Resolving Knee And ACL Troubles After 40 Years: Theresa Lamb’s Story

If you're a sports fan, you may have heard the term anterior cruciate ligament or ACL due to the staggering number of ACL-related injuries that professional and school sports players receive yearly.

In fact, research shows that around 100,000 to 200,000 ACL-related injuries are recorded each year. But it's not just athletes who experience ACL injuries. ACL injuries can happen during work, a car accident, or even other activities requiring maneuverability.

In the case of 65-year-old Evansville resident Theresa Lamb, she tore her ACL at 24 years old, well into adulthood. During the time of her injury, ACL surgeries weren't as common, so doctors suggested managing her injury until it was time for a total knee replacement. Her injury was left alone for 40 years.

Know When It's Time To Get Your ACL Checked

With an injury as concerning as an ACL tear, the symptoms can be quickly noticeable. These symptoms can include:

• Knee pain
• Swelling
• Movement discomfort
• Weight-related discomfort
• Tenderness

You may even hear a popping noise following knee pain as soon as the injury occurs. If you notice any of these symptoms, it's crucial to reach out to a professional to avoid worsening the injury, complicating the treatment and even affecting other areas of your knee, including the cartilage and collateral ligaments.

Theresa's Decision For ACL And Knee Care

Delaying surgery can sometimes make an ACL-related surgery more complex and sometimes can affect outcomes. While patients should only proceed when they feel ready, having orthopedic surgery is still a personal decision to be made together with the patient's orthopedic surgeon.

Knowing her condition was going to be seen as more complex due to her 40 years of managing her injury on her own, resulting in knee pain from an eroding bone on top of a torn ACL, Theresa chose her care team carefully.

She reached out to the Center for Hip and Knee Surgery at Franciscan Health Mooresville, which was a 2.5-hour drive away from her home. After meeting her surgeon and staff, she could immediately tell she was in the right place for delicate and effective care.

Ideally, the surgeon should be fellowship-trained in hip and knee replacement surgery, meaning they've done an extra year of training after residency to sub-specialize. It's also important that patients choose the right hospital. Hospitals that do high volumes of hip and knee replacement surgeries have been shown to have better outcomes and lower complication rates.

Celebrating Her New Knee Confidence With Pie

Theresa decided to schedule her surgery on a Wednesday. She knew the area well enough to know she could celebrate the turnaround in her knee pain with the help of a local café that gives away free pie on Wednesdays.

Later that same day after the surgery, physical therapists spent around 45 minutes working with her until she felt ready to leave and pick up her pie for the drive home.

As common for knee replacements, Theresa was expecting several weeks of walking assistance with the help of crutches, a walker, and of course, family. Still, Theresa's had something else in mind when she returned home.

According to her family and the structure of her house, Theresa had two choices for getting to the bathroom. Either take four steps downstairs or 10 steps upstairs.

After a long debate with her daughter and husband, she chose the 10 steps upstairs.

"I said, 'I can totally do this.' I took that walker, and I was up those steps in no time flat with no pain," Theresa said.

Theresa lost years of independence because she couldn't find the confidence to look for help sooner. Due to her previous decisions, she struggled, compensated and eventually adapted to her disability.

"I was fearful of such a major surgery," she said. "This is a game changer, it really is. Plus, if you go on Wednesday, you can get free pie."