I Tore my ACL about 5 months ago during a jiu-jitsu takedown (MRI confirmed full tear). I also only have ~40% of my medial meniscus from a previous injury 2 years ago.
I’m 47 and I trained jiu-jitsu 2x a week plus 3 x a week resistance training. Now only resistance training.
What makes this tricky is that I’m currently functioning really well:
No pain in daily activity
Squatting ~90% of my 1RM
I Can do pistol squats and deep knee flexion without issues
Knee alignment checked by ortho, no imbalance or added stress on the medial side
I also haven’t had any true instability episodes so far (no buckling/giving out) just occasional pinch and random pivots with weight.
My orthopedic surgeon suggested I can start gradually returning to jiu-jitsu and see how it goes, and only consider surgery if instability shows up.
I’m mainly trying to understand how this plays out in real training, especially long-term.
Has anyone here trained jiu-jitsu long-term without an ACL?
What did that look like over time?
Did instability eventually become an issue?
For those who chose surgery, how was your return to jiu-jitsu?
Any pros/cons you experienced long-term (stability, performance, mobility, etc.)?
Appreciate any real experiences.