Thursday, December 30, 2010

ACL surgery cost

The cost of getting ACL surgery can be surprising for some people. There has been significant improvements in the reduction in pain and range of motion after surgery.

ACL surgery cost is still between 25 and 50 thousand dollars. 

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Knee Range of Motion Exercises

Knee Range of Motion Exercises has the top 5 knee range of motion exercises to do after knee surgery. 2 weeks after my ACl surgery my range of motion has greatly increased in week 2, it has gone from 4 degrees and 100 degrees week 1 to 0 and 130 degrees. I think it was in large part due to the 5 exercises. Heel prop, heel slides, quad sets, Prone knee extension and bicycle pendulum. You can watch a video describing the exercises here 

To get other helpful information on knee surgery recovery visit ACl Surgery Recovery

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Bruising after ACL surgery

Here is the bruising on my left (graft) leg 2 weeks after acl reconstruction.

Sent from my iPhone

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Completed ACL Surgery Exercises for the Day

Today after too much snow in the London/Sarnia area in Canada had the army called in to help stranded motorists we decided to not risk the drive to my physio appoinment. Instead I focused on doing my top 5 exercises for the first week.

1. Heel Lift
2. Quad Sets
3. Heel Slides
4. Prone Knee Flexion
5. Ankle pumps and rotation

http://ezinearticles.com/?ACL-Surgery-Exercises---Top-5-Exercises-For-The-First-Week&id=5548048

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Walking 4 Days After ACL Surgery No Limp

I have just uploaded my latest video documenting my ACL surgery recovery and being able to walk with a minimal limp 4 days after ACL reconstruction... http://www.youtube.com/user/jonmhaver

ACL Surgery Recovery Timeline Update

I am now 1/2 way through week #1 of my ACL surgery recovery timeline and happy to announce that today at day 5 I have been walking without crutches and completing the exercises layed out in the recovery timeline I created to track my progress.

So far I have found the exercises in the timeline to be fairly appropriate for where my knee is at right now. Range of motion still has some work to do before the end of the week so I will be sure to focus on that during my ACL surgery recovery exercises tomorrow.

To see the ACL surgery recovery timeline I am following visit http://www.aclsurgeryrecovery.net/acl-surgery-recovery-timeline/

ACL Surgery Rehab Phase Names

Many physiotherapists you talk to over the course of your recovery will refer to the phases of ACL surgery rehab in different names. Here is a quick breakdown of the phases and their names...

Early Rehabilitation Phase 
1-2 weeks - Phase 1
FOCUS - RICE(rest, ice, compression, elevate)

Second Rehabilitation Phase
3-4 weeks - Phase 2
FOCUS - Improve Range of motion

Controlled Ambulation Phase
4-6 weeks - Phase 3
FOCUS - Bend the knee to at least 130 degrees

Protection Phase
6-8 weeks - Phase 4
FOCUS - ACL surgery exercises will be increased in intensity

Light Activity Phase
8-10 weeks - Phase 5
FOCUS - Balance and movement - combining strength, range of motion and balance work together

Functional Activity Release
10+ weeks - Phase 6
FOCUS - Being released by physio and surgeons to return to pre injury activities

Everyone is different and this ACL surgery rehab process is highly dependent on what condition you are before you have surgery and what level of activity you are looking to return to.

Image from Phase 1 of my ACL Surgery Rehab process

ACL Surgery Rehab Phases

There are 6 phases of ACL surgery rehab. That cover from week 1 to after week 10. The focus of rehab is on getting your strength, balance and range of motion back in the affected leg. Many factors will come into play to determine how quickly your will move through the phases.

ACL Surgery Rehab - Phase 1 - First Couple of Weeks
The first phase of rehab is the realy rehabilitative phase. In phase 1 using some basic ACL surgery exercises and RICE(rest, ice, compress, elevate) in weeks 1-2 you should be able to...
  • Manage Pain
  • Reduce Swelling
  • Improve Range of Motion


ACL Surgery Rehab - Phase 2 - Weeks 3-4
In phase 2 of ACL surgery rehab the focus is on joint protection as you may begin to feel like you can do more than your knee is actually ready for. Some milestones for phase 2 include
  • Range of motion from 0 - 100 degrees
  • Walking with minimal limp
  • Improved balance
Here is a great exercise to improve range of motion after ACL Surgery


ACL Surgery Rehab - Phase 3 - Weeks 4-6This phase of ACL surgery rehab is sometimes called the controlled ambulation phase. The range of motion should increase from 0-130 degrees. You will also start on exercises involving the leg mini squats, single leg bridges etc. New and more difficult balance exercises will also be introduced into the rehab routine.



ACL Surgery Rehab - Phase 4 - Weeks 6-8
 At tjhe end of week 8 in your ACl surgery rehab schedule you should have full range of motion. This is the key milestone to achieve in phase 4. Also during phase 4 weight will be added to your regular ACL surgery exercises to help stimulate increased strength.

ACL Surgery Rehab - Phase 5 - Weeks 8-10
Finally...we are back at the light activity phase. Here you can start with some light jogging, elliptical machine, stepping exercises etc. The emphasis during this phase of physiotherapy is improved strength and balance and bringing the two exercises together ie 1 exercise to improve both strength and balance as opposed to strength exercises which only isolate strength.



ACL Surgery Rehab - Phase 6 - Weeks 10-and up
Depending on how your rehab has gone to this point you may begin to be cleared to return to activity. You may require to be fit for a brase or other device. You will likely be required to do some testing so that the surgeon and physio are confident that you are strong enough to return to sports. 

Hopefully understanding the phases of rehab after ACL surgery will help you through the process. It can be very time consuming and frustrating however it is absoloutly critical that you take your physio efforts seriously as you do not want to end up like me going through the process for a second time.

If you have any suggestions to the process please leave a comment below.