ACL Tear

[UConnJulie]

Nice! Glad that you are progressing so well ...

[Alcoholiday]

good to hear man. keep us updated. it's cool to read.

[eastcoastsurfer]

Today marks the 12th day since the surgery. I can walk around pretty well now. I do bring my 1 crutch with me when I go places. My knee tends to swell if I'm on it for awhile, but some ice and I'm good again.

I had my 3rd PT yesterday. I don't have any lag now when doing my leg lifts (only started with 2-3% tho). I did the leg press (with only 40 lbs /cry lol), partial lunges, seated leg curls, and some band exercises where I had to flex my quad to make the movement occur. By this point my knee was getting pretty sore, so my PT called it a day, iced my knee, then sent me home. He did mention on my way out, that his goal is to get me to the point where I can go to the gym on my own asap. That got me pretty excited since my BW workouts just aren't satisfying my craving for moving weights haha.

Worst part now is the brace! I have started taking it off at home when just sitting around (Dr. said that was fine, but wanted me to 'wear it as much as possible') and only wear it when I'm going to be doing a bunch of movement. Hopefully when I see the surgeon again in 2 weeks he'll tell me I don't need to wear it all the time

Julie, what kind of motion is the Dr. trying to avoid by having me wear the brace all the time? It's not like I'm going to attempt to go jogging or anything, but I guess a fall could hurt my knee? Is there anything I can do while just laying there that would mess up the fix he put in place? Everything I've ready said the fix is pretty strong post-op.

Thanks!

[UConnJulie]

Originally Posted by eastcoastsurfer

Julie, what kind of motion is the Dr. trying to avoid by having me wear the brace all the time? It's not like I'm going to attempt to go jogging or anything, but I guess a fall could hurt my knee? Is there anything I can do while just laying there that would mess up the fix he put in place? Everything I've ready said the fix is pretty strong post-op.

Thanks!

He's trying to avoid any type of shearing force. And typically the quads are very weak post-op and the brace helps protect the knee by keeping it from buckling.

There is no problem taking it off while lying to watch TV or something, but his concern is probably that you will progress to taking a few steps without it (ie you are on the couch with the brace off, but realize that the clicker is a few steps away. So instead of putting the brace back on, you take the few steps sans brace. And then if that was easy/painfree, you'll do even more and more until you are barely wearing the brace. In other words, given an inch, you'll take a mile!!)

Glad to hear that you are progressing so well ...

[eastcoastsurfer]

Good point Julie. Although, the fact that I never want to go through that first week again means I will keep it under control I just want to know what I can't do and what is more of what you describe (give an inch take a mile).

Today marks 2 weeks since the surgery. I have 3 PT visits this week and want to make some good progress on my flexibility. I need to find a tool to measure my flex, so I can write down those numbers in my workout log...

[bryanc]

The point of the brace is to keep your ACL from healing and remodelling in a lax state. The graft that is your new ACL is not a native ligament and has to remodel to become your new, functioning ACL. Currently, it is still structurally a patellar or hamstring tendon or someone else's old ACL, and has not seen the forces of your specific joint. It has the potential to remodel as an appropriately tight ligament, or as an inappropriately lax one, and will do so, based on the biomechanical forces that it sees. The brace ensures that it sees the appropriate forces; as does the rehab program. A lax ACL graft is akin to not having a graft at all. Nothing pisses a surgeon off more than a failed graft. So stick with the program

[eastcoastsurfer]

Haha, no worries. I definitely sticking with the program. The surgeon said I would be 100% if I did, so that's what I'm doing. Your explanation was the type of thing I was wondering.

So, the PT realized today was 2 weeks out from my surgery and we went to work. I got a full revolution on the bike so he had me ride it for 15 minutes, followed by leg presses, step ups, weighted leg raises and then some balancing. Balancing was very easy, even with the pad under my foot. Then we did some gait training, which was pretty amusing. I'm convinced that pre-surgery I was walking all wrong lol Once my leg was lose he also measured my flex...105 degrees. Now that I have a number in front of me to beat, I can't wait for my next session on Wed.

[eastcoastsurfer]

PT is still going well. I guess the next few weeks are when the graft is at it's weakest, so they mentioned being extra careful and wearing my brace all time (which I do anyways, except when sleeping). They did clear me to head back to the gym, so upper body work tomorrow here I come! I wonder what my numbers will be after the surgery trauma and 3 weeks off...

Still no pain, just tightness as expected. My ankle is still pretty black and blue from the swelling draining down I guess. Going to try to get my foot up higher for the next few days and hopefully drain that out.

[eastcoastsurfer]

Today marks 4 weeks + 4 days since surgery. I'm mostly braceless now, only wearing it when I go out in crowded public places. Saw the Dr. yesterday and he said I'm way ahead of the recovery curve b/c of my pre-op leg strength The PT just keeps saying I'm on pace while he pushes me through another grueling 1 leg workout lol. My upper body lifts are starting to close in to their pre-surgery highs and my weight is finally going up instead of down. All is good in the ACL post-op world hehe.

At this point it's just daily stretching and leg strengthening. Now I'm waiting to hit the 6 week mark, b/c that's when the PT says we can start to do fun things.

[UConnJulie]

Great news!

[eastcoastsurfer]

Hey all. Thought I would give a little status update, for those who may have the same injury and just be starting their recovery.

Christmas eve I will be 8 weeks post op. My good quad is still notably bigger than the one on my leg with the ACL repair. Although I do have lots of definition in my repaired quad now and it's growing My flex is good. Still a little ways to go to get to my butt again, but it's moving. I was already past 125 degrees when they measured 2 weeks ago.

PT is finally getting fun! I told the guys I was bored (note to self, probably a bad idea ), so they drilled me this week. Monday I did the normal (step ups, heel taps, leg presses, chair crawls) but then also got to use the isokinetic machine. That thing rocks and using it is the first real work I feel like I've put my repaired leg through. Today we did a whole slew of new exercises. The slide board is cool, really makes me feel confident again doing lateral movements. Unweighted speed squats for time hurt! Ladder drills and 20lb weight vest high steps ups killed me today.

I'm going out to bars and stuff again with friends. Other than playing sports and doing my DLs and squats, everything is pretty much back to where it was pre-op. I have become a huge bike rider now (since that's all I could really do for so long) that I think I'm going to work to do one of those sprint triathlons next summer. Might as well have something to train for while riding the bike (and eventually running at around the 12 week mark lol)

[eastcoastsurfer]

Today marks 10 weeks post-op and has been a big day so far. I saw the surgeon first this morning. He said my leg looks like someone 6 months post op and not 10 weeks I guess all the work I've been doing has paid off! He did caution again that internally the knee is still healing, so I need to be extra careful since I do feel so good. Basically I need to listen to him and my PTs, something I've always faithfully done.

After the surgeon I had a PT appointment this morning. After the usual bike, leg press, step ups, heel taps we did a lot of plyometrics. Ladders, toe taps on steps, etc... Ended my session with some sort of balance jumps. Basically I do a small hop onto a balance board with the intent of landing on the board and keeping my balance while not looking at my feet. I nailed a ton of those (felt like I was wakeskating or skateboarding again...really made me miss doing those things). Since I hit those so well it looks like they are going to let me do a light jog (1 min walk/1min jog sorta thing) on Thurs and see how I do.

Other than getting back to doing all the things I like to do, I found even more motivation over xmas. My uncle is planning to go to Mt. Kilmanjaro in August and I'm going to join him. I think the route is 4-5 days of hiking 10-13k/day. Now, we just need the civil unrest to calm down over in Nairobe

[eastcoastsurfer]

Good news yesterday. The PT told me that my leg strength has come along so quickly that they can't justify me going in for many more visits. Looks like next week will be my last week of PT and then maybe go in once every few weeks just for some assessment and maybe more exercises I can do on my own. It seems that my OCness with getting better has paid off.

So now I guess it's just a waiting game for the graft to heal enough that I can return to doing some sports type of stuff...

[UConnJulie]

Whoooo hoooooo!!!!!!

[Lisa~]

Good for you for "doing it right." Now you've got the 4-5 day hike to plan and train for between now and August. That will give you some good focus on your continued PT to performance training goals.

[eastcoastsurfer]

This will probably be my last post to any of you who were following this post. The PT has deemed me 'cured' and kicked me out lol. Called me a model PT patient and wished all his patients were like me. Looks like I'll have another 8 weeks of doing my own workouts and then they'll have me back for a few visits with their sport specialist to prep me to return to doing the fun stuff

I want to thank everyone here! This forum was invaluable as a resource for information and to know what to expect from the whole process. Those of you who answered my questions both pre and post surgery made the process much easier for me. Thanks again!

[UConnJulie]

AWESOME!! Great news ... so happy for you!!