Advice after knee injury

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Jan 17, 2017
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Well, it appears as though my hunting season has ended before it began. A few weeks ago I was bucked from a horse and after numerous X-rays and MRIs, I got the news that I have a grade II MCL tear and fracturing on my femur/tibia. Has anyone else suffered this type of injury that can provide some insight to expected recovery time(assuming no surgery needed as I can walk with limited mobility) or braces that can be worn while exercising? Not looking for medical advice, more so past experience. Thanks y’all


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mountainman406
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Sorry to hear that. Hope you recover quickly. I tore lateral ligaments in my right knee a few years ago. After months of PT and taking it easy I was back in the mountains.

I appreciate it, hoping to at least get in a late rifle hunt this year. If not, I’ll be staying on the prairies chasing whitetail.


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96Griz

FNG
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Sep 23, 2022
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Bummer. I tore my pec last week which means no archery for me this year. But I have had an mcl sprain and was back to football practice in a week and a half. I’d bet you could get in some late season hunts.
 
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mountainman406
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How old are you? Recovery has a lot to do with age, and it's slower the older we get.

31 y/o, relatively good shape and active. Walking using a brace about 50% of the time just trying not to lose strength but also not overdo it.


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mountainman406
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Bummer. I tore my pec last week which means no archery for me this year. But I have had an mcl sprain and was back to football practice in a week and a half. I’d bet you could get in some late season hunts.

Sorry to hear about your injury, hoping for a speedy recovery for you. Thats encouraging news for sure, I’m walking now with limited ROM. Hoping that that best few weeks allow for better mobility!


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Sorry to hear! I tore up my ACL and PCL in a mountain biking accident many years ago. I didn't do surgery. Had several ortho docs who were friends of my brother recommend not getting surgery. I just went through a pretty intense rehab program and was able to eliminate most of the pain and lateral stability is ok. I wear a brace if I do things that require lateral stability like basketball or wakeboarding, etc... 15 years in and still doing ok.
 

TaperPin

WKR
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Jul 12, 2023
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Well, it appears as though my hunting season has ended before it began. A few weeks ago I was bucked from a horse and after numerous X-rays and MRIs, I got the news that I have a grade II MCL tear and fracturing on my femur/tibia. Has anyone else suffered this type of injury that can provide some insight to expected recovery time(assuming no surgery needed as I can walk with limited mobility) or braces that can be worn while exercising? Not looking for medical advice, more so past experience. Thanks y’all


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I’ve known guys with similar issues - mcl stretches and tears are common in football - some of them healed up in a matter of weeks as far as athletic ability goes, some not so much, but all my friends who played football have loose knee joints.

Bone fractures depend on how bad it is. My wife got a hoof to the ankle one summer, felt pretty good and apparently pushed too hard causing the hairline crack to get worse and it gave out a month and a half later. Crazy.

An ex girlfriend had a ski accident and the surgeon missed a little bone chip so it was very painful to keep a good range of motion after two months. A second surgery was required to clean up a lot of scar tissue because of the lack of range of motion - still same result. I finally said screw it, the knee surgeon in Jackson Hole is nationally known and has to be better than the dude in Boise - he scoped it, found the bone chip, didn’t have anything nice to say about the last surgeon and she was almost back to normal in a month.

A client of mine is the ortho doc that invented the surgery to replace a destroyed thumb with a big toe. Lol. His advice is listen to the guy that specializes in whatever joint is goofed up - the guy on call at the hospital may be great at repairing hands, but only know the basics when it comes to other areas.

Good luck and let us know how your fall progresses.
 

TaperPin

WKR
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Sorry to hear about your injury, hoping for a speedy recovery for you. Thats encouraging news for sure, I’m walking now with limited ROM. Hoping that that best few weeks allow for better mobility!
Keeping a range of motion can really hurt, but that scar tissue grows fast and eventually whatever rom you have is permanent without another operation.
 
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mountainman406
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Keeping a range of motion can really hurt, but that scar tissue grows fast and eventually whatever rom you have is permanent without another operation.

Just started stretching more now that the swelling has gone down significantly. It definitely doesn’t feel like it did prior to the injury but I’m hoping I can stay moving and prevent a lot of the scar tissue from becoming a problem.


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Joined
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I've had a partial torn ACL in my right knee (2008) that I only rehabbed and torn meniscus in that knee (2016) that they did repair. My left knee I had a complete quad tendon tear (2010) that had to be surgically repaired and was a long recovery.

I still have been able to pack out elk and hunt in the mountains. My advice would be to use trekking poles and use some sort of knee sleeve or brace even if you feel like you don't need it. I recently had to get a cortisone shot in my right knee because my knee was feeling great and I didn't wear a brace when I should've. The shot really helped and I've got a hunt I'm packing in on in a month.
 

jj554

Lil-Rokslider
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Are you familiar with the "Knees Over Toes Guy?" He is a great resource for both restoring mobility and building up the connective tissues that will support damaged joints and/or prevent new injuries. He implemented some unorthodox training techniques used by different world class athletes to restore his knees after major injuries and now has a pretty big following. I used some of his methods for improving ankle mobility after old injuries with good results.
 
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mountainman406
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Montana
Are you familiar with the "Knees Over Toes Guy?" He is a great resource for both restoring mobility and building up the connective tissues that will support damaged joints and/or prevent new injuries. He implemented some unorthodox training techniques used by different world class athletes to restore his knees after major injuries and now has a pretty big following. I used some of his methods for improving ankle mobility after old injuries with good results.

I’ve watched a lot of his videos and have implemented a few of his techniques. I’ve got a lot of ROM back over the past few weeks and even got out for an antelope hunt today. Progressing well, still hoping to be chasing elk by the end of the month. Thanks for the advice everyone, I really appreciate it.


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