Torn PCL, stories, and advice

Hi Everyone,

I tore my PCL recently, grade two (incomplete tear) and do not need surgery. That being said, I'm in a functional brace and doing PT for the next four-five months. I'm doing some top roping and biking again. If I over work it, I get swollen and sore the next day.  My doctor doesn't fully understand what goes into climbing, so I'm wondering if he is inadvertently letting me over do it.

I am aware of the multitude of ACL related forum posts, but want to know more specifically about PCL injuries.

Did people take longer to heal than expected? Did ice climbing prove painful? Any good resources out there that I haven't found? Any good soft-shell climbing pants that will fit over a fairly bulky brace?

I'm wondering if anybody has a similar story, advice, or just general information about climbing with such an injury?

If you are lucky enough to have good insurance to cover this brace, the Ossur Rebound is the only brace that actually acts like the PCL and would reduce the stretching when bending your knee.  I would take it easier if you are experiencing pain and swelling.  Your brace is probably doing much less than you think.
https://www.ossur.com/injury-solutions/products/knee/ligament-braces/rebound-pcl

In August last year I had a "mild" PCL tear from a motorcycle crash - I forget the exact terminology regarding its severity, but also tore almost completely other ligaments that connect the hamstring and calf muscles. How it felt to use kind of betrayed the MRI showing extensive damage - there were only a few days I had trouble walking, my doctor said it showed no signs of instability, and only had minor swelling for a few weeks.

I never really stopped climbing and used a basic Walgreens velcro brace for 2-3 weeks until I felt that it was strong enough to stop babying. Heel hooks in particular hurt it the most (and still do if I'm not completely warmed up) so I basically just avoided those and dropped my climbing down a few letters. I'm not sure how much of the pain was PCL specific or hamstring related.

I was prescribed PT but never went since it seemed to be healing gradually but consistently on its own, but I did and still do some exercises to get blood moving through it as well as strengthening and stretching the soft tissue. VERY light hamstring curls, like as light as possible - at first I was just standing and curling my lower leg up with no resistance and eventually moved to a leg curl machine but still keep it very very light. I also do some leg press, and yoga squats. At first I had limited range in the yoga squat, mostly due to slight swelling in the knee but over a couple months I have near 100% range of motion again. I also focused on pushing my feet further and further out over the course of weeks since this felt to introduce some twisting on the ligaments (the knee felt tight but not uncomfortable). Who knows if those are/were good for me to do but I did them anyway because they felt good.

My case seemed peculiar so I'm not sure anything I've said is transferable - it seemed so weird that the Orthopedist said based on the MRI he was expecting to have to do significant reconstruction on my knee. After he examined it in person though he recommended giving it a chance to heal itself which it seems to still be doing.

I tore my PCL several years ago (grade II.) Generally I found that skiing and cycling caused the most irritation in the 1-2 years afterward. Climbing was not much of an issue although I did take a few months off while I focused on the PT. Now ~5 years later I don't even remember which knee it was. I'd say you should really focus on the PT but you already knew that right?

dindolino32 wrote: If you are lucky enough to have good insurance to cover this brace, the Ossur Rebound is the only brace that actually acts like the PCL and would reduce the stretching when bending your knee.  I would take it easier if you are experiencing pain and swelling.  Your brace is probably doing much less than you think.
https://www.ossur.com/injury-solutions/products/knee/ligament-braces/rebound-pcl

I have a Ossur PTI with the PCL configuration. Perhaps the Rebound would be better? They gave me the PTI because I said I would be ice climbing and gym climbing. They must have thought that this means high contact and lots of falling. I do notice a big difference when wearing the brace, but agreed... I should probably be doing less. 

I tore my PCL a few years ago - similar situation: partial tear which was on the border between surgical and non-surgical management and we decided not to undergo surgery. The knee was sore for a few days and then I could walk around on it. No PT.

Initially, I noticed some increased instability in that knee but that has since gone away. I also have trouble sprinting unless I'm wearing a brace, which seems to take care of the issue. But soccer is the only time I wear the brace.

Climbing is the most noticeable area affected by my torn ligament. Engaging the hamstring to flex the knee engages the PCL as fulcrum. Whenever you pull on it hard, it'll hurt. For me, this means that I basically can't heel hook with my right leg, unless it's just for balance, but I can't really pull on it. It also hurts to toe-in hard on overhangs with that leg (similar motion). You learn to read routes pretty well from the ground and simply rule them out if they involve an obligatory hook.

Thank you, soccer is also the most likely place I will be doing any serious running in the future. My PT is starting to involve gentle hamstring work, so we will see how it goes.

What has people's experience with crack climbing been? The wide pony in my basement is very uncomfortable and painful, I have only tried it twice since my injury and now avoid anything like it.

Paul Kalifatidi wrote: 
What has people's experience with crack climbing been? The wide pony in my basement is very uncomfortable and painful, I have only tried it twice since my injury and now avoid anything like it.

I had to eliminate offwidth climbing - jamming my knee was quite painful, and even rattly fists/butterfly stacks still cause a lot of pain, I think because of the pulling you do with the upper leg to stay balanced. No problem with my healthy leg on top, but I decided to take a break from it entirely until the knee heals completely. 

I was shocked that finger and hand cracks didn't hurt at all even just a few weeks after the injury so maybe those sizes are worth trying once you think you can do so safely.

I'll see how the hand crack at the gym feels. Thanks for the info!

I've done hand, fist, and finger cracks without any trouble (well, without knee pain anyway...). Haven't tried any OW with knee jams but I don't find physical pressure on my knee to be uncomfortable unless I'm pressing directly on my tibial tuberosity. I would anticipate calf locks might be problematic because of the way you have to pull on your leg - but this could be avoided like Chuck suggested.