ACL Recovery with Dominic Cruz

 

Having been on this path myself, I take note anytime an MMA fighter or grappler undergoes the knife for ACL surgery. Cruz had the cadaver graft the first go round but it did not take, something echoed by King Mo.

Returned to BJJ competition: 10 months post op
Returned to Judo competition: 14 months post op
- Have not returned to wrestling nor striking as of yet.
Range of motion: 90% of original. Still working on flexibility.

At any rate, I'm 1 year and 5 months removed from ACL surgery. I cannot imagine trying to come back from surgery like that and jump right back into a 5 round MMA fight against a guy like Barao.

The level of self-belief and confidence is staggering.

Cat Zingano & the ACL Curse

The bane of MMA: the ACL injury afflicts both men and women alike.
Dominic Cruz, GSP, Mousasi, King Mo et al.

Cat Zingano missed her shot at TUF/women's MMA Stardom by having ACL surgery.

 

As someone who is a year + out of ACL surgery, I cannot imagine returning to professional sports competition in something like 6 months to a year, but that's why I'm a semi-pro athlete *ahem*



GSP: Life after ACL Surgery

There is Life after ACL Surgery: 3 Months Post-Op

Moved around on the mat for the first time since my surgery today.
Moved around with a very cool and very technical Black Belt from Evolution MMA in Wilmington, NC.
And then I rolled with a training partner of mine. Not really rolling so much as drilling and transitioning a bit.

I know I have a long way to go, but I felt a million times better emotionally than I have since my surgery.

And, the thoughts in my head, the transitions, the awareness of where I wanted to go next in the transitions was there as well.

My biggest fear was not so much that others would get better than me, but that I'd lose progress I'd made by spending countless hours on the mat.

If you're out there with an ACL injury and afraid of surgery as I admittedly was, have the surgery.

ACL Reconstruction: Days 2-3

Some background:
For pain, I was prescribed hydrocodone.
For nausea (from the pain medication) I was prescribed another drug.
And for anti-inflammation I was prescribed Ketorolac.

I can take the hydrocodone every 4 hours.
The anti-inflammation I take every 6 hours.

The first day, to avoid waking up in a maelstrom of pain, I took 2 hydrocodone every 4 hours.
By day 2, I noticed I would get a headache if I didn't take the hydrocodone every 4 hours, telling me my brain was getting used to it. I have a serious fear of painkiller addiction, and so I started trying to go about 5-6 hours and only taking one hydrocodone.
By today, day 3, I've gone the whole day and only taken 1 hydrocodone, as getting up to take a shower proved uncomfortable as it was also the day I finally unwrapped the stretch bandages and gauze from around the knee. I didn't feel outright pain, or anything excruciating, but the sensations of the leg breathing again, the water from the shower (perhaps too warm), and standing up for an extended period of time and having to slightly hop a bit without crutches to shower I think proved a bit overwhelming for my knee (or I'm just a pussy).

At any rate, I've been trying to do the isometric exercises suggested by my surgeon and get on my crutches to wheel around my apartment and the building for the days 2 and 3. Once the nerve block wore off, the surgeon recommended I use the crutches to place weight on the injured recovering leg and start using the muscles again.

By and large, what I've been told is true: back even in 2005, ACL surgery could be an absolute nightmare in the recovery, but *knock on wood* my early recovery has been relatively pain/discomfort free. I credit this to a great surgeon b/c my knee was not very swollen even after surgery and then again after removing the compression/wrap that went from my ankle to mid-thigh level.