Monday, April 16, 2012

Lose Weight After ACL Surgery

Right now my biggest fear is putting on weight cause i cant exercise. Before surgery my fear was the actual surgery & the pain after it, hadn't had any surgery before. But in reality it wasnt too bad.

That is a very common concern and understandable!

Everyone is different but there are a few things you can do to help minimize/eliminate any weight gain. 

The single biggest tip for me that I learned from my first surgery is to get rid of all bad, easy to snack on food and pre-make some healthy food. I knew that when I was imople around the house I would snack on food and whatever was the closest I would grab. Through out the chips, ice cream, crackers even granola bars and instead keep around carrots, apples other fruit and pre-maid healthy small portioned meals. 

Good luck with the recovery!

Here is where I wrote about how much weight I gained/lost after ACL surgery.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Strong Knee Exercise

Have you wondered how to make your knee stronger? There are several knee strengthening exercises you can be doing before ACL surgery and after ACL surgery which will help in your recovery.

For me I went with a hamstring graft. There is virtually no long term success difference between the grafts Hamstring, Patella or Cadaver. The Cadaver graft recovers a little quicker initially but they all are about the same. 

For me the more important question was what my Surgeon was more comfortable with, if I had a surgeon who had done 90% of his ACL surgeries with a Patella I would go with it, even though it would be my 3rd choice all other things being equal. 

Good luck with your surgery and recovery.

This is the typical question I receive on the topic of ACL surgery and what is the strongest option.

Did they take a tendon, if so which one? OR  Was it the patella ligament?  OR an allograft (from ACL of cadaver) ?
I am wondering if you have any knowledge or can refer me to any research on which is more successful for a woman like me,
p.ed teacher, 48 years old... I would like to know more... thought you might know more about this given what you have experienced.