How To Improve Range of Motion After Knee Surgery

 I had ACL reconstructive surgery 9 weeks ago. I have had a really hard time with Flexion...I had to have my quad pushed aside because the initial clamp did not want to take to my bone, so a screw and washer had to be put on. Due to this I had a Charley Horse in my quad for the first three weeks making it nearly impossible to get any bend. So at 9 weeks I am only at 90 degrees. I do my therapy at home, I work my butt off at PT and yet I'm not getting anywhere. I do the heel slides, the quad sets, the bicycle, the hamstring curls, I even have my fiance pushing to get extra degrees. IS there ANYTHING else I can do?? The doctors are saying I may have to go back under and do manipulation... Thank you!

If you still have any swelling in the knee than I recommend trying this method out... http://www.aclsurgeryrecovery.net/21/knee-swelling-after-surgery-my-number-1-tip-to-reduce-swelling/ 

Here are some exercises which it sounds like you are already doing but if not maybe these can help...  

The final tip is a little expensive but it can help with the blood circulation to get better range of motion. You can see it here...http://bit.ly/HIckLr

Hopefully one of these helps. Sorry to hear you have been struggling, if there is anything I can do to help let me know.

ACL Reconstruction after Soccer Injury

I'm so extremely happy to find  this site. I’m a junior in highschool. I play soccer at a VERY competitive level for club & play for my highschool. I tore my ACL this July on the 15th. I am still waiting to schedule my knee surgery *sigh* & have been doing physical therapy and working at the gym. PT just stopped my sessions because I have full range of motion & my strength back. I guess my question is… What is the best graft for me? I’m 95 lbs 5ft tall, speedy & very aggressive outside mid.. I tore my ACL by just simply crossing. I’m leaning towards patellar but I’ve heard about knee pain many years after surgery. I want to continue to play & be active my whole life.

Sorry to hear about you tearing your ACL! I know it can be pretty terrible. 

Sounds like you are doing everything right. 

As far as Pettella vs Hamstring vs Cadaver I dont have a strong opinion or any big insight. From everything I have seen the stats all seem to be about the same as far as long term recovery, Cadaver seems to be able to get people back a little quicker. 

My only piece of advise with that question is its really up to you and your surgeon, if your surgeon does 95% of his surgeries with a hamstring graft than I would suggest you go with what he is most experienced with. 

http://aclreconstructionsurgery.org/

Riding A Horse After ACL Surgery

Here is a thank you email from someone who has recovered well from their ACL surgery. 

Good afternoon, I had my acl in September 2011, falls off his horse in a jumping race. I am 45 years old, I'm a marathon runner, sports practice every day, I had an operation after making the magnetic resonance ie four weeks after the fall. I felt no pain after the operation, I was five weeks on crutches. I started physical therapy immediately for six months and did two hours a day. Eleven months ago today I had surgery, my goal is to run a half marathon, however, has not run more than five kilometers. I still have difficulties and little confidence to increase the pace. I Do five times a week 40 minutes of cycling, and weight and also swimming. Reading your story helped me a lot and all the advice you wrote.

After three months I was riding horse again today already participate in championships without feeling any pain. I'm strengthening my leg daily.

Thank you for helping me without you even know that your blog has been a great help to my torn ACL.

Improving Speed After ACL Surgery

I tore my right ACl February 20th 2012 and got cadaver surgery April 5th, 2012.  In that time, I either ran every day or did a leg workout at the gym to try to strengthen my legs as much as possible.  I genetically have chicken legs which sucks so its definitely a struggle haha.  I didn't get into physical therapy until 2 1/2 weeks after surgery (stupid insurance issues.  I am a college kid living 6 hours from home in a dorm and just got surgery and I did not have a car so I had to rely on my friends from school...was the most stressful 3 months of my life from dealing with doctors ands insurance paperwork to waking up in the morning and not having a clue how I would get to pt that day).   I am now 4 1/2 months out of surgery.  I do simulated squats, lunges, leg press, run  below a 7 min mile and a bunch of agility work for my rehab.  I am at 125 degree flexion and 2 degrees on extension (I am literally the least flexible person you will ever meet so I may never get full extension again.  I've had yoga teaches tell me they have never seen a person as tight as me before)  I am seeing big gains in my leg strength week to week, but I feel my sprint speed is lagging in coming back.  Any suggestions on what I could do and what should I expect in the next month or two?  Does my recovery sound normal, behind, just the same as others?  I appreciate what you do, once I meet someone who also tore their acl, I feel I have an instant connection. 

I can definitely relate to recovering from ACL surgery at school. I was taking the bus to physio for my first surgery while at school. The worst was having to sit at the front of the class(because I couldn't walk up the stairs) and staying focused vs daydreaming at the back. 

You recovery sounds like it is coming along well. Speed seemed slow to return for me as well. I think we do so many slow speed strength exercises for a few months that we loose some fast twitch muscle. Olympic lifting(done correctly) can really help with that as well as sprints with resistance(running in the sand) - see more here.

Best of luck with your recovery!

First Weeks After ACL Surgery

Thank you for information you sent me! I am almost 4 weeks after ACL Surgery, and I still have pain, especially when I'm resting. The first night after the surgery, I took painkillers every 2 hours. The nurse who was taking care of me, was very nice, and she told me to call her any time I feel a little pain. She told me from the beginning to don't wait until the pain is too high. I took painkillers few more days after I left the hospital, and that's all.

I started the recovery next day using crutches after the surgery and now I am doing my exercises every day under a kinetic therapist supervisor. I don't have pain when I walk, or when I'm doing my exercises but I have pain when I'm lying in the bed. How long will stay with me this pain? Also, I still cannot do full extension of the leg. When I tried to do some extra extensions I herd a pop in the back of my knee and for the first minutes I felt relieved, with more mobility in my knee, but after that I felt a pain for 3 days, so now I'm afraid to stretching  my leg. My therapist says that probably is just a stretching that will go away in few days. But I'm wondering if there will be more pops in my knee until I'll be able to reach full extension?

How long will you be in pain - Typically the worst pain is in the first 1-2 weeks but then pain can last as long as a few months

Pops in your knee - Dont try and "pop" your knee, this could be your hamstring or meniscus but I dont recommend poping your knee

http://www.aclsurgeryrecovery.net/05/crutches-after-acl-surgery/

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.

http://www.aclsurgeryrecovery.net/06/4-weeks-after-acl-surgery-quad-atrophy-and-lost-weight/

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.