ACL/Miniscus Tear and Bone Bruise
I injured myself playing basketball in January 2004 and had ACL reconstructure surgery 2 months later in March 2004. In retrospect I should have waited longer, but I was stupid and stubborn. My knee was still swollen from the original injury, and the surgery just added to the swelling and pain. Consequently the recovery has taken much longer than it should, and it hasn't gone as smoothly. It's now almost a year post surgery, and I still have pretty bad muscle atrophy. I would say my quad muscle is about 65% of what it should be. I try to work out, but I work long hours, and I'm a relatively lazy, slightly overweight person. I'm still hopefull for a full recovery, but the knee will never be the same, that's for sure. I'm just hoping that it will be at least 80% of what it was.
Overall, my advice is, don't rush into surgery. Wait till all the swelling from the original injury is gone. Also, if you're a busy person like me, and are a little lazy, it's going to be tough for you. I get to the gym like once a week for 45 mins, but you need to go to the gym 3-4 times a week, and for at least a couple hours. You will always have slight atrophy in the bad leg, and it sucks, it's a constant fight.
Also, if you're a little overweight, the injury and pain seem like such a great excuse to be lazy, and that's not good. You'll feel depressed, and you won't want to get around because your knee hurts, so you eat more, and you'll probably gain more weight, which is not good.
