So guys I have just come out of hospital after getting my acl recond (hamstring method) done. The doc reckons 12 months until I am back on board but I am aiming for 9 months. How long until you were in the water? How long until you felt 100%? Any other things worth mentioning? I did the injury last year and continued to kite (strapless only) and surf with no issues and am starting to regret it already. Cannot even walk!

Sorry about your injury, but sb forum is the last place I'd look for medical advice, unless we have a specialist amongst us , 3 weeks and you'll be fine

Dafunk I assume your back in the water and are you just lawn mowing or starting to push it. Cauncy id rather ask people who kite and have had the injury. I have heard all types of time frames from physios so they are obviously not reliable either. Also most physios deal with footy players and not surfers. also 8m goofy and its right knee which is front foot that does not twist so much when surfing.

Damn Jono, sorry to hear the news. Here is my take:
As a long time professional snow skier racer/extreme rider I blew out my left acl. It was pretty ugly. Surgery the following day, 6 months rehab. Lucky it was toward the end of the season, (we had a very long season going from Nov to May) and I did it in late March. Started rehab after the removal of the cast (which they don't do any more and get you into physio straight away) I went to a knee brace and was racing again(with a knee brace) the following season. I didn't push myself too hard that season and the results showed in my times. I had a full 6 months of recovery and training to get it better. Year after that I ditched the brace (which was one of the original Don Joys as I went to school with the sister of the dude who started the company). I have never had a problem with that knee ever since. I have gone hard on it, (though I quit racing and moved to Oz the following year) and just focused mainly on surfing. I have skied plenty since then with no issues, doesn't affect any sport I do.
Now, on my other knee I have torn the meniscus surfing in Puerto Escondido a few years ago, that too required surgery as I could not bend my knee. I started physio the day after the op, and was back in the water in 4 weeks. That has been fine ever since.
Last year I tore the medial on the same knee (as the meniscus) and I did not have any surgery. 6 weeks of physio and I was back kiting again but taking it a little easy. Rode strapless most of the time for the next month before I started pushing myself hard again.
Knee has been reasonably solid but I do feel a little tendonitis just below the knee cap. All in all I don't feel hindered.
Someone like yourself will have trouble controlling your urge to go hard. Pace yourself over winter, do the physio, ride your bike a lot, and you should be fine in 4 to 6 months.
I am not a doctor, but I have had experience in these injuries, and I have pushed my body to the limit in all the sports I have ever done.
Good luck and be patient.

dafish said..

Damn Jono,
Someone like yourself will have trouble controlling your urge to go hard.

^ This is Jono in a nutshell.

6 months min before strapless with a good knee brace (donkey or cti) but weekly Physio for 6 months before. Expect to be mowing the grass for a little while as you build up the strength again.

the pain from the graft was pretty bad, much worse than the knee, i did it at the start of summer so missed that summer and was back the next summer with a DJ brace either with TT in pond or strapless surfboard on the unsuper banks.

so used to the brace that i still wear it.

Cheers for all the input. Ill aim for 9 months and if I can manage 6, 7 or 8 it will be a massive bonus! Looks like I will go to the darkside and get a SUP! Geez Im only 30!