I am NOT A DOCTOR. This is not medical advice. This post is just about how I am dealing with my ACL injury and tracking my progress.
Timeline of my ACL injury:
Injured ACL in a BJJ competition
Oct 28, 2016
Got the MRI
Nov 8, 2016
Confirmed torn ACL (everything else in the knee seems to be intact)
Jan/Feb 2016
Estimated date of ACL reconstruction surgery
July/Aug 2016
Estimated date of return to sport (light drilling)
On September 24, 2016 I tore my ACL in a bjj competition (IBJJF Toronto Open)
The video and the blog post cover the same thing. There is some stuff in the video I don’t mention in the post and vice versa.
In this blog post I’ll talk about:
– How exactly I got injured (and how you can learn from my mistake)
– How did it feel when it happened? How does my knee feel now?
– What medical steps have I taken so far
– How it has impacted my training
This is right before I tore my ACL.
How I Tore My ACL:
Ok so I trained my ass off for the Toronto Open. It’s a grappling competition. I was competing as a purple belt. I won my division and absolute last year as a blue belt.
I won the blue belt heavy and open class in 2015.
First match is up and I submit the guy with an arm-bar in 2 minutes.
Second match is up and right as the match starts my opponent (who usually pulls guard) catches me by surprise and shoots a low double leg attack on my legs. He basically ended up running into my knee with his body weight and bending it in a way it should not bend.
This is right after I got double legged and my ACL tore.
I immediately fall to the floor and start swearing and the match is over. I try to stand up and have to sit back down.
For some reason there were NO FUCKING MEDICS. Usually there are but this time only the tournament workers and my team mates were helping me.
My knee didn’t swell up that much. Just a bit. The super intense pain only lasted 30 seconds at the moment of impact. After that my leg would feel ok as long as I didn’t put too much weight on it.
3 Weeks Later
Oct 18. 3 weeks later. It doesn’t hurt most of the time. But if I try running, jumping, or changing directions quickly it FUCKING HURTS! and Occasionally my knee feels loose and unstable for a second.
Did You See a Doctor?
Yes, the day after my injury (Sept 25) I went into the emergency room. The doctor said it looked like a torn meniscus. He referred me to an orthopedic surgeon. He did a bad job because he did not do the proper test for ACL tears.
2 Weeks later I go see the orthopedic surgeon and he immediately tests my leg and says it’s an 80% chance it’s an ACL tear. He said my knee feels very loose.
Oct 28 MRI – ACL Tear Confirmed
This is an MRI image of my right knee. I have no idea how doctors read this stuff!
Mind Set (How am I taking it mentally?)
At first it sucked but I didn’t know how fucked up my leg was. I have strong legs so even though the acl is torn my knee doesn’t feel THAT unstable. I can still walk and squat with it. But occasionally it buckles and that is worrisome.
When the emergency room doctor told me it’s just a meniscus tear I was so happy! But when I found out it was an ACL tear I felt worse.
During the day I was with my girlfriend and we were joking around about it. But then at night (you know when you are falling asleep thinking about shit) I got really upset. Doing BJJ and competing is the funnest thing in my life. It’s the thing I like doing most. Now I’m not able to do it.
I still lift weights like 3 times per week and do cardio (light boxing) 2x per week.
I’m typing this up and I just finished a lifting workout this morning. I am squatting like 235lbs 3 sets of 5 and deadlifting 260lbs. I feel like I could do a lot more but I want to take it really easy on my knee. Squatting does not put any pressure on the ACL you can do full squats safely without your ACLs (I am NOT a doctor. This is not medical advice.)
Now I just gotta wait until I get the surgery date.
Are You Still Working?
I am still working as a personal trainer every day. I also have a fitness boot camp in Richmond Hill. I went back to work the day after I tore my ACL. It doesn’t really hurt unless I try doing athletic movements.
I assume it will take my like a year to get back to full training after getting the surgery and going through rehab. I’m cool with it. Meanwhile I am trying to work and improve my financial situation.
I’ll keep updating this post as my recovery comes along.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to post below.