Joe A Shaw PA-C - 5/25/2009

Question
Ok! On June 5, 2008, I was playing basketball at a camp! I was on my second game of the day when I went up for a lay-up after a fast break and was knocked out of the air. I dislocated my knee cap, tore my ACL, strained my MCL, and tore my calf muscle of the bone...all this in one fall! Amazingly, I could walk the very next day! I had ACL reconstructive surgery using the middle third of my Patella tendon. I have been through therapy and was released by my doctor and cleared to run track for my senior year of high school (about 8 months out). While I still have some pain in my knee, the biggest pain comes from my calf muscle! I figured it should have grown back to the bone and all by now, but I keep having trouble out of it! What should I do....I don't want to have to go back to the doctor?!

Answer
Morgan,
Calf muscle or gastroc. muscle tears take a long time to heal, and you may have problems w this off and on for years depending on your activity level. The muscle doesn't grow back to the bone..muscles have tendons which attach to the bone. So you need to find out if it is a muscle tear or a tendon tear. You probably should get an MRI of that area to see if there is anything that can be surgically repaired. It probably will never be exactly like it was before the accident based on all the damage you said occured. Assuming there is no surgical fix... You may just have to use it and see how it goes and what you can tolerate. I would think PT gave you exercises that you should do on a regular basis as well.