I did my ACL and couldn't walk down the road without the worry my knee would give way (and it did), after 8 months working with it to help while waiting for surgery I certainly wouldn't have wanted to walk on any uneven ground in that state, no confidence in the joint at all and the sensation of the knee giving way is sickening enough when walking around on a pavement. I was 27 when I did it though, and not having reconstructive surgery was not an option as that's a hell of a lot of life left without that stability, who knows what problems that can bring in old age or if you are laid up with another injury at a later date.
I did have the ACL reconstruction and was up Old Man of Coniston 4 months later, albeit it was a struggle as I was still rehabilitating the muscles, but my knee felt stable and had no issues since.
Is there a particular reason why surgery isn't being considered?
There are varying degrees of seriousness to every injury - I think I got a relatively 'clean break' as although there was a fair bit of swelling, I had no bruising. MCL had a grade 1, which is progressing nicely and a crack to the meniscus - but there's nothing floating around in there. I've had very little issue with balancing either, and five weeks on there has only been one real knee-buckling event. There's the last bit of swelling to go down and then I'll have a much better idea.
A good mate of mine went through the operation and has had no end to the issue. The OP was done too tight, his hamstrings kept on re-reading for months after and he thinks he's now got an infection at one of the screw sites. He was 'out of action' and on crutches for a month after
While I don't mind having an operation i have a 7 month old baby to look after, and we're about to start a massive renovation on our house.
Talking to both muscularskeletal specialist and the physio, it seems that fewer people are having the op done and instead focusing on muscle strength. But also that studies are showing that the longterm impact of op and no-op aren't too dissimilar when it comes to future knee health.
It was interesting to hear the specialist mention that a number of the England WC squad are missing ACLs, same with netball, etc.
I'm 35, don't have much need of an ACL on a daily basis, just curious how it may impact future hiking. Specialist and physio have told me it's certainly not essential for hiking as long as I don't suffer balance/buckling issues. If I do, then I'll need the op.