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.

Knee Range of Motion Exercises

Hi there! I had my ACL surgery 3 weeks ago (a meniscal repair as well) and as a result have been in a straight leg brace for 4 weeks so as to let the stitches in my meniscus heal. I have only been bending my leg up to 30 degrees to avoid them coming out as well. My question is, I still have some weird numbness around my knee area and when I asked the doctor about it, he said that there is a nerve that runs almost across the knee that is often disrupted when they make the incision for the arthroscopic surgery. Will this numbness go away in time?? It's not permanent is it??  Also, I had no choice but to not be bending my leg bc of the meniscal repair, but I'm so scared that the result will be limited mobility down the road bc I haven't been able to work on range of motion and won't be starting PT for a couple weeks. As long as when the doctor gives me the green light to start all that and I DO IT, will I eventually be able to increase mobility to 100% as long as I work at it?

Thanks for the question. For me the numbness did go away I had it for a few months. 

Getting your range of motion back can definitely be a challenge. Here are 5 great exercises that could help you once you are able to start them according to you PT...

http://www.aclsurgeryrecovery.net/23/top-5-knee-range-of-motion-exercises-to-do-during-acl-surgery-recovery/ 

ACL Range of Motion Exercises

To start off, I just want to say a big thank you for doing this website.  It has given me all the info i need and confidence with my ACL op.  I had my ACL reconstruction last Monday, so im just up to a week and i have been following your Exercises, and i have seen some good results already!  Are you going to continue uploading the exercises past week 3?  I went to see a physio 4 days after my operation, i have nearly got full extension, and i had 112 degrees flexion, does this sound ok?

Full extension already! That is very impressive. What range of motion exercises have you found the most helpful. 

Regarding the exercises past week 3, unfortunately I intended to upload them but once I returned to work after ACl surgery I didn't really have time. In the future I am looking to make a complete ACL surgery recovery at home exercise program...would you find value in something like this?

Based on your recovery rate so far I can suggest that you see a physio who doesn't do the standard bike, stretch, ultrasound, ice routine...you know the physio where you feel like a meat patty at McDonalds!

Here is a great video of George St Pierre doing some incredible exercises at the 3 month mark. 

 

ACl Reconstruction Fears

If you are afraid of having ACL surgery here is some advice on how to handle ACL reconstruction recovery fears...

 I had an ACL surgery on 2012-02-21. It's been 2 weeks today exactly! Everything has been going quite well for me up until now. The rehab seems like a very long journey though...You must have been through a lot of pain having gone through 2 ACL surgeries. You are brave!

 

 To answer your questions, my  2 biggest fear are the following:

 

1. To re-injure it again. To be honest, I don't want to go through the same thing you did. However, just like you with soccer, I have a burning desire to go back wreslting and jiu jitsu. The sad thing is I know those sporst are very dangerous for the knees. I know I will never be the same because of my injury. I am 28 years old and I never really had any major injury until I tore my ACL. Before that, I had that feeling of being invincible. Now, I might be scared to do many things from now on...

 

2. My other concern is for the screws that were put in my knee to hold my new ligament. I am afraid over time it might wear and cause me some problem...

http://www.aclsurgeryrecovery.net/08/7-acl-reconstruction-recovery-fears/