The surgeon says your an unusual case, we see very few people with PCL injury's and even fewer with a tear and nothing else that's injured.
He explained how in years gone by they where largely left untreated with surgery being more difficult and less succefull then the more common ACL reconstruction. PT was favoured to build up muscles around the area and to somewhat compensate for role the PCL plays. He also said if i was over 40 or inactive this is the treatment path he would favour.
However he also said methods of reconstruction had improved and with the PCL being the strongest and hardest to tear ligament in the knee, it's role is just as important as an ACL. He also said surgery techniques had advanced so the success rates arnt much lower then ACL's
I'm a pretty active person, i play football, like to run and jog, swim, and also being from a farming background this also keeps me pretty active. So the surgeon said with this in mind the likelihood is that the knee would deteriorate and eventually i may need surgery in the future so i would be better off doing it now while i can afford to be of my legs for a bit.
So i booked in for surgery a further three months down the track to give my self a 3 week break from uni. My surgeon said i may need 4 but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. He then set me up with a physio and i have been doing exercises and weights on my legs to build up strengthen to help with my recovery after surgery.
Saturday, 13 April 2013
Introduction
G'day I'm Matthew I'm a 24 year old Uni Student From South Australia.
I have noticed how there is so much information and advice around the Internet about ACL surgery and recovery but very little on PCL's. There are a couple of great blogs here but they are a little older and medicine does advance quickly so my storey may be a little different. So I've decided to start a blog so other people experiencing a similar injury can get a little bit of an idea what to expect.
So lets got to the start! about 4 months ago i decided to do some work on cattle/sheep station for a few weeks over Uni's Summer break. About a week into this i got knocked off a motorbike by grumpy steer, i wasn't going that fast but my right knee was driven rather hard into soild ground.
My very first though was "ohh I've broken my leg", just because i felt something snap i had a very weird sensation in my leg. However i quickly realised that although very swollen my knee or leg definitely wasn't broken as i could stand up, so i got the bike going again and got back on with work.
I worked for a further 5 weeks which looking back was probably a bit silly struggled running, climbing, lifting and my knee was even aching while i was sleeping.
When i returned home i enjoyed Christmas and New years with family in friends, but this whole time i could still sense something with my knee wasn't right. So i went to the local Dr who sent me in for a x-ray which showed nothing other then a large amount of "Knee Joint Effusion" She said it was highly possible i had some soft tissue damage so i got a referral to a Orthopaedic surgeon.
I was unable to get into to see this surgeon for a further 4 weeks, when i did he examined my knee and said to have so much swelling after such a long period is a worry, but he though that my only damage may have been to my knee cap and maybe some cartilage damage, He sent me off for a MRI just to be sure.
The MRI came back with the results showing i had a "complete or near complete tear of my PCL" however there was no other damage visible. After further physical tests the surgeon was also surprised how much play and movement my knee had and these where signs that my PCL had "shat it self"
I have noticed how there is so much information and advice around the Internet about ACL surgery and recovery but very little on PCL's. There are a couple of great blogs here but they are a little older and medicine does advance quickly so my storey may be a little different. So I've decided to start a blog so other people experiencing a similar injury can get a little bit of an idea what to expect.
So lets got to the start! about 4 months ago i decided to do some work on cattle/sheep station for a few weeks over Uni's Summer break. About a week into this i got knocked off a motorbike by grumpy steer, i wasn't going that fast but my right knee was driven rather hard into soild ground.
My very first though was "ohh I've broken my leg", just because i felt something snap i had a very weird sensation in my leg. However i quickly realised that although very swollen my knee or leg definitely wasn't broken as i could stand up, so i got the bike going again and got back on with work.
I worked for a further 5 weeks which looking back was probably a bit silly struggled running, climbing, lifting and my knee was even aching while i was sleeping.
When i returned home i enjoyed Christmas and New years with family in friends, but this whole time i could still sense something with my knee wasn't right. So i went to the local Dr who sent me in for a x-ray which showed nothing other then a large amount of "Knee Joint Effusion" She said it was highly possible i had some soft tissue damage so i got a referral to a Orthopaedic surgeon.
I was unable to get into to see this surgeon for a further 4 weeks, when i did he examined my knee and said to have so much swelling after such a long period is a worry, but he though that my only damage may have been to my knee cap and maybe some cartilage damage, He sent me off for a MRI just to be sure.
The MRI came back with the results showing i had a "complete or near complete tear of my PCL" however there was no other damage visible. After further physical tests the surgeon was also surprised how much play and movement my knee had and these where signs that my PCL had "shat it self"
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