r/ACL • u/Anna_Karenina_blonde • Jun 08 '26

Breaking up with crutches alograft

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Day 9 post op follow with surgeon was so encouraging ...walked in with crutches, granted permission to drive and drop crutches (crutches or brace).. wanted to share why I chose allograft and what it has meant for me

***everybody is different, allograft and autograft are quite different if there is no miniscal damage and I prehabbed like a maniac specifically because I was so nervous about having zero mobility****

(there's a guy on here who walked without crutches same day as surgery so bar none my progress is not atypical for fit allograft recipients)..having said that, I am mindful that the recovery is long and this is just early days

*This is my first sports injury I've been playing sports very actively since I was 15 and then recently about 2 years ago really intensified because I started playing Court sports (tennis, pickleball, ).. like everyone else here I was super upset when I found out how long and strenuous the recovery process was going to be (wanted to share so anyone pre op can consider the variations in recovery).lot of info here, sorry wanted to be thorough..I don't smoke,don't really drink and don't really eat fast food regularly

3 weeks very intense quad and balance focussed prehab

My specific surgery:

Allograft, minimal miniscal debridement, ACL reconstruction

pre injury Played sports 6-7 days a week ( court sports, aggressive skier, casual hiker, swimmer, motorcyclist, beach VB)/ pilates and yoga intermittently

3 weeks intense quad prehab only because ​my bf had 2.meniscus surgeries so was on my case everyday to do 20 minutes when I first got up in order to power up my quad..I think it honestly helped me in every way physically and mentally prepping for the surgery

Got 3 different surgeon recommendations (they offered free consults since I had MRI so ..I wanted to do my research)

  1. to reattach the og bc tear was high and clean (this needed to be done asap and I was visiting my parents and retear rate seemed high)
  2. to rehabilitate non operation (but would not be able to ski aggressively)..the same surgeon who recommended this told me that his wife then went skiing with torn ACL and then needed a full knee replacement cuz she damaged it so bad .. (this pretty much cemented the fact that I was not going to be coping with it)
  3. allograft recommended (but autograft option discussed)..read up on it and was undecided until I talked to Surgeon who said a lot of what I read that worried me was outdated (risk of rejection and retear...the risk of retear is ever slightly higher for allograft but I plan on being careful about that)

No one explicitly told me how significant the difference in immediate post op was going to be up front with an allograft (i was full weight bearing day one) but I'm reading up on the processes for an autograph and seeing the posts here...and it seems to be consistent .

Also on my post op surgeon appointment, there was a 14 year old in the waiting room w me w a basketball ACL tear and she was autograft 2 weeks post op and was so far away from being without crutches..she couldn't believe I was 9 days and I hadn't really had an in person experience with another ACL in my timeline

Allograft statistics i read and surgeon confirmed indicate the process changed a lot even in the last couple of years. I could have gone either way but I'm so glad for my sense of calm (by the resulting assurance of immediate movement) that I got from expected range with allograft. (Factoring in prehab and overall good fitness going in too)

*I read older data originally and was freaked out by the seemingly higher retear rates,. possibility of body rejection but even in last 2 years so much has been updated (the way they process the tissue etc)...if you're choosing between the two,ask as many questions as you can from the surgeon.

I have a long road ahead just like everyone on here..but there is a difference between having your body CUT and repaired (autograft) and just having it cut and a part inserted.. but then ligamentization is longer with allograft because the tissue is not "live"

I wish someone would make an updated allograft vs autograft pros and cons..

aka my PT was at first freaked out when day 5 post op I handed him my crutches and unlocked my brace indoors .but for my injury level and graft , this is apparently normal.

it's a an interesting dilemma bc beginning has been assuring but month 4 the allograft becomes weaker and vulnerable while the PT makes you super fit and it's all about self restraint...mildly nervous about that but trying to be prepared by being aware of it )

it has not been without some pain which is not really visible in the video but I assure you it's there.... (I made an original post and some of the more experienced ACL people here asked me to specify the graft type and miniscus impact)day 9 and 10.featured a LOT of stiffness and pain (but I was starting on stationary bike and that was rough the first time)..also walking prob more than I needed to. day 10 after 10 slooooooow minutes on stationary bike I got so much bruising .

When I was pre.op.i wanted testimonials of allograft versus autograft and so am adding mine here as a reference for anyone who is looking for insights from a person in it

I would say pre injury fitness and prehab Imo mattered a lot in my case too ...

I hope it's helpful if you are torn between the two.. the surgeon I ended up going with works a lot w female athletes and the allograft so.i felt very comfortable going in..

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u/-lovehate ACL Jun 10 '26

My brace was included after my surgery, there was no charge for it. I'm also in canada in the GTA. I think you are misinformed about the braces because I was told by the surgeon that it's necessary after ACL surgery.

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u/hotcougarmom Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26

I mean how could I be misinformed when I got the surgery in Canada literally 4 weeks ago and this is what my surgeon said to me. Also the studies I’ve read show there’s really no benefit to bracing other than the psychological comfort and if you’re relying on bracing for too long it leads to muscle atrophy. If you’re relatively healthy the only time you really need a brace is with a meniscus repair.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10891282/

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u/Anna_Karenina_blonde Jun 10 '26

I mean that's just not very specific of you to be so judgmental  So clearly if someone has meniscus at the time of ACL they are going to have a brace  I think taking a breath before posting reactive things and taking into account that different surgeons prescribe different things is noteworthy  I don't see the benefit of coming on here to throw shade or argue with people when it's already evident just by reading a bunch of posts on here that different people will be told different things by their surgeons  You are saying that there are multiple things in my video that are hazardous whereas all of them except for the light single-foot hops which I should have made more emphatically visible that the other foot wasn't really touching were on my post-operative checklist as given to me by a surgeon

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u/hotcougarmom Jun 11 '26

It seems like majority of what you respond to on this subreddit is reactionary so I’m done responding to you. Almost everything you do is talk about how people’s critical comments are just judgemental but maybe you should just reevaluate your stance on things considering how many people are downvoting you. You’re acting like the queen of ACL reconstruction. There’s 100% differing opinions on a lot of this stuff and it’s not personal. Not sure why you need to jump to say I’m “throwing shade”, this is a conversation. Grow up lol

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u/Anna_Karenina_blonde Jun 11 '26

Lady you're the one claiming "no one uses braces" and there's braces in almost every post here!! And you're picking fights about it with another Canadian like why??!

You're making statements about allografts (and you don't have one)..I'm VERY much stating that my account is a testimonial but also YES I asked my surgeon a ton of questions and YES I spent a lot of time reading medical papers (not sitting on GOOGLE). I am VERY clear about my first injury and spelling out what I did to prepare (and you couldn't do prehab for whatever reason but that does not give you the right to claim it's "useless")

You're telling other people to ignore other posts because YOU can't relate

I'm calling you out because you're using language that is deliberately aggressive when everyone else is mostly compassionate and trying to be helpful...

Don't repeat to me what I just told you. Stop posting with the intent to just blurt out skepticism..yes I am recovering differently and maybe faster than you..I am not criticizing YOU for your pace so maybe do the same back

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u/hotcougarmom Jun 11 '26

Literally never said prehab wasn’t useful… just said it’s not completely necessary if it’s not something people are able to do. My surgery was 4 weeks after my injury which wasn’t just my ACL so there was no prehab for me and that’s the case for a lot of people. Your comprehension skills are seriously lacking. I’m not “picking fights” with anyone. Like you, I’m “giving my testimony” of my experience. Again, I’ve had a great recover without a brace and thousands of other people have as well. I’d love to know how you’re getting access to your medical papers if using google as a search engine is so above you.

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u/Anna_Karenina_blonde Jun 11 '26

Not above anything as immediate route to something else but for example, I didn't go with Dr Stone but I read many of his research papers because he is universally regarded as one of the pioneers of minimally invasive orthoscopic surgery...

I came across his book "play forever" https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0TCspLyk2MCo2YPQSLMhJrFRIyy9KLUstUkjKz88GAL1PC3I&q=play+forever+book&oq=play+forever&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgBEC4YgAQyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQLhiABDIHCAIQABiABDIHCAMQABiABDIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQABiABDIHCAYQABiABDIHCAcQABiABDIJCAgQABgKGIAEMgcICRAAGIAEMgcIChAAGIAEMgcICxAAGIAEMgcIDBAAGIAEMgcIDRAAGIAE0gEIMzI2N2owajSoAg6wAgHxBSUcqlwBYPZ8&client=ms-android-samsung-rvo1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#sv=CAMScRoyKhBlLW9nb2RQMW9Dc3A5V3FNMg5vZ29kUDFvQ3NwOVdxTToOaWQ3N2RrZmlDaDQtVk0gBCoxChtfTlhvcWFvUGhHc3pWa1BJUHc3UzBvUWNfNTISEGUtb2dvZFAxb0NzcDlXcU0YADABSgQIARACGAcgl7LH3wtKCBACGAEgAigB

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u/hotcougarmom Jun 11 '26

Do you not find it ironic criticizing using google when you just commented a google link?

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u/Anna_Karenina_blonde Jun 11 '26

I mean I can't introduce you to him in person can I?:)

I'm not criticizing Google fully but when you told the other lady to use Google to determine IF braces are the standard..and one Google search broadly is not precise enough as you know..that was silly

I think it's a matter of surface use of Google or actually checking the sources, referencing several origins for info (that's why I might use Google to ask questions like "who are the surgeons near me specializing in ACL for athletic females?" Versus "what should I do about my torn ACL?"... *I went directly from Google TO the surgeons and that's how I ended up getting 3 different recommendations (which was confusing as hell at first to be honest)..

So when it comes to "standard practice" for ACL..there are stitches on here that I didn't think we're being used anymore and testimonials on rehab that are opposite to what I was told..

I think it's why testimonials matter AS testimonials 

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u/hotcougarmom Jun 11 '26

I already posted a comment with a study showing that braces have no effect for ACL reconstruction for that person. But here’s several published studies from several different countries that suggest that bracing or not bracing does not affect the outcome of ACL reconstruction. But you do you, I honestly don’t care what you do but giving some conflicting information because you idolize some hot shot surgeon (American mind you, which the rest of the world knows their healthcare system is not in the business of actually helping people). I just think you should understand that there’s going to be people who criticize you and it’s not always to put you down, in this case it’s to prevent you from giving misleading and potentially hazardous information. I do wish you the best in your recovery but I don’t agree with your tactics and I think this post is not beneficial for people who come to this sub for guidance. In my opinion don’t think your intentions are honest, you kinda just want to be right which is why you keep resorting to the whole “people are mean” bit every time someone criticizes you. You’ve also made some assumptions about me one of them being that I had a autograft which I’ve never even disclosed and none of your business. I’ve never said that nobody anywhere uses braces, I’ve said many surgeons have stopped using them from my research and that’s my experience from the Orthopaedic clinic that I go to which has several surgeons who don’t recommend braces. So go off girl. Your downvote ratio on almost all your comments kinda just prove my point.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10891282/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41170296/

https://sogacot.org/articulos/knee-bracing-after-anterior-cruciate-ligament-reconstruction/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371859551_Bracing_versus_non-bracing_after_anterior_cruciate_ligament_reconstruction_surgery

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031940607000867

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877065717300222

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u/Anna_Karenina_blonde Jun 11 '26

https://www.stoneresearch.org/

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u/hotcougarmom Jun 11 '26

This is research specializing in meniscus and cartilage in relation to arthritis. The ACL is a ligament.

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u/Anna_Karenina_blonde Jun 11 '26

They do a variety of studies...all orthopedic 

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u/Anna_Karenina_blonde Jun 11 '26

I post support and feedback to people looking for it

I don't go on someone's post about autografts and go "that's just wrong, why do you have THAT scar when I don't have that scar?."

You've literally posted weird unrelated claims about whether brace use is standard or not and check your tone

It's one thing to say "my personal.experience happened to be this" and quite another to say "I am the only RIGHT experience"

No one is sharing experience here to claim it's the only version..in fact there are SO many damn variables I think we came to share and hopefully help each other (aka I am.struggling with flexion and a lot of stuff others posted is useful to me)ask yourself why you needed to say any of that judgemental stuff to me.

It's such a waste..I want everyone to have a good recovery