I tore my ACL skiing 20 years ago and did not have the surgery. I play tennis occasionally, and my knee does "pop out" every now and then. I don't think I'd play racquetball, or any other sport where I'd have to move laterally in an intense way in a small space. I haven't gone skiing since then because I haven't wanted to, but I would feel comfortable trying to ski again with a knee brace. It took about a year for me to fully recover (no pain when squatting all the way to the floor and then standing up, or walking on a rocky beach), but it doesn't bother me at all in my day-to-day activities.

Well PP how are you doing? Are you active? Why didn't you have surgery?

Anonymous wrote:And not repaired it? My ortho says he treats plenty of middle aged women (I am one) who are ACL deficient and still play tennis, which is what I hope to return to. I don't know any of these women. Are you ACL deficient and are you confident when you engage in sports despite the deficiency? I have already had one surgery on the knee for meniscus so the doc is reluctant to do anther.

I am one of those women.

The longer term implications of no ACL are more worthy of considerations than whether you can return to tennis without the surgery. I tore an ACL in the late 70's and it went undiagnosed until 10 years ago. The lack of stability has pretty much wiped out all my cartlidge in that knee and my right knee joint is pretty much bone on bone. Zero lateral and rotational stability and pretty much can't run anymore. Knee replacement is the only solution and I am delaying that as longs as possible.

I have a torn ACL in one knee and while it occasionally pops out I don't plan to have surgery any time soon. Why? Knee surgery on my other knee was the most painful thing I have ever experienced. Worse than labor. It was a lot more than just a torn ACL so I had to have surgery but I advocate delaying as long as possible.

My brother did this. He had several months of physical therapy, and wears a large brace whenever he does any kind of sports activity. He says his knee does pop out on occasion.

I opted to have the surgery, but honestly I don't know if I'd do it again. The rehab was long and painful. But, I have a stable knee and can play sports without a brace, so I guess it was worth it in the end. But the recovery period seriously sucked.

Have you tried physical therapy? DH did for about 3 weeks and then discontinued and did the stretches at home (and still does to this day) and he says it has helped a lot. When he skips the stretching he can definitely feel it and it's painful.

I have a torn ACL but surgeon advised no surgery at this time. It flares up occasionally but eventually the pain goes away.

Nope. My knee used to pop out of place.Ouch! So I had the surgery.

And not repaired it? My ortho says he treats plenty of middle aged women (I am one) who are ACL deficient and still play tennis, which is what I hope to return to. I don't know any of these women. Are you ACL deficient and are you confident when you engage in sports despite the deficiency? I have already had one surgery on the knee for meniscus so the doc is reluctant to do anther.