# How to recover from Torn Ligaments in the knee?



## Pambam (May 9, 2012)

Oh I'm sorry:-(

I tore ligaments in my leg years ago, took longer to heal than a break, not what you want to hear, I was in my twenties and it took a little over a year.

I was told rest was the best healer, I could still ride, just had to be careful but I'd say squats are a bad idea for you, maybe you should start a joint supplement, wouldn't hurt.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Go see a physical therapist specializing in sports injuries. They're business is getting athletes going again.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Kayella (Feb 11, 2012)

You need an MRI done to let you know which ligaments you tore. I tore my knee up from falling off a horse. Along with multiple ligaments running down the sides of my knee, I ripped my ACL in half. The ACL, meniscus, and the MCL, I believe, do not heal on their own. They require surgery and a cadaver tendon is used or a tendon pulled from your own thigh/calf. I tore mine in October, haven't gotten the surgery yet, and haven't ridden since. My knee still randomly pops out of socket. Mine will NOT get better, no matter how much exercise, until I have reconstructive surgery. 

What has your doctor said as far as exercising?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Incitatus32 (Jan 5, 2013)

I'd go see a sports P.T. they can have the best insight on how to rehabilitate your knee so you can ride. Also I second the MRI; my doctors thought I had torn my ligaments/tendons to shreds and delayed surgery (putting me on some light excersizes), when they ran me through the MRI two weeks later they found out I had a chunk of bone/tissue that was flung into my thigh muscle without blood supply. Jury's still out on if it's actually alive. Rest and relaxation as well as a joint supplement could really help, unfortunately it will take some time. My knee doctor said that the knee and spine are the hardest areas to heal because they bear a lot of weight constantly, so it takes longer. Hope you heal soon!


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Technically torn ligaments in the knee, ACL, do not heal themselves, scar tissue forms and sort of binds them together, but any stress will undo a flimsy bind. It's my orthopedic surgeon that informed me of that, I went 7 years with the scar tissue and then something minor re-tore it, then anytime I stressed it, I would get swelling & fluid on it. An ACL replacement solved all that, wished I had it done when I first injured it (dirt bike accident). After 5 months of healing up post surgery, I went back into full on drop dead workouts & kickboxing, knee is stronger than ever. As for the initial injury (major owies, I was crutches for a week), it was about a month or more before I could ride or doing anything remotely strenuous on my feet.


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## NeryLibra (Oct 9, 2013)

Hey guys,

First of all thank you all for your advice and input. While I'd love to go back into the doctor's or to a PT, it all comes down to money and what I can't afford currently. That's why I was posting here in hopes that someone had advice or exercises I could do. 

I will start looking into a joint supplement, does anyone have any starting point suggestions for me to look first?

Kayella, my doctor had pretty much told me to stick with low-impact exercising such as swimming and easy knee stretches/work outs, such as using a resistance band to press my weight into and build the muscle around my knee caps. I did so diligently for six/eight months and saw no improvement. Hence why I haven't even touched a saddle in two years.


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## livelovelaughride (Sep 13, 2011)

For what its worth- there is some anecdotal indication of how using lemongrass essential oil can help to heal tendon tears in the knee. Just something to research.
And I second other imaging - mri and whatever else. And PT.


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## elleng0728 (Oct 13, 2011)

Look into Hyarulonic acid for your joints


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

You say you can't afford it... You need to start saving now. Sell off any books or old stuff in your house. Get the money together.

You need an MRI to evaluate the damage, followed by physical therapy or surgery.

You do not want to be limping for the next 20 years due to not getting this fixed! 

Over the counter supplements are not going to make those ligaments heal up. There is limited evidence showing they are helpful with arthritis, little to no evidence suggesting they help tendon/ligament injuries.

If it has been over 2 years you are not going to get better on your own. Sorry but that is past the time frame for healing. The damage is permanent by this point and this is when you consider surgery. I'm angry that you did not get an MRI when this started. They are expensive but necessary.


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## NeryLibra (Oct 9, 2013)

Hey guys,

Thank you. I will start researching Lemon Grass essential oils as well as Hyarulonic acid.

4horses, I have to agree that I don't want to spend 20yrs limping around due to this. I've already spent the last two regretting every moment + losing out on the mare I was in the running to buy before getting injured and quitting. I have a small jar with about three hundred saved for something else but I'll use it to save up for an MRI. Thank you. 

Again, I appreciate all of you in your advice and taking the time to add your input to this problem. If anyone has -any- exercises they think would help, feel free to post them. I've still got to try and better my knees in the time it takes to earn this money.


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## flytobecat (Mar 28, 2010)

I tore my MCL and was told surgery only had 50 percent chance of working. I was sent to a sports doctor who opted for physical therapy first. I walked a lot stairs and did low impact exercises, but these things were specific to my injury. 
You should at least get an MRI and have expert look at it.


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## NeryLibra (Oct 9, 2013)

Thank you for the input. I've decided to follow you guys' advice and save/plan for an mri and schedule a doctor's visit once I feel comfortable enough with the money I've saved to get all checked out. In the mean time I'll try stairs (I haven't a thing left to lose as it is) and report back!


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## Kayella (Feb 11, 2012)

Look at any payment plans available. I was able to put $100 down on my MRI during the visit, then paid $100 a month until I got it paid off. It may be easier for you to do it that way. I know it sure was instead of forking over $500 all at once.


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## NeryLibra (Oct 9, 2013)

Kayella thank you for bringing that up! I totally forgot about payment plans, when I go to the doctor's (hopefully before Nov 30th, ha...) I'll remember to discuss it with her. Since I've lived the last two years just tolerating/not complaining about it I know it's not a huge priority in life right now. 

Oh and I went out to find some bleachers or stairs since there's none in our house and I have to say WOW! My knees haven't felt so ..normal since the day I got injured. They felt sooo good! So hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this. 
Again I can't thank any of you enough.  I appreciate the help.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

sorry to hear about anyones knee injury. Sign up for the new healthcare if you dont have ins, you have to anyway if you are an adult. the acl replacements usually last about 10 years, my acl was made from a piece of ligament that goes over the knee cap. . I had lateral release done on the opposite side to keep the knee cap from being pulled off to one side. 
You cannot repair a ligament. meniscus can be shaved to alleviate the pulling and additional tearing . The longer you wait the more damage is done to the joint. You can also do leg curls, to build your thigh muscles, have the PT show you , one your tummy on the ^ shaped table and weights on your calves and you curl up . builds thighs and butt . dont overdo any excersize . I wish the best of luck. I injured my knee in 1970 , waited 20 yrs for the surgery to improve . and until I had health ins. My knee is full of scar tissue now, and the ligaments and tendons look like mush.. and it constantly hurts .. so dont wait to long !


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Well I am in Canada, when you injure yourself, or need tests or surgery, there is no out of pocket expenses, it's all covered, as it should be.


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## NeryLibra (Oct 9, 2013)

Awesome Wares!  I think they're working on creating a similar system in the US, but for now I'm looking for ins and collaborating with dad in research. (He's like the king of research within these walls.) You guys keep scaring me, just a little, regarding waiting too long. So we're searching away!

I will start focusing on buns, thighs and ab muscles. I recently tried yoga to do some strengthening, but it was more painful than it was beneficial. Downward dog really did a number on my knees and it gave me zits. I was told that the yoga was supposed to be difficult at first but I'm not sure they understand my knee issues.. I stopped after 15 minutes because I didn't want to overdo it and it was beyond reasonably uncomfortable. 

Anyone who read my thread in the parenting section now knows that we're tight on money, which is why I'm trying the free stuff. But is there a directory somewhere that has a list of PTs that anyone knows of?

Thank you all for your advice and input.  I appreciate it.


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## totalfreedom (Nov 23, 2009)

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record around these parts. :lol: But I'm going to basically say the same thing I just said in another post.

Your body will heal very quickly if you follow the advice of Arnold Ehret, Dr. Robert Morse, Loren Lockmen, and Dr. Douglas Graham. If you research these people you will have gained an immense amount of knowledge on how to heal your body.

I'm also going to suggest you research an herb called, comfrey. It's also called, knit bone, because of it's ability to heal broken bones. And from the research I've done on it, it's also amazing for ligaments and tendons. IMO, it would be worth looking into.


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

OP-Here is the info on Comfrey. If you decide to try it, as TF suggests, you need to be knowledgeable in how to use it as well as the limitations to the use. 

Comfrey | University of Maryland Medical Center


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Geeze frank, why would ANYONE take that stuff or peddle it as a miracle cure? Severe liver damage?! Yeah, no thanks. I think dying from renal failure is probably a side effect most intelligent people would want to avoid.


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## totalfreedom (Nov 23, 2009)

One thing is for sure, do your own research. But something that isn't said in that little article, but can be gleamed from it. Those "studies" are isolating a single compound from the entire plant. And when they used that isolated compound in large quantities it caused negative effects. I'm sure that if someone wanted to look for specific things to isolate in any plant they could find something toxic when taken in massive quantities. Even an organic carrot has compounds that can be isolated and used as rat poison. There's a reason the pharmaceutical sponsored research centers decided to look at this plant in particular. It works, and it interferes with what they're doing.

I could also get on the net and dig up articles on people who used comfrey safely while working with their doctors who were astounded at the rapid rate that they recovered from torn ligaments. So there's definitely two sides of the coin. But one side of the coin has nothing to gain. So again, do your own research....it's worth it.


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## NeryLibra (Oct 9, 2013)

Hey all,

Franknbeans, thank you for the negative side of the picture. I'd rather be aware of the negative than just focused on an inflated positive! I will start my research on comfrey tonight after dinner. Hopefully I'll be able to find some awesome resources! 

In regards to stairs, Oh My God I have seen such a huge improvement in such a short time! Walking up the stairs (not necessarily down them) feels _so _good on my knees, and I've started doing some sit-ups to work on my core strength, push-ups for upper body strength and am now looking for easy exercises for buns and thighs other than the stairs.


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## totalfreedom (Nov 23, 2009)

Have you tried planks for core and overall whole body strength? If you can handle pushups then you could probably handle planks. Also for the rear and thighs you could look into kettlebell swings.?.? I don't know how it would feel to you, but I recall reading of kb swings being used when people had weak knees. You don't need to rush out to buy a kb either. You could use something on hand with a small amount of weight to it and a handle so that you can grip with both hands to get a feel for the exercise.


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## NeryLibra (Oct 9, 2013)

I've never tried planks, but I can definitely start!  I've never heard of kettlebell swings, but a quick google session helped me sort out what the heck those are! Lol, I have some lightweight dumbbells (the heaviest is 10lbs) that I can use in place of a kettlebell, I'll give them a try too. 

After doing a good amount of research on the comfrey I'm still a little skeptical, but leaning toward it at the same time. I'll be sure to keep researching this stuff before I spend any money.

Also I just want to thank you guys! (Again, sorry if I sound like a broken record here. lol.) I appreciate it. A ton!


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## totalfreedom (Nov 23, 2009)

If you do end up wanting to buy the herb, then I would suggest mountainroseherbs.com Their herbs are fresh instead of sitting in storage for years, and they only choose quality plants. I've been very happy with the herbs I purchase from them, and they charge a fair price compared to some things I've seen.

With the KB swings. You probably already know this, but there's lots of youtube videos on how to properly and safely do a swing. It's pretty straight forward, but it's always better practice good technique. One thing that I find important, is to tighten your behind and core on the upswing.


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## NeryLibra (Oct 9, 2013)

I've favorited Mountainroseherbs.com!  So far it's looking like I'll try it. So if/when I do I'll let you know.

And tighten core and behind on upswing, got it. I've spent some time watching some videos too. I will try my best to stay safe!


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## flytobecat (Mar 28, 2010)

Be careful with the herbs. Anything can be toxic if you take enough of it. Take tylenol for example which can also build up in your liver if taken for long periods of time and cause liver problems.
The reason I suggested a PT is because depending on you what's injured, you can actually cause more damage doing certain exercises. In my case, the PT told me not to lift any weight with my leg, because of the stress to the joint. Running was also out, but walking was encouraged.
If you aren't going to go to a doctor right away, get your self one of those over the counter knee braces (the ones that wrap on the bottom and the top) and wear it as much as possible. 
Yoga is great, but certain positions are going to put stress on you knee.
Do the steps backward and forward -that will help. Going down them will probably be hard for now.
Best of luck.


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## NeryLibra (Oct 9, 2013)

Hey guys - a bit of an update!

First - Flytobecat, I will be extremely careful with the herbs. Contrary to who I was when I first got injured (desperate to be in the saddle and careless of what would truly help me) I'd rather take my time, do the research and confer with all of my resources. If you had told me of comfrey or the rest of the stuff listed in this thread two years ago, I would have blindly begged for it to be ordered and started taking it with relentless fury. So I promise, I'll be careful. For now, comfrey is on the back burner. I've had such success with just doing different work-outs that I decided against it.

Second - Stairs, planking, leg-lifts (laying on my side and lifting my legs up), curl ups and walking have become my best friends! I mean *wow*, the change in my knees is impossibly evident. Kettlebell swings didn't feel quite right, but I'm going to try them again when I start seeing slightly better results from the workouts I am doing. Hopefully a slightly stronger core will help make kettlebell swings doable.

I learned something interesting about my knees. When walking normally (pressure travels from the outer foot into the big toe) is when I feel the most pan in my knees. If I walk in an opposite way (applying the most pressure at my inner toe and traveling the weight out to my outer foot, the pain in my knees vanishes. I don't know if this is good or bad, or if it's damaging my knees, but it is interesting.

Also! I've begun looking for a PT and planning a doctor's visit for November. Hopefully I'll be able to get in...


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