 times now. Each time I have stuck to my own advise of waited 8 months and if it is still stuffed after then do surgery. Every time I get to the 6 month mark and am like, na, this time is propper fuct, ow well but then it comes good. You must remember knees are made of ligaments which take ages to heal, but they do.

For the record, I have no knee pain at all, 100% strength etc. Every person I know to go under the knife still complains that their knees dont feel right.

8 months isnt that long.

Hey Bara
I tore my acl ten years ago now. Mine was pretty unstable and kept dislocating so was advised to get surgery. I had a hybrid hamstring and artificial ligament done.
Post surgery it's pretty painful and lots of Physio, but I was back on the water again within 3 months, took about a year till I felt confident to do any freestyle again though.
Its been great ever since really stable, and I feel it was definitely worth going through the surgery

Depends what you want to do
I have had 2 ACL recos, each knee,

I tried to just rehab it after first injury but 2-3 games in playing soccer and knee kept buckling so I opted for the operation.

But unless you are doing things that requires a lot of pivoting and so on you can do most things without the ACL
helps if you got decent sized legs and not chicken legs like me :)

Never had issues with hamstrings and so on after but some people do, just stretch and rehab after opp and you will be good as new in most cases.

Hi Bara, to answer your question: A grade 2 ACL tear is as good as a full tear. You should read this blog to better understand what the difference is and what your treatment options are:
optimalrecoveryclub.com/blogs/acl-info/acl-injury-treatment-options

If you have suffered meniscal damage, non-operative treatment is not ideal as the tear can propogate (grow) and become a real issue. Some areas of the menisci do not heal, so if the tear propogates badly, your knee can suffer irrepairable damage. If your meniscus is in good shape, non-surgical treatment is a viable option. Non-operative treatment is called Conservative Management (CM) as outlined in the above blog post.

As @saffe has outlined above, its possible to try CM first, and if you're still having issues then go for surgery. CM also puts your knee in great shape for surgery and can accelerate post-op recovery timelines.

So, regardless I'd highly recommend you see a physio experienced in sports rehabilitation and begin work either on CM or a pre-operative rehabilitation and begin work now assuming your inflammation has reduced.If you're seeking some physio's or ACLR surgeons in Perth PM me and I can give you some recommendations.

I'm 3 years post-ACLR following a grade 3 (full tear) in Lano windsurfing in late 2015. Since tearing my ACL I reached out to one of Australia's top ACL Rehab specialists, Dr. Jay Ebert, and created a full guide to ACL Recovery. ACLR Rehab is a rapidly evolving space and the goal was to partner up with a leading professional on the cutting edge and create a holistic guide to ACL recovery (physical, mental & nutritional). We've just launched the guide and continuing to develop it into a high quality ACL recovery resource. It features a 6 week pre-hab protocol that'd be useful for you heading into surgery. Link: optimalrecoveryclub.com/

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zlatko said..
@Bara
Just to share my experience with ACL tear here.
I tore my ACL in October 2016. It was full ACL and MCL tear on my left knee. I didn't go to surgery following the advice of one of mine closest friends, ski and kite buddy, who happens to be one of the best orthopedic surgeons in my country and does ACL reconstruction for living. He did immobilize my leg for a month, then in mid December I was skiing wearing a brace. In May 2017 I was kiteboarding with a brace. Since 2018 season I kite without a brace. I do not feel any pain, don't have (noticeable!)side effects. I still use the brace for skiing and basketball(but mostly for peace of mind ). So strengthening your leg muscles does work, but not with every one. You preferably should be on the lighter side and in good condition.

PS. My ACL & MCL tears are confirmed via MRI, actually did 2 of these before and after immobilizing.

That is almost exactly my situation.
Have no trouble kiting but lateral movement and heavy lifting together are a no no

good to hear the no surgery option has worked for some at least to start and also that you can kite successfully without an acl at all!

thanks for all the replies guys.

3 weeks into my strengthening so far so good