Sprained MCL taking a long time to heal.

May 11, 2010
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I'm goofy and surfing a small right, back foot slipped off the outside rail and knee went left while the rest of me went right and back into the wave. instantly knew something was bad. Had a long hobble back to the truck.

It's getting slowly better but going on 8 weeks and still can't surf. Any tips on speeding up recovery would be much appreciated. Been using Arnica and light stretches everyday. Work a lot on my feet everyday to so lots of walking, bending and standing.

Thanks,
Danny
 
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SurfDoc

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6 or 8 weeks would be about right for this to heal. Depending on how severely you strained that MCL though you could have associated damage to the cartilage as well. Was there any swelling? Plus if you are that active you could prolong the healing phase. At 2 months it would perhaps be advisable to have it checked out by a professional.
 

Goofy_Footed

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I'm goofy and surfing a small right, back foot slipped off the outside rail and knee went left while the rest of me went right and back into the wave. instantly knew something was bad. Had a long hobble back to the truck.

It's getting slowly better but going on 8 weeks and still can't surf. Any tips on speeding up recovery would be much appreciated. Been using Arnica and light stretches everyday. Work a lot on my feet everyday to so lots of walking, bending and standing.

Thanks,
Danny
Wow, this is my exact scenario! Goofy footed, back foot slipped and upper and lower leg went in different directions. Happenned 2 days before I left for PR...couldn’t surf while I was there :foreheadslap:

Im at 2.5 weeks now and still feeling pain, not terrible, but bad enough to keep me out of the water. My knee never had visible swelling and no bruising but it’s painful to bend and extend my leg. Planting and turning is not an option on it either.

Anyone have recovery tips to share?
 

slipped_disc

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Jun 27, 2019
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Anyone have recovery tips to share?
Here's the PT routine I got when I sprained mine.

10 air squats
10 split lunges/side (form tip: keep each knee bent 90 degrees. if you don't have a big mirror, film yourself)
10 lunges/side with backfoot up on the couch or bed
10 four-pointers/leg: this one requires a sliding disc (or something that can slide on the floor like a towel on a wood floor). Squat down on left leg and slide right heel forward > return to standing. Squat on left side and slide right foot to the right > return to normal. Slide leg behind you to 6 o'clock > return to normal. Slide leg to opposite side (ends up being about 8 o'clock). Do all four points and that's considered 1 rep. In other words 10 four-pointers = 40 single leg squats per leg.

10 hamstring curls on your back. Lay on your back. Put your heels on the slider discs. Lift your butt up off the ground and slide your heels towards you butt. Keep butt elevated. Slide legs back out.
10 Single-leg deadlifts with a kettlebell

Dosage
Do what you can. The PT had me aim for two sets. But in the beginning, I couldn't get through 10 four-pointers.

Work your way to three or four sets of the whole thing.

Modifying exercises
In the beginning, the hamstring curls were too painful... too much pressure in my knee. So we modified it. I would lay on my back. Start with my heels curled towards my butt > lift butt off floor > slide legs out. Still had a little pain then, but much more manageable.

Dealing with pain
Some pain is okay, but too much means you should skip or modify the exercise. For example, my knee was making all kinds of crazy noises but didn't hurt too bad when doing the exercises. But as noted above, the hamstring exercise was causing a lot of pain/pressure.
 

slipped_disc

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Awesome thanks! How long were you out when you injured yours?

Im debating if I should go get an mri and see an orthopedic, but they’re all scheduled out until February in my area.
Maybe four or five weeks. Took much longer for it to feel 100%. I’ll still feel it if I don’t work my legs.

If you’re worried about a major tear, I’d start with a PT if you can. They can test your knee for stability which is a pretty good test in absence of an MRI.
 
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Goofy_Footed

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Maybe four or five weeks. Took much longer for it to feel 100%. I’ll still feel it if I don’t work my legs.

If you’re worried about a major tear, I’d start with a PT if you can. They can test your knee for stability which is a pretty good test in absence of an MRI.
Thanks again. I’m going to my primary this week for an annual checkup so I’ll let him know about this and see if he can get me into PT. Being out of the water is killing me especially because I have two new boards showing up this month lol
 
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One-Off

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I will share this- when I sprained my medial collateral ligament the MD told me soft tissue injuries tend to take longer to heal than broken bones, mostly because people take them less seriously and re-injure the joint. He wanted me to stay on crutches for a month, and gradually reintroduce walking, then jogging for another month, before surfing.
 
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slipped_disc

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… the MD told me soft tissue injuries tend to take longer to heal than broken bones…
Also a good point. Age, severity of injury and lifestyle will influence recovery time.

my injury was only a grade 1 sprain hence the relatively quick healing time. Best to get a pt or doc’s opinion to figure out the wisest course of action.
 

Goofy_Footed

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I will share this
Also a good point. Age, severity of injury and lifestyle will influence recovery time.
I went to the ER the day after I injured it. I’ve had knee pain in the past but never felt what I felt when I sustained the injury. It wasn’t all that painful but it scared the crap out of me because it felt like the bottom half of my leg bent and twisted at a 90 degree angle. I laid on my board in the water for about 20 minutes because I was scared to go in and try to put weight on it. One of my neighbors paddled over to me and grabbed my board and helped me to shore. Luckily I was able to put weight on it and limp home.

The doc at the ER said there was no bone damage in the X-ray and that I probably had a bad sprain or some degree of tear. She said since there was no swelling or bruising that I should just rest and ice it and it may get better in a week or so but if not, maybe think about getting an mri.

Im 48 and in good shape for my age. I surf as much as I can, probably 3-4 times a week, even more if the waves permit. I own a home inspection business so I’m constantly on my feet which hasn’t been doing my knee any favors. I’m only about 160 lbs though so not much weight to carry around. The knee definitely feels better the more rest I give it.
 
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VonMeister

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I went to the ER the day after I injured it. I’ve had knee pain in the past but never felt what I felt when I sustained the injury. It wasn’t all that painful but it scared the crap out of me because it felt like the bottom half of my leg bent and twisted at a 90 degree angle. I laid on my board in the water for about 20 minutes because I was scared to go in and try to put weight on it. One of my neighbors paddled over to me and grabbed my board and helped me to shore. Luckily I was able to put weight on it and limp home.

The doc at the ER said there was no bone damage in the X-ray and that I probably had a bad sprain or some degree of tear. She said since there was no swelling or bruising that I should just rest and ice it and it may get better in a week or so but if not, maybe think about getting an mri.

Im 48 and in good shape for my age. I surf as much as I can, probably 3-4 times a week, even more if the waves permit. I own a home inspection business so I’m constantly on my feet which hasn’t been doing my knee any favors. I’m only about 160 lbs though so not much weight to carry around. The knee definitely feels better the more rest I give it.
Sometimes sh!t hurts and takes a bit to heal. Do what you can do and limit activities that cause too much discomfort. You're not going to make it worse by walking around on it.

I would also focus some energy on trying to increase my physical size to that of an adult male. You'd be amazed at how differently your body responds to things.
 
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PRCD

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Sometimes sh!t hurts and takes a bit to heal. Do what you can do and limit activities that cause too much discomfort. You're not going to make it worse by walking around on it.

I would also focus some energy on trying to increase my physical size to that of an adult male. You'd be amazed at how differently your body responds to things.
lol how'd i know you were going to yell, "SQUATZ AND OATZ!" at him?
 
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nimby

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Awesome thanks! How long were you out when you injured yours?

Im debating if I should go get an mri and see an orthopedic, but they’re all scheduled out until February in my area.
get it scheduled now, can always cancel.
At this point rest and ice, PT is never advised until a diagnosis, and a PT develops a program specifically for you once the knee has been deemed sufficiently recovered.
Trust me on this. Daughter is a physical therapist, wife at one time the sports medicine nurse for the 49er team physician practice, where I was treated for knee inuries and repairs.
 
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mundus

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Not better in 8 weeks, time for MRI. I did mine kinda bad, swelling, black and blue lower leg and foot. Never got a MRI but crutches for a month then better in 7 weeks.
 

VonMeister

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get it scheduled now, can always cancel.
At this point rest and ice, PT is never advised until a diagnosis, and a PT develops a program specifically for you once the knee has been deemed sufficiently recovered.
Trust me on this. Daughter is a physical therapist, wife at one time the sports medicine nurse for the 49er team physician practice, where I was treated for knee inuries and repairs.
Rest and ice are the last two things a person should do.
 
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bluengreen

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Walk on it and don't ice > MRI > PT.

I ripped mine off the bone last May. It reattached, but I'm still healing and regaining muscle mass. If you do too much, you can put a lot of stress on the joint that can cause overcompensation issues (patellar tendinitis, accelerated cartilage loss, ACL and meniscus injury). Just chill, brah.
 
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