Torn Acl/surgery & Tryouts Soon Help

[cheermommy2]

I need some help and advise. My daughter is going to be a senior next year and tryouts are the third week in February!!! our problem, is that she tore her ACL in competitive and is having surgery next week. I know recovery and physical therapy is in store for her, however, we are devasted and trying to get advice on how she can possibly still tryout in February for her senior year (the tryouts are extremely early if you ask me) Wondering if anyone had advice on 1) how she can super speed recovery 2) still tryout and do everything but jumps and tumbling (in our school spiriting scoring is weighted more, jumps are usually 10 points though,, so still important), 3)what/how can we ask the coach to score for her jumps...Has anyone encountered experience where someone was to tryout and injured themself right before? Its her senior year, and I am desperate for her to figure out anything. The unfortunate thing is that the coach is difficult( her daughter is on the squad also; wonder how she would handle it if it were her daughter in this position)....my daughter was the cut-off of the natural break last year so this will be her last chance...HELP!!!​

 

[gi_cheer]

I'm a coach in HS cheer and we just had this same thing happen. One of my girls tore her ACL and surgery is at the end of December. She's concerned about being able to try out.

2 ideas:
one-if you have videos of her cheering perhaps you can put together a compilation of jumps/stunts/tumbling (whatever else) so the judges can see what she is capable of when not injured.

two- she may be able to have a late try-out. When she's back up to par, she could go through a try-out on her own...if her score falls amongst the other scores from girls who made the team, then she ould be on the sqaud too. If her score fell below the scores of those who made the squad, then she would be out.

Both of these options would be contigent on how much the coach is willing to work with you.

 

[Michael McGahan]

I tore my ACL, MCL, LCL, and meniscus back in June. i started Physical Therapy 3 days after my surgery and continued with it until now going 3 days a week. I started doing jumps and such when i was almost 2 1/2-3months post op. My first day actually full out tumbling was just yesterday which was over 5 months post op. (which most doctors suggest waiting 5-6 months or up to a year, depending on how long it takes for the muscle in the hamstring to strengthen back up) I fell that the coach should only judge her on the skills she can perform and then once she is back to her full potential give a final verdict.

 

[Michael McGahan]

I tore my ACL, MCL, LCL, and meniscus back in June. i started Physical Therapy 3 days after my surgery and continued with it until now going 3 days a week. I started doing jumps and such when i was almost 2 1/2-3months post op. My first day actually full out tumbling was just yesterday which was over 5 months post op. (which most doctors suggest waiting 5-6 months or up to a year, depending on how long it takes for the muscle in the hamstring to strengthen back up) I fell that the coach should only judge her on the skills she can perform and then once she is back to her full potential give a final verdict.

and the only problem with mine was that because my surgery was in July, i did not get to try out for cheerleading for my senior year because my mom didn't want me jumping back into it too soon. so it all depends on 3 things.. The Doctor, You, and the coach.

 

[whatsarisalee]

I tore it all twice. You can't "super speed" a recovery. What you can do is push yourself (while respecting your limits) when it comes to physical therapy. Work on range of motion exercises at home (especially after surgery) and talk to the coaches and explain the situation. They usually will work with you in some ways. As for stunting, and tumbling (don't do until you get a doctors okay) get a quality brace. One with hinges. It will prevent the knee from twisting weird. and hyper extended.

I made a full recovery in 3 months, including tumbling the first time.
The second time I did it in 4 closer to 5.

 

[Alex]

OMG, 3 months? you must be a rock star! mine took 8 months and i still retore it... now im out for at least a year with this surgery. do you know anyone cheering with a torn acl? i have heard of it and kinda want to try, but my knee hurts soo bad all the time im afraid ill never walk right again

 

[AliciaM]

OMG, 3 months? you must be a rock star! mine took 8 months and i still retore it... now im out for at least a year with this surgery. do you know anyone cheering with a torn acl? i have heard of it and kinda want to try, but my knee hurts soo bad all the time im afraid ill never walk right again

I know someone who tore their ACL had surgery went to practices and didn't do much just fronted some stuff and didn't jump/tumble and competed the same way just adding a uniform on. I believe towards the middle/endish of season she added what she could do like minimal jumps, but no tumbling.

 

[Alex]

I know someone who tore their ACL had surgery went to practices and didn't do much just fronted some stuff and didn't jump/tumble and competed the same way just adding a uniform on. I believe towards the middle/endish of season she added what she could do like minimal jumps, but no tumbling.

im thinking about skipping the surgery... ive heard of other sports doing it but since its a reinjury i doubt i can

 

[AliciaM]

As a cheerleader I'd prob say skit it and see what you can do to just minimize what you do at cheer..lol as a nurse I say you should prob get the surgery lol

im thinking about skipping the surgery... ive heard of other sports doing it but since its a reinjury i doubt i can

 

[whatsarisalee]

OMG, 3 months? you must be a rock star! mine took 8 months and i still retore it... now im out for at least a year with this surgery. do you know anyone cheering with a torn acl? i have heard of it and kinda want to try, but my knee hurts soo bad all the time im afraid ill never walk right again

I have heard of people doing it, but they were not very competitive about their cheering. It's a lot safer to get the surgery because without the ACL supporting your knee, the damage on other structures in your knee can increase making surgery a required option and will make the recovery time longer as well. They have different options with ACL surgery where you can use your own graft (hamstring, or patellar tendon) or a cadaver graft. I used a cadaver both times so there wouldn't be any other complications with my knee or hammy. My doctor also said the tincil strength in the cadaver was stronger making it less likely to tear again. And added a "oh, btw, just to seal the deal on this cadaver, a 3 month recovery can be managed versus 6 month" and at that point I was sold.

 

[Taelor]

I tore my ACL doing allstar to. And had to retryout for the next season 2 months after it happened. They ended putting me on the team and let me learn everything. Then around the middle of the season when i could cheer again i knew everything and they put me in. But first i had to tryout just incase. So just ask if she can learn everything then tryout when she is better??

 

[Alex]

I have heard of people doing it, but they were not very competitive about their cheering. It's a lot safer to get the surgery because without the ACL supporting your knee, the damage on other structures in your knee can increase making surgery a required option and will make the recovery time longer as well. They have different options with ACL surgery where you can use your own graft (hamstring, or patellar tendon) or a cadaver graft. I used a cadaver both times so there wouldn't be any other complications with my knee or hammy. My doctor also said the tincil strength in the cadaver was stronger making it less likely to tear again. And added a "oh, btw, just to seal the deal on this cadaver, a 3 month recovery can be managed versus 6 month" and at that point I was sold.

i had the cadaver surgery the first time, and as it turns out, i didnt retear it but my body rejected the surgery! so basically, my knee was a ticking time-bomb for getting hurt, and since i stopped wearing my brace when it happened i got hurt way worse. now im just skeptical of surgery, and have already talked to a different surgeon and am looking for a third