Anyone else have ACL trouble?

[Flatlander]

Hi Kathi and KnottedYet!

I thought I'd give you an update on my ACL trouble. I went for a ride on Sunday and did fine for about 20 miles or so, until I turned into the wind. The ACL started acting up almost immediately--so much so that I worried about making it home. I was contemplating the DHwhen I had to stop and get off my bike to walk through some construction. I noticed that the ACL didn't hurt at all when I was walking. FOr some reaosn, I decided that what this suggested was that my seat needed to be higher. I adjusted it (I had already moved it forward a day or two earlier) and noticed immediatley relief--almost 85-90% better. It was so much better, in fact, that I went one to ride a few extra miles before going home.

Yesterday I went into an LBS and asked about bike fit if one has an ACL problem. The solution that was suggested to me was to move the seat forward and higher (!).

Anwyay, I took it out again today, and again the wind came up. However, no ACL pain *at all*.

Meanwhile, not content to trust the seat position as a total solution, I've also added hamstring curls and squats to my regular routine. I've also ordered the book by Andy Pruitt that was suggested. Hopefully, he'll have some things to say about this...

I'm really pleased, and hope that these "fixes" do the job. Thanks for all your help!

[KnottedYet]

Hooray!!

Glad you found the way to ACL happiness! Now, keep those hammies strong and flexible, and call for help from a PT/ortho if you need a tune-up.

[kaybee]

Flatlander, glad to hear you solved your problem. I had an ACL reconstruction six years ago using a hamstring tendon, and have found that I absolutely HAVE to do the weight workouts for the quads and hamstrings, even after all this time. Like you, running has never bothered me, but cycling sure did point out that that hamstring was not and probably never will be as strong as the other one, since the tendon is being used elsewhere. No matter what they say, it ain't the same as originial equiqment! Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone.

KB

[xeney]

My husband is about to have his fourth knee surgery after he tore his ACL about eight years ago. Don't be scared by the four surgeries, only the first two were directly related to the original skiing injury; he then fell while rock climbing and broke off the top part of his tibia at the spot where the bolt from the first surgery had weakened the bone. The next surgery is to remove a bolt from the third surgery, because it's causing pain and coming through the skin. Don't go falling off any rocks and you should not have these problems!

Anyway, it took him a while after the initial reconstruction to be able to ride like he used to ride, but he still considers cycling the one thing he can still do as well as he did before the injury. He did a ton of PT after each surgery, and spent some time on a stationary bike, and then for almost a year rode only a mountain bike with slicks, because avoiding falls is so important after ACL surgery and he wanted extra stability. (Don't ask me how he got from that level of caution to climbing rocks without a harness ... I am not in charge of his brain. ) The falling issue is something to worry about, unfortunately -- when he broke his leg, he also damaged the 'new' rebuilt ACL, but at this point there is nothing they can do about that, because they can't build him another one given the other damage to the leg. He's looking at knee replacement in another ten years or so, because of the subsequent damage. (He's 34.)

But he did get back on the road bike after about a year following the ACL surgery, and it wasn't even that long after the broken leg, and it is his primary exercise. He does do weighted squats and other exercises that he got from PT, but he is more likely to have pain from those exercises than from cycling. He can't do any kind of leg extension exercises: his doctors forbid them, and he says they cause instant severe pain. And it took him over a year after each of the two majory surgeries to get his leg muscles to "match" again.

He has had trouble recently with pain and he is having a lot more problems with bike fit than he had before. And he's mostly given up mountain biking, because he found that after years of using clipless pedals, and using them just fine on a road bike, he's lost the range of motion in his knee that he needs to reliably unclip on his mountain bike when the pedals are all gunked up with mud. (He found that out the hard, painful, falling-on-rocks way. Since he didn't get hurt, it was a little funny to watch.)

I just bought Speedplay Frogs for myself but I am going to have him try them out because I think that pedals with float would be a very good idea for him. Are you using pedals with float? I've seen them recommended, here and elsewhere, for knee problems, but he is worried that he'll have problems unclipping if he has too much float.