ACL Surgery Pain Management

 recently (6 days ago) had a full ACL reconstruction using the hamstring graft on my left knee.

It's the first surgery of any type I've had & before the surgery i was very active doing plenty of leg workouts at the gym, running, bike riding etc.

Now the first few days weren't that bad the pain was a 4 or 5 and was managable, but as yourself would wake me up during the night. I've been doing the rehab the physio and surgeon recommended, eg. quad sets, leg raises, hamstring stretches, calf raises etc. and have been walking around the house with crutches. However last night I woke up (night 6) in the worst pain I've had since the operation, The pain was around the wounds and running down on my shin and front of calf which I hadn't had before. I've been in bed all day taking the meds and I just can't'handle this pain. I'm looking through websites & can't seem to find any reasoning for this. What do you think I should do? And when will my pain stop all together? What can you recommend that will help me?

My Answer....

Not sure exactly what the problem is but you may have kicked or something in your sleep which has increased the pain. My recommendation is to ice take the meds and take it easy for a day. Hopefully the pain will start to dissipate. 

I dont know the physiological reasons but once the pain is there it takes much more medication to get rid of than it would have in the first place.

Here is a post on ACL Surgery Pain Management that may help.

http://www.aclsurgeryrecovery.net/10/acl-surgery-pain-management-2-week-update/