17 Weeks Post-Op ACLr Allograft (BPTB) & Meniscus Trim

[sherwooa]

Congrats Steve on the green light for running.  It's a big milestone and feels good to be "set loose."  Based on my experience, I would say work the running up gradually and don't push too hard too fast.  I had been working up to 3 days per week + strength/plyos and was getting a little irritation/swelling so had to dial it back down a bit for a couple of weeks. 

Time sure flies, don't it!

[steved]

Hi Sherwooa, It sure does! I went to the gym last night & started to run a bit around the track. I didn't feel any pain but my stride was definitely odd/off. It's as if i was jogging with a slight limp. Almost like mentally or maybe even physically, i couldn't or wouldn;t allow myself to take the full stride forward with my involved leg. After clearing my mind a bit and just "letting loose" mentally, my stride got a little better. Is this normal for my 1st time? What was it like on your first run out?

I'm hitting up the gym again tonight. Gotta stay on it! I feel great but i REALLY need to work on single leg stuff a bit more. Just need to build up some more muscle on that sucker! Nothign else to report, I have my follow-up with my OS on Monday so I'm really looking forward to that. I have a few questions I'd like to ask him. From your experience, do you have any suggestions on things I should maybe ask or voice when I see him? I'm glad you're feeling great. I'm a little behind you but I'm now able to do my day to day stuff without any problems. It feels awesome!

[sherwooa]

Hi steve - sorry for the late reply.  I definitely know what you mean about the first time running.  I definitely felt a bit like it wasn't natural, and my PT noticed a slight difference in my stride on the treadmill, and that the sound at foot strike was different on my involved side.  Since then it has gotten much better, though I still can't say that running feels totally normal yet.  I still feel like I have to think about it when I'm doing it.

The single leg stuff definitely helps, especially things like single-leg squats, split squats, step-ups, etc.  My right leg is now back to the size it was pre-injury, though I was still hoping to get it a bit bigger since it was smaller than my left to begin with. 

I was on the sideline for my lacrosse club's first real game yesterday, and though I took warmups with the team, I did not play obviously.  It was definitely difficult to stand there and watch the action happen without me.

As for things to think about/ask your OS, I would ask about risk levels at different timelines - i.e. what does he consider the "gold standard" for return to sports activities, and what the risks will be at that point?  Also, what does he consider to be normal in terms of swelling/soreness at this point and going forward?

Hope the appt goes well.

[steved]

Thanks Sherwooa, I've been doing a lot of step-ups/downs and hitting up the step machine as well. I finally got to kick on my cleats and went out to kick the ball around and even took a few laps around the field yesterday. It felt so awesome! Got in some backwards jogging and lateral jumps, runs on the field. It all felt pretty good. No pain whatsoever after about an hour of jogging and kicking the ball around. the "limp" run isn't as bad as it was my first couple times. It's beginning to feel more like a normal stride. I'm still miles away from where i should be with sprints & speed. I'm a very fast sprinter and I'm REALLY hoping to gain that back once I'm good to go. I obviously haven't started cutting yet.

My OS said he'd recommend i wait until my 6month mark which is mid/late april. I wont see him until May 2nd for last follow-up and xrays. I might just wait til then just to be safe i suppose. I have 1 more PT appointment this week before they send me off with a program to follow on my own from. Exciting! I've been taping my knee up with Kinesio tape as they say it should help some. A little skeptical but figure it can't hurt. Still working 4 days a week at the gym to gain more muscle on my leg. It's definitely coming back but kind of a slow process. Leg's feeling great though!

[steved]

Running has been progressing well. No pain, just a little bit of awkwardness but gradually feeling better. I went out to kick the ball around last night with friends & happened to run into an old friend with whom I played soccer with in my teens.

I started talking to him about my surgery and rehab when he told me he had also undergone an ACLr in October. Allograft BPTB. Had torn MCL, meniscus as well. The funny thing is he was at the park PLAYING and running hard. WTH??? Haha, i was shocked. I told him i had just recently started running/jogging a couple weeks ago and was doing pretty good so far.

Then he really shocked me when he said he had been running 5 miles in about 45mins at 2 months post op!!! WHAT?!?!?! I was so confused and impressed I didn't know what to make of it. He seems to be in great shape and says he has had no complications so I guess he's doing something right but it was really insane hearing his super fast recovery.


This is kinda pointless but thought I'd share this interesting story on someone with exceptional super-human powers after an ACLr. I must admit, though i KNOW I can't match him on the recovery as we're are all different, it definitely gave me a boost on wanting to get better and work EXTRA hard on getting back at it again.

[sherwooa]

Hey steve.  Glad to hear it's been going well.  Your friend's recovery sounds awfully quick, and though I've read of a few stories of remarkable recoveries (1 or 2 on the Crossfit discussion board) with allograft, that's pretty impressive.  To be honest, in some respects I felt like I could play at almost full speed a few weeks ago when I practiced with my team, but I held back, and as I've mentioned on my thread, it's mainly just the slight aggravation in the meniscus area that's kept me from doing all of the running/plyos I would like to do.

But it sounds like you are doing great and you hit the nail on the head - everyone's recovery is slightly different.  And the motivation is definitely there for sports nuts like ourselves.  Keep going after it and good luck with the return to the field!

[steved]

It's all coming back...slowly. I've been feeling pretty good. My last run at the gym was definitely my best. Before that i limped a lot through my stride but it all felt pretty normal on Monday. I was even able to pick up the pace & run a little faster. It felt awesome though im sti'll a bit sore from that workout. I'm planning on heading out to kick the ball around tonight followed by some light gym. I've been finding building up my quad to be pretty difficult. Much more than i expected actually. I can see that there is some muscle there but it's not as big as i had hoped at this point.

Gonna kick the squats up a notch & try and walk a lot more as well. Almost there...