I tore my MCL 3 weeks ago and really would like to hear from anyone else out there as to how their recovery went. I think I tore it pretty bad but my doctor seems to think that it will heal correctly on its own, but I strongly disagree. Anyways I dont want to rant on my actual case but rather I'd like to hear how others recoverys went, possibly what worked for them and what didn't.

I tore mine. It took quite a while to be pain free, at least 6 months, maybe a year. It seemed for a long time as if it would never heal and would be very painful occasionally for no apparent reason. Now it never hurts at all.

Your best bet is to go to an orthopedic doctor who specializes in knees.

MCL's do heal on their own. I tore the heck out of mine. Torn MCL's are often accompanied by torn or damaged ACL's. If the MCL is bad, it needs to be braced in the straight position and you need to keep the weight off of it so it doesn't stretch out while healing, but you also need to gently move it a bit to make sure the fibers heal correctly aligned (I was allowed to bend the knee about 10 degrees and then straighten a few times each day).

Mine needed the above mentioned treatment for about 6 weeks before they could deal with my ACL. While everything has healed very well, I occasionally have a little trouble with pain in the MCL area, probably from adhesions.

Tore mine, did nothing really except take days off when it hurt too much. 6 months to get almost back to normal. 18 months to be completely pain free. Associated damage to ACL or meniscus should be checked out by an ortho.

Hey,

I can't speak directly to MCL, but can speak to LCL (Lateral collateral ligament) damage.

I concur with Shortimer that the healing has been maddeningly slow. Granted, I was up and hiking high peaks (with a stiff stabilizer brace) the weekend after the injury. Still, after months of healing, the pain & tightness is still present and my knee stability is still questionnable.

I've also found my LCL injury to be insanely easy to re-injure. Just 2-3 weeks ago I was doing work on our property surrounding our cabin when I stepped in some sort of gopher hole and hyer-extended my knee, re-injuring my LCL. The pain resulting was familiar and immmediate.

For reference, my initial injury happened on 29th June 2009. (Yup, the whole "heard a snap, saw white, felt immediate pain" experience many of us are familiar with.) I still suffer pain/stiffness, especially after sitting for long periods (e.g. on an airplane) which causes me to hobble when I first stand up and I still cannot lie flat on my stomach without considerable pain (e.g. my massage therapist has to take special care to elevate my left leg while she's working on my back).

Part of my ongoing treatment has been to balance protecting my knee with the brace with removing my stabilizer brace and giving my leg muscles the chance to strengthen around the knee to provide natural stability. I'm sure I'm still got a long road ahead.

Good luck with your healing.

Sarah

This is one of those injuries that really started getting better faster when I quit screwing with it. So long as I kept doing stupid stuff and aggravating it, I made very little progress. Once I slowed down just a little and took care not to move it the wrong way I started to see improvement. Of course, that does NOT mean rest.

Moni wrote:Your best bet is to go to an orthopedic doctor who specializes in knees.

MCL's do heal on their own. I tore the heck out of mine. Torn MCL's are often accompanied by torn or damaged ACL's. If the MCL is bad, it needs to be braced in the straight position and you need to keep the weight off of it so it doesn't stretch out while healing, but you also need to gently move it a bit to make sure the fibers heal correctly aligned (I was allowed to bend the knee about 10 degrees and then straighten a few times each day).

Mine needed the above mentioned treatment for about 6 weeks before they could deal with my ACL. While everything has healed very well, I occasionally have a little trouble with pain in the MCL area, probably from adhesions.

tanneyman13…..welcome to the knee club. My MCL’s are still attached thank god, but both of my knees have been ripped up in various and creative ways. I recommend you listen to Moni and do what she recommends.

I think that the key to climbing and remaining active in outdoor “sports” into your “later years” is this:

If you need to rest something for a short time --- 6, 8, or 22 weeks, whatever, do it. This short time is nothing compared to years of happy pain free climbing.

Sorry to hear about your knee, I wish you a speedy, total recovery.

GK

Completely Tore my left LCL and partially tore my MCL when I dislocated my Fib last February.

Had a 2.5 hour surgery to repair the tears and screw the Fib to Tib. Was climbing Sport .11's and full bore Alpine Ice stuff 15 weeks after the primary surgery and three weeks after getting the screw out.

See a Knee Specialist and have it fixed properly. It will reduce the healing period drastically and allow you to return to normal stuff 50% sooner if not quicker!!!

There is a huge variation in the severity of the tears. I tore my right in June 2005, but was doing 5000' elevation-gain "hikes" within 2 weeks. The first week was Hell and extremely painful. Only an MRI and experienced doc can really see the severity of the tear.

Wow this is some good advice, thank you all very much, especially guyzo for the warm knee club welcome! Unfortunately I haven't been able to get an MRI yet, my doctor claims they are only used as preparation for surgery. I had an X-ray which was useless. I will be getting a second opinion next week. Hopefully I can find out exactly how severe my tear is. As far as recovery goes are most of you back to 100%?

You bet and then some!

I was rehabing the knee three days after my initial surgery and had a very positive mental attitude about healing process. Doc told me those were the key reasons I am back to 100% 3 and half months after initial repair surgery.

Oh yeah, and I am 50+ y/o.... more than twice your age.

tanneyman13 wrote: As far as recovery goes are most of you back to 100%?

Yes, 100% ( not the same as when I was 23 mind you) I can't use my knees as excuses.

I hope all goes well.

Keep us posted.

tanneyman13 wrote: ...my doctor claims they are only used as preparation for surgery.

Time for a new doctor. The MRI is to evaluate whether or not you need surgery. Anything else is guesswork.

Be sure they get the contrast injection too.

The best knee doc in Ca is Dr. Neal El'Attrache at Kerlan Jobe. Google him up, and check out his track record with the worlds best athletes...

Snapped my left MCL about 3 years ago. I was able to keep running and working out but everything had to be straight. Any kind of lateral movement, would kill me. I was told there's really no need to have surgery for one unless I was running back, I'm not... It occasionally feels loose if I'm walking or hiking on it for a while but the only time i really notice it is, just a decresed range of motion in a deep knee bend. It took about a year to really be pain free and some time after that to get confidence back in really jumping or landing on it. Somtimes I still think twice.

tanneyman13 wrote: As far as recovery goes are most of you back to 100%?

Absolutely, but you have to be totally committed to the rehab and then some. Ice is your friend.