Anyone else busted their ACL

edwardcasbon1 · 24 Nov 2011 at 21:29

Hi all,

I had my ACL reconstruction surgery about 4 months ago now (19th July).

How was everyones recovery after 4 months? I'm now allowed to start jogging and have jogged a couple of times, although it is sore and very weak.

I'm not able to pull my leg up towards my bum (you know, the exercise that stretches the thigh muscle). Was anyone able to do this after 4 months?

I've just started a course of 6 physio sessions (sets of exercises etc) and hoping that these will improve the strength of my knee and reduce my pain and improve my stretchability (if that's even a word).

I really can't wait to play football again, or even kick a ball about with my mates. I'm too scared at the moment to test my knee as I'm scared that i'll damage the graft.

I hope everyones recovery is going well. Chin up.

Edward

joem1983 · 26 Nov 2011 at 15:20

I had a reconstruction over a year ago on the ACL.

Thought all was good then got hospitalized just over a month ago and spent a week in hospital without food!
lost a stone and a half and my knee feels worse.
Im guessing my knee had a reliance on the muscle.
BAck to doing physio for me!

edwardcasbon1 · 27 Nov 2011 at 10:10

Oh no, doesn't sound good. Why do you think that happened? Did you return to playing before your knee was ready?

I can't wait to play again, but I'm worried that I won't know when to.

Good luck with your recovery Joe.

joem1983 · 27 Nov 2011 at 15:57

The hospital visit was nothing to do with the knee.

I had not got back to doing activities like football, mountain biking. Didnt feel quite ready, as i got the odd twinge, wobble.

Need to give it some time and physio, building some strength up. Hopefully I'll be back by spring or will be speaking to the docs.

I'm not sure when to give it a go. Just take the plunge and build up slowly, start with some running. Footballs probably the worst for knees.
It's a tough call but you should feel. if you feel anything stop.

Hilly · 15 Aug 2012 at 16:16

Bumping this old thread to see how all the fellow destroyers of their ACL's are getting on?

I'm still playing football, still trying to get fit (though not that hard I admit), still feel it every now and again. Twisted on it last week which bloody hurt, feels a bit numb since then! All normal stuff!

edwardcasbon1 · 15 Aug 2012 at 21:06

Hey, it's been a year now since my reconstruction op. I'm not back playing football just yet, as I want to concentrate on building my legs back up in the gym. I might try footie training on Monday though, finding it hard to do lots of work at the gym (plus footie's more fun).

I'm probably not going to play properly until the new year, but will be happy just training until then. I need to be confident that I can play fully before going back.

Hope everyone else is getting on well.

CooK1E · 16 Aug 2012 at 23:51

Didn't notice this thread.

I had ACL and lateral meniscus repair on my knee on 21st Sept 2011. The original injury was from a shoulder barge during footy on 14th March 2011. Its now a full year on and frankly I don't think I'm any better off.

Has anyone had their knee drained? My surgeon refused to do it until it had been a full year after surgery. He was adamant that it would return to normal naturally. I'm at the stage now where I still can't run properly, I've still got swelling and my entire knee audibly crunches when I walk up stairs.

edwardcasbon1 · 17 Aug 2012 at 09:27

How do you mean you cant run properly? Can you run on it but its painful, or you cant physically run on it?

My knee 'clicks' when I walk upstairs, but was told that could be because my legs arent strong enough yet.

I've not had my knee drained as such. I had a drain in durig the op and the day after, while still in hospital, but that came out before I left.

Good luck with your rehab. I'm hoping that I can play again next season, just concentrating on building up my leg muscles now.

CooK1E · 21 Aug 2012 at 09:42

edwardcasbon1 said:
How do you mean you cant run properly? Can you run on it but its painful, or you cant physically run on it?

My knee 'clicks' when I walk upstairs, but was told that could be because my legs arent strong enough yet.

I've not had my knee drained as such. I had a drain in durig the op and the day after, while still in hospital, but that came out before I left.

Good luck with your rehab. I'm hoping that I can play again next season, just concentrating on building up my leg muscles now.

Have to admit I was somewhat down when I wrote my post!

With the amount of fluid that I still have on my knee, jogging for anything more than a minute or so gives me pain in the knee. I've spoken to my specialist about the fluid a number of times but his answer is always that It will go away with time. Given that I've been doing no gym work (as instructed) and been on anti-inflammatories (sp?) for the last 3 months, this isn't going to work.

I didn't have a drain in during my OP and given that that my knee was massive, I'm thinking this is a possible cause. Its now been 18 months and frankly I don't seem to be any better off. I've got another consultation in September so I'm hoping that something more than 'wait and see' is going to occur.

Oh and the clicking isn't really a click, its more like crunching!

oneilldo · 22 Aug 2012 at 01:00

CooK1E try sleeping with your leg elevated. A couple of pillows should do the trick, its uncomfortable at first but helped me loads (though this was initial stages after surgery but still worth a try). If your joint is swollen with lots of liquid it does seem to make it more movable which would explain the increased noise/crunching. Might be worth taken a couple ibuprofen in parallel as they also help with swelling (is that medical advice?)

oneilldo · 16 Jul 2019 at 12:09

Thread revival,

How is everyone doing with their various knee surgeries/reconstruction over 10 years down the line? Any further complications or other similar injuries?

I’ll provide an update on mine shortly.