Hey Bud, i had the same surgery, july 26, going to be 7 weeks on Thursday, Sept 13th… a little limp still, big time muscle loss… i didn’t listen to people who told me to work out my legs before surgery… i a had torn mesicus also…strenght is pretty good, i’m exercising like crazy… i’m doing PT three times a week, one with the OHIP and one covered by my work insurance… i’m on the bike, the tread mill, wobble board, squat machine, i’m sore after workouts, so i ice it every time… i’m thinking of playing golf soon… what do you think…

Sounds to me like you’re doing all the right things. The more physio the better. I tried golfing after three weeks and it hurt like hell on my hamstrings (that’s where they took the graft). But after 7-10 weeks? I’m not a doctor, but I think you’d be okay. I golfed comfortably at the 10 week mark and haven’t looked back.
Good luck and thanks for the comment!

I had a bit more of a minor injury in basketball and I got the Cho Pat knee brace and it worked wonders. I had stability and could continue to play soccer and basketball without worrying too much about my knee.

[...] also have to give a shout-out to my Donjoy Defiance knee brace, which held up great and required zero adjustments all day [...]

Any advice appreciated. I am 11 weeks post surgery (graft taken from my patella tendon) and I am still walking with 1 crutch. I can walk without it bu there is pain and I can’t go far. Is this normal? I live in Switzerland and can’t seem to get a straight answer from my doctor. I fell on my back 2 weeks ago and am concerned I have damaged my acl again!

Hey Anthony. I will precede this with: I AM NOT A DOCTOR!, and I can only speak from my own experience. But what I CAN say is that by 11 weeks out I was walking pain-free, no crutches, and was well into physio. I had even tried golf by then.

I will also say this, though: I used to freak out that I had re-injured the ACL ALL THE TIME, and it was never the case. Don’t panic! Personally, I would try to find a physiotherapist. If I hadn’t hit physio I would probably still be limping.

Again, my opinion only, I am not a doctor.

Good luck to you,

adam

Adam:

Thanks. Saw the Dr and you are right. I haven’t re-injured my ACL…thankfully. Have stopped using the crutch this week but am walking with a significant limp. My quads didn’t “wake up” for about 3 weeks post surgery, which I think has set me back PLUS I did about 50% of the exercises I was supposed to. Over here, you only get 1 or 2 physio sessions (for 30 mins) per week. Seems less than the UK or US.

Glad to hear that! I did two 45-minute physio sessions per week as well, and found that the physio, combined with doing everything they told me to do at home (*grin!*), led to a really speedy recovery. Listen to the physio folks! Do what they say! They know what they’re talking about.

Best of luck!

–adam

I’m looking for a ‘snowboard’ capable knee brace. I’ve a partially torn ACL in need of protection. I’m rabid to return to the slopes; but not foolish enough to do so without a brace. On the DonJoy site I found the DonJoy Armor Protective Knee Brace; but no reference to “short calf”. Is it the same one you have? How have you liked it?
Great blog.
Cheers on on.
Rabbit

Hey Rabbit,

That design looks very similar. I had mine custom fit, and they told me that the bottom part was a little shorter than normal because I was so into sports, including snowboarding. Mind you, the one you’re referencing also looks like it would have no problem when wearing a snowboard boot. But I’d ask them if you had the opportunity!

As for whether I like it.. very much so. It does the trick, it’s comfortable, and I don’t even know I’m wearing it half the time.

Cheers,

adam

Ay-up Adam!
Thank you for your input. Custom is the way to go no doubt! I’ll contact DonJoy direct and ask about fitting a Custom brace for me. Because I’m ‘rabid’ I think I’ll order the ready made for temp usage now. So, spit spat easy peasy I’m back on the slopes. The problem is I’m in EU and not in the USA; so the Custom fitted one will need to wait. No worries.
Thanks once again. Click it stick it.
Cheers on on.
Rabbit

I have found that more and more insurance plans (like mine)are not covering custom-made braces. Even though my orthopedic surgeon recommended that I get a Donjoy Defiance after my surgery. Just wanted to let you guys know that I was able to get it without getting hosed on the price by going to http://www.dme-direct.com/donjoy-defiance-knee-brace-don-joy/. They sent a casting sleeve to me which I used to make a cast of my knee – really easy. I also got the short calf for snow boarding and the brace arrived in a week. Later.

I had a bit more of a minor injury in basketball and I got the knee brace and it worked wonders. I had stability and could continue to play soccer and basketball without worrying too much about my knee. and got it from http://www.drbraceco.com it’s my best friend

[...] ultimate this weekend against a team led by a dude wearing a much larger version of my custom Donjoy Defiance knee brace. Given it was obvious he’d injured a ligament, In [...]

I have a partially torn acl as well, and am going back to snowboarding this year. If anyone has tried out a good knee brace for snowboarding let me know please.