ACL Rehab
Background: Ski accident the 5 february, not to much pain, not to swollen, but the MRI showed a cruciate ligament full tear a little bone bruised and a minor tear in the lateral menisk (which they say will not affect the rehab as it was minor.).
Reconstruction of the ACl with semitendinosusgraft, operated 18 february.
Day 1-3
The first day after the operation the pain was insane, so insane that I needed to go back to the hospital so they could paralyze the leg witha femorlis blockad (not sure the name in english).
I could only do the easiest exercise when pointing my toes upwards and downwards, I did this a lot as it´s good for the circulation. I could also tighten the quad muscles a little. Every day it became easier. I could put weight in the leg and it feelt ok. I jumped on crutches.
4-5 Start to feel better, I could have the leg pretty straigt, not uncomfortable lying down.
I could start to do more exercises. Like dragging the knee from extension towards flexion. I could work more on the quad muscles, and I did the exercises for motion and extension.
I have 10 exercises from my fysio ( I guess all of you have almost the same, more or less, so I don´t write them here)I feelt very tired, I could not concentrate for long, my body and mind just want to rest. So I did that. I guess an operation is a pretty big impact on the body.
6-8 I could bend the knee to 90 degrees comfortable. My psoas is so tired from jumping to much on crutches!! So I took some easier days. Still tired. I noticed small progression, just like I could tighten the quads for a little longer in an extended position, I could press down the knee a tiny little more . Tiny tiny steps, and they made me so incredible happy! These days I also started with a few isometric exercises for the hamstrings. It was very difficult and it feelt very fragile. So I took it very slow and only did a few seconds in every position.
9-10 My energy was coming back slowly. This days I could do some upper body training! Great feeling! Focus still only on the rehab exercises. Tiny progresses.
11- I could walk without crutches, dragging the right foot on the floor when going from back to front. Controlled, balanced and very slow. I still used crutches as it goes faster, only (more or less) during training I walk without them try to find a normal walk. The knee is still a little swollen, from day 6 until now it hasn´t changed much.
12- Doing the rehab and adding the compex when I have the leg straight. Getting super tired from that. But it feels great to use the quads!!
13 I tried to cycle, slow very slow it works and it makes the knee feel more flexible afterwards. I only cycled for some minutes, then rested, made extension excercises, some balance and then I cycleed for some more minutes.
It´s not super comfortable the angle on the cycle, but as long as it´s not pain it´s ok. Afterwards the knee is less swollen.
It´s not to swollen, just a little around the knee and on the backside of the knee. I think with more movement this will go away!
14-15 same routine with rehab exercises and cycling a few minutes. I do this 2-3 times a day. The hamstrings start to feel better, I can “connect” it a little more when I walk, and the isometric exercise start to feel better ( but it´s very small steps, it´s not good, just a tiny tiny little better!) The last few days I have putted more focus on the extension of the leg, I do those exercises a little bit more, and I think about having the leg straight and tightening the quads every now and then during the day.
To be continued..!
Please if you feel like you want to share your experience, please do this in a comment! I think it can be so interesting for everyone with this injury to read about rehab from different persons. This is not to be compared, we need to know everyone is diffierent, and have different background and preconditions.
So far I have had one black day, a day when I felt tired in the knee, I felt immobile, and so depended on Kilian to do all the things I couldn´t do (I can do them, it just takes so much longer, and it´s a good experience to trust someone to do all things for you, not because they need, because they want!) and I felt just miserable. I missed so much to be healthy and in the mountains. But this passes away, like the clouds on a blue sky.
Let´s do rehab together and share the road back to where we want to be!
