LCL Tear - Shoulder Instablity - Ligament Laxicity - Help?

KX19

SO... I posted a couple of weeks ago regarding shoulder instability and working towards the goal of being able to do pushups (ways to work towards the goal, strengthen, etc). The back story is that I have/had multidirectional shoulder instability in both shoulders (which lead to arthroscopic surgery to tighten and repair ligaments, including thermal capsulorrhaphy).

Anyway, I started restarted C25K as well as 30DS and things were going great; the only modification I needed was pushups -> wall pushups. I had way more energy, I was losing both inches and pounds, and felt pretty fantastic.

Last week, however, my knee started to bother me. I took my NSAIDs, iced it, and took a week off from all exercise. The other night, I decided to do 30DS. I could tell my knee was still a little bit tender, but nothing I couldn’t work through. Shortly after the first ab circuit, I was on the floor crying, unable to get up or move my knee.

I had x-rays and an ultrasound on Thursday and results suggest that at minimum I tore my LCL and need an MRI to see how bad it looks. Next week I will be seeing my orthopod and hopefully getting my MRI.

My question is, has anyone torn their LCL and what was the prognosis? From what I’ve read, surgery isn’t usually recommended. Does anyone else suffer from ligament laxicity?

What the hell am I supposed to do now? I don’t want to be completely inactive but with bad shoulders, and now a bad knee, what the hell is left to do? Before anyone gets cray, I don’t plan on exercising again until I first talk with my GP/orthopod, but is there any hope? Swimming is great, but it’s really not a practical everyday option.

I'm soo frustrated! Someone tell me I'm not completely alone!

KX19

^

CristinaL1983

I've had several injuries that lead to ongoing issues. Stuff like a busted up shoulder when I was young (from being thrown from a horse and landing poorly then aggravating it with tennis), knee issues from repeated sports injuries, and ankle issues resulting in a couple ankle surgeries. I tend to have very flexible joints which is probably some level of ligament laxity and does lead to easier sports injury.

Assuming you will probably go to physical therapy, most physical therapists are happy to show you exercises that you can do that will strengthen the muscles surrounding the joints (which will help with stability and prevent re-injury) even if they aren't specifically what you are there for. Otherwise, get a good personal trainer who can help with exercises for strengthening those muscles. IMO, that is the best way to avoid future injury.

I find that basic weight lifting with good form is typically what they recommend as well as other stability/balancing exercises. I usually just stick to that and try not to get too fancy with the exercise videos. For cardio, I stick with a free motion elliptical machine which feels like running but without the painful ankle locking up issues I get from actually running.

kcaffee1

If your knee can take it, walking will help do wonders to start some of the rehab process. I, also, have bad knees (martial arts injury compounded with riding injuries). I can dome lifting, but it drives my trainer crazy because for several weeks things will be fine, then out of the seeming blue, the knees will start acting up big time.

Not sure about the torn ligament, I've been lucky in that regard so far. ::knocks on wood HARD:: But I have started trying to incorporate some knee rehab work into daily life to supplement the walking.

Try looking up exercises for knee stiffness and pain... there's a nice printable PDF pamphlet/booklet out by Kaiser Permanente that is focused on knee exercises for physical therapy. Just remember if it hurts (like injury aggravation hurts) to either stop until you can talk to a professional, or back off the intensity.

Sorry I couldn't provide the link to the pamphlet... I printed it, and the URL isn't on the printout.

Hope this at least helps a little bit.

KX19

Assuming you will probably go to physical therapy, most physical therapists are happy to show you exercises that you can do that will strengthen the muscles surrounding the joints (which will help with stability and prevent re-injury) even if they aren't specifically what you are there for.

That's a good point. I'll definitely have to see my PT again soon, but unfortunately I don't have coverage right now, so I don't expect to go to many sessions.

CristinaL1983

Assuming you will probably go to physical therapy, most physical therapists are happy to show you exercises that you can do that will strengthen the muscles surrounding the joints (which will help with stability and prevent re-injury) even if they aren't specifically what you are there for.

That's a good point. I'll definitely have to see my PT again soon, but unfortunately I don't have coverage right now, so I don't expect to go to many sessions.

If you explain your situation to them and can chat while doing other exercises, they would probably be willing to help you out. I've always had really good experiences with physical therapists. A lot of the time, they have hand outs for pretty much every injury/joint possible and can at minimum give those to you and let you go on your own.