Basketball injury question - can you re-tear a torn ACL?

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playing ball this morning, drove hard to the hoop, landed on my left knee and heard that dreaded "pop"... game over

I tore my left ACL five years ago when I ended my college career.  Did the rehab, but DIDNT GET SURGERY to repair the knee.

My question is basically...
a) can you re-tear a torn ACL?
b) should I go to the doctor or just tough it out? (figuring I know exactly what they are going to tell me to do)
 
a)I'm pretty sure once its torn its torn. There's no re-tearing it. However playing with a torn ACL is very dangerous in the fact
that you can easily tear your MCL, PCL, meniscus, etc.(as a result of your torn ACL). Which is what I believe that pop was....
b) I'm assuming your fairly young and if your active, you should go to the doctor and get that surgery. I know you don't wanna hear that
but its best in the long run. However, if you just play sports ever once in a blue moon, maybe you can just tough it out. But remember that
your running the risk of tearing other ligaments which can make your situation a lot worse.

Some questions for you:

1. Was it fully torn before or just partially torn?
2. Did your knee swell up bad this last time (like grapefruit status)?
 
thanks nikeair45 for the quick response...

1) partially torn acl from my previous injury
2) my knee did not swell up this time, in fact I was able to hobble to the showers, clean up, walk down a flight of stairs and teach one class before I went to the school nurse to get ibuprofen and an ice pack (granted one of the gym managers had a knee brace for me to put on after I showered)

it hurts pretty bad, but I am able to hobble around in a knee brace. last time I hurt my knee I had to be carried away and the swelling was horrid.

could it be a sprained meniscus or other part of the knee?

ps- school doctor said I should get the MRI just so I can properly assess the injury... I'm still unsure
 
O ok well I tore my ACL before so i kinda know some stuff. If I'm not mistaken though if you partially tore your ACL the first time, surgery wasn't necessary anyways in the first place. As long as you did rehab, your ACL should have repaired itself by the time you last hurt it again recently 5 years after the initial injury. So saying that it IS possible that you tore your ACL again(partially or fully) however since you said it didnt swell that bad that probably means you only sprained it or at most partially tore it(which just means no sports for a while with rehab). I say this because the reason it swells so bad means that something is torn and your body is pumping blood to the area in an attempt to repair it.

It could be a sprained ligament(not sure which one to be honest) the only way to find out would be an MRI. I personally would take it easy on the knee, if it hurts real bad use crutches, wait it out a couple of weeks or a month. If its still bad, go to a doctor. If its not bad, maybe you should still consider rehab.
 
If it aint costing you much, get checked out. Either way you need to know where you stand
 
Michael Redd tore his left ACL twice within a year, so yeah it's possible.
 
NikeAir5 is pretty right on with his assessment. Sounds like you had some pretty good doctors/ therapists/ AT's in the past.

But no you can't re-tear a fully torn ACL. You can tear a partially torn one the rest of the way, and with a torn ACL you run a very high risk for tearing any and everything else in the knee.

I would suggest going to your orthopedist.

If you live close to where you played ball in college (and didn't make your athletic trainers hate you while you were there) I would also suggest going to see them first. Typically, we (Athletic Trainers) remember our kids, especially those who spent large amounts of time rehabbing with us, and don't mind checking you out with your post-collegiate injuries. They could at least rule out (or in) the need for an MRI and possibly save you some money. And if not, its not like you waste any money other than gas money going to see them and find out you do indeed need an MRI.
 
What shoes you were wearing ? and god damn how big/heavy are you ? Tearing ACL/MCL usually only happen to heavy people or people who wear bad cushioned shoes
 
Originally Posted by KenJi714

What shoes you were wearing ? and god damn how big/heavy are you ? Tearing ACL/MCL usually only happen to heavy people or people who wear bad cushioned shoes

false. weight has nothing to do with tearing ligaments in your knee. 
 
It sure does. Heavy people put more stress on the knees thus lead to faster wearing of the ligaments
 
I don't think it's possible, but I'm no expert. HOWEVER...

- I tore my ACL, 3 weeks later, could jog - So I played ball again
- Not having an ACL is a huge disadvantage, it'll be tough to shuffle left/right
- I then shattered my meniscus, which is still haunting me today...Might have to get a transplant

I highly suggest you get an ACL reconstruction.
 
Originally Posted by KenJi714

What shoes you were wearing ? and god damn how big/heavy are you ? Tearing ACL/MCL usually only happen to heavy people or people who wear bad cushioned shoes

indifferent.gif
 
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