I'm far from a doctor but from the Merriman thing I remember them saying that's the biggest problem from ACL to MCL. The MCL will heal itself but the ACL will never heal without surgery. Not to be a pessamist but some of these stories get a bit exagerated as I believe he may of had a tear or something. I just don't believe a guy could do anything with a completely torn ACL. Look how far Merriman lasted, although if this was high scholl I'd beleive it cause I remember at 18 there were no injuries that could hold you down except maybe a bad bout of craps. LOL
"Cdnfavre+Rodgersfan" wrote:
I have a completely torn ACL and a completely torn MCL. Usually, MCLs do repair themselves (except for mine, due to location of tear). ACLs, if fully torn, generally do not repair themselves. It doesn't hurt at all for the most part - the biggest problem is instability and future arthritis caused by rubbing from the instablity. Proper physio and leg strengthening can help protect from that. I am up for surgery to staple/screw down the MCL and replace the ACL. It's the MCL I miss most.
I have a crazy friend who plays hockey and fastball on bad knees - 1 completely torn ACL and the other ACL partially torn. She wears a big brace on the one and a smaller brace on the other and does just fine. She will get her knee fixed when she is no longer able to play (she has said that for the last 10 years, and is still playing high level at age 43).
It's entirely possible to play for years on a damaged or completely torn ACL. It can affect performance, but it doesn't necessarily make somebody really tough for dealing with pain.