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Question about ACL injuries

Posted on 2/26/10 at 11:57 am
Posted by Beer Gut
USA
Member since Jun 2009
129 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 11:57 am
Do you guys know if there are many dominant NFL players who underwent ACL repair in college or earlier? I realize many players come back after ACL repair, but I'm trying to get an idea of how fully they actually can recover. I think looking at how many people were able to recover and do well in the NFL might be a good indicator.

I ask the question on this forum because some of our key football players have undergone ACL surgery, which is what got me wondering about this.
Posted by SpqrTiger
Baton Rouge
Member since Aug 2004
9630 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 12:03 pm to
If I remember right, I think Drew Brees tore his ACL in high school.
Posted by bayoutiger08
Cajun Country, Louisiana
Member since Apr 2008
623 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 12:13 pm to
not sure but i think frank gore and willis mcgaee sp???
Posted by dutchtowntiger100
dutchtown
Member since Aug 2009
2872 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 12:22 pm to
Twenty years ago, it was a career ender.
Now, they've done so many of them and perfected the surgery that it's very easy to come back from - now multiple surgeries are another story - ask Deuce McAllister.

The technology is so much better now.
Posted by SeattleTiger19
Member since Oct 2007
4537 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 12:26 pm to
It's a tough injury to come back. I k ow that some
skiers in the Olympics had it but not sure how well it does in football. I remember when I tore mine HBO did a documentary on two NFL players who were doing rehab at the same time. One was from the falcons the other was from the Broncos. Was it Davis and Anderson?
Posted by DaBeerz
Member since Sep 2004
18300 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 1:07 pm to
didn't Joseph Addai ?
Posted by deuce985
Member since Feb 2008
27660 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 1:11 pm to
Pretty sure Frank Gore tore both his knees up in CFB...

Addai tore his ACL in HS...but LSU honored his scholarship...thankfully.

Lots of people have done it. I think a lot of players slow down in CFB after the injury. Some say despite it being about a year to recover and play(unless you're a freak healer like Ridley) it takes about 2-3 years to fully recover. That is why it seems like in CFB a lot of guys slow down in their careers like Alexander did...and it severely affects their draft status.
This post was edited on 2/26/10 at 1:14 pm
Posted by BayouPride
Member since Sep 2006
873 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 1:13 pm to
jaamal lewis is the most unbelievable example i can remember. blew out an acl late in his carrer at UT, got it repaired in the off season. declared early. ran a sub-4.4 fourty at the combine...later in the nfl, blew out the other knee (acl) and returned after that surgery to have multiple 1000 rushing seasons in the nfl. he is a special case
Posted by LSUTygerFan
Homerun Village
Member since Jun 2008
33232 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 1:29 pm to
What about Deuce ?
Posted by SDTiger15
lost in Cali
Member since Jan 2005
11625 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 1:33 pm to
Rod Woodson, a safety for the Steelers tore his ACL game 1 of the season and came back to play in the superbowl that year.
This post was edited on 2/26/10 at 2:06 pm
Posted by PokerPlayingTiger
Member since Jan 2007
2745 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 3:13 pm to
Terry Allen became an All Pro NFL running back after blowing out BOTH knees (different injuries).
Posted by nacho24
El Palo Rojo
Member since Jan 2010
6039 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 3:19 pm to
i know matt forte of the bears underwent acl surgery his soph. or jr. year and recovered just fine... it's a surgery that nowadays i would imagine has a success rate of 75% or higher
Posted by LSUTygerFan
Homerun Village
Member since Jun 2008
33232 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 3:23 pm to
quote:

nacho24


Didn't Deuce injure both knees in college?
Posted by OTIS2
NoLA
Member since Jul 2008
52196 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 3:26 pm to
quote:

I realize many players come back after ACL repair, but I'm trying to get an idea of how fully they actually can recover.
I've understood the surgically reconstructed ACL to be more durable than the original. The recovery is the bitch.
Posted by PokerPlayingTiger
Member since Jan 2007
2745 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 3:33 pm to
Also, I believe Meachem tore up his knee during his freshman year at UT.
Posted by Waldo17
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2009
20 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 3:36 pm to
Willis McGahee blew out his entire knee in his last game at Miami.
Posted by LSUtiger17
New Orleans
Member since Mar 2009
3092 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 4:11 pm to
quote:

Some say despite it being about a year to recover and play(unless you're a freak healer like Ridley) it takes about 2-3 years to fully recover.

I tore mine during my first football game of my senior year. Had surgery September 17 and made it back to play soccer on January 13 and played for the whole season minus one game. From knife to release was right at 16 weeks. At the time I was the fastest that this doctor had released anyone, but I'm pretty sure most people are around 5 months now. At the time of my surgery, 2007, most people weren't at 90%(what most PT's and Dr's use as a standard) until about 6-7 months. And I'm pretty sure I would in no way be considered a "freak" like Ridley.
This post was edited on 2/26/10 at 4:12 pm
Posted by Jcorye1
Tom Brady = GoAT
Member since Dec 2007
76373 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 4:17 pm to
Willis Magahee blew his knee totally out.
Posted by LSUTygerFan
Homerun Village
Member since Jun 2008
33232 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 4:19 pm to
quote:

Willis Magahee blew his knee totally out


True, but didn't the OP say something about a "dominating" back?
Posted by Beer Gut
USA
Member since Jun 2009
129 posts
Posted on 2/26/10 at 4:25 pm to
Thanks guys, I find this all really interesting.

I've done a little research on this since my post. Apparently, one of the most common repair techniques is to resect a 9 or 10 mm width central portion of the patient's patellar tendon to use for the new ACL graft. They said the removed patellar tendon portion typically grows back in, and in fact eventually the patellar tendon may be thicker than it was before the surgery. Some studies showed that this type of ACL graft has about 112% strength of the native ACL. So in theory, the new tendon should be a little stronger than the old ACL.

Unfortunately, I read that there are a lot of other things that can cause problems after the surgery other than failure of the graft itself. Things like problems with scar formation in the joint and mechanical issues related to the graft not sucessfully being placed perfectly. Also, a lot of these guys have other injuries in the knee that make recovery more difficult.

What I read did say that the surgical techniques and outcomes have definitely gotten way better than they used to be, and it is possible to "fully" recover. The fact that there are some pretty good NFL guys who have done so proves in my mind that it is at least possible to get back to elite form. But then I wonder how good they would be had they never torn their ACL...

Thanks for all your comments, I appreciate it.
This post was edited on 2/26/10 at 4:31 pm
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