Any experience with Knee Surgery?

**Mr.Magoo** · 06-08-2004, 11:53 PM

On march 15 I had to have my ACL in my right knee replaced. I used a donor tendon so that the patella tendon would not have to be sacrificed. "patella is the one that goes over your knee cap". My doctor says that I won't be able to do squats until august and then it will only be with light weight. The problem is that my quad has shrunk and I'm gaining body fat because I can't do much cardio. I'm about 5'8" and 200 pds and 21yrs old. My upper body is stronger than it has ever been because that's all I can work but I look like a house built on **** stilts. I guess I just needed to vent a little! Has anyone else had to make a comeback from surgery? What's your story?

**Austex** · 06-09-2004, 06:20 AM

Didn't have surgery yet, but I had a knee injury which prevented me from training legs (or just kneeling down hurt like hell). I'm in physical therapy now and am doing more therapy-exercises in the gym. I'm staying away from the MRI, hoping if I don't see the damage it will heal. Regardless, knee injuries are horrible. Throws your hip/back out of alignment...and yes, I also lost about 3-4 inches from my thighs.

**SwoleCat** · 06-09-2004, 08:16 AM

I had bi-lateral (= both knees) patellar tendon ruptures on June 19th, 2003. (almost a year to date) Surgery was on June 20th, the day after the incident.

I was in leg immobilizers for months, lost a great deal of leg size/strength, and my upper body remained strong, but also "shrunk" a bit from the legs (I call them the teacher and the upper body is the student) not being able to be worked, release growth hormone and test, etc. As of now I am still ub-able to run, but can squat/leg press/leg extensions/etc., and leg size is almost back to where it was.

There is no speeding the process up. The knees are a big deal when it comes to surgery and being a bodybuilder. I've never been so depressed for a period of 6-8 months.........it wasn't until I was able to train legs again, even w/just 40 lbs, that I felt like I was on my way to being what I was.

All this happened 5 days after a big photoshoot as well, so I was in emergency room RIPPED, but that was all so irrelevant at the time. It was a truly horrid experience.

Best of luck, hope it works out for you quicker with less depression.

~SC~

**xcelbeyond** · 07-04-2004, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by SwoleCat

I had bi-lateral (= both knees) patellar tendon ruptures on June 19th, 2003. (almost a year to date) Surgery was on June 20th, the day after the incident.

Hey bro - what was the incident that caused this?

xcel

**BIGMATTJN** · 05-16-2005, 01:09 PM

I Had My Acl Repaired Twice In My Same Knee. The First Time Was About 15 Years Ago And With The Procedure Preformed Back Then, My Leg Was Put Into A Cast For 3 Months. The Atrophy Was Unbearable. Now I Have A Lot Of Aggitation In My Knee But I Really Concentrate And Do A Lot Of Single Leg Isolation Stuff Slow And Strict. I Have Found By Doing This Over The Years My Bad Leg Is Almost Up To Size Of My Good Leg. My Only Problem Is That My Knee Is Big And Blocky Looking From All The Wear And Tear, Not Too Asthetically Pleasing To Look At. Oh Well, I Bust My Ass To Get Back And My Legs Are Finally Up To Snuff. Work Hard Bro And You Will Be Fine........thanks.......

**Lmg2701** · 05-17-2005, 10:08 AM

Hey bro, I was 21 last July when I had a VMO Advance and Lateral Release. The muscle atropy I suffered was a bitch and it took about 3 or 4 months until I could start to get back in the swing of things. The muscle came back though, I'm still struggling to get it back in proportion with the other leg. I'm competing this July which will make it almost an entire year since the surgery. It won't be completely perfect, but I think it'll be good enough to where I can place well. My legs always threw my body out of proportion because my legs have always been a big strong point for me, I think the time that I took off of legs actually helped to put them in more proportion with the rest of my body.