ACL tear - I start my long journey to recovery!

[grapplingdude]

Day 17: Forgot to mention I did statick lunges for the 1st time yesterday and again today. I woke up and knee had minimal maltracking when doing stairs and extending from below 90 degrees...

Went to the gym and did:

3 x 20 mins cycling at 100 -105 rpm - upped the level to 11 for last one, only mild maltracking at start

4 x 10 mins sci -fit - 1st time EVER I use this but it really is AMAZING! Cycling for the arms...

3 sets foam roller plus 1 round of leg exercises only today

Felt great!!!! 

Got normal night stiffness now - also trying to reduce anti-inflammatories to 2 a day

[grapplingdude]

Day 18: Slept in this morning and woke up pretty stiff but feeling good overall!I did not do any exercises mid morning but waited till the gym:

2 x 10 mins cycling c. 105 rpm and 2 x 10 mins crosstrainer

4 x 10 mins sci fit

1 full complement of leg exercises except getting a bit bored with normal squats so did not do many

1 x upper body including 30 kettle bell swings for the 1st time 

3 x foam roller

Felt good in all - powered out and leg mobilised! Bit stiff now but optimistic!

How do I feel apart from that? Kind of depressed because it will be another 9 months till contact sport 

[grapplingdude]

Day 19: Went to the physio around midday and he thinks I am way ahead. Gave me new stuff to do including loaded stepovers. He thinks left kneecap is slightly rotated - I have had this feedback before.

Then went to the gym:

2 x 10 mins cycling at level 15/16 cause physio said to lower revs to c. 90

2 x sci-fit including 1 standing set

2 sets of my new leg exercises incl. loaded stepovers

1 round of ore incl. 20 push-ups

2 sets of foam roller - IT band is getting better. lexibility is still not great...

[grapplingdude]

Day 20: Usual niggles during the day and this is my 2nd day back at work. I go to the gym at night and do:

2 x 10 mins cross trainer at level 15!!!!! and 2 x steps at level 15 plus 2 x 5 mins scifit - TIRING

I star with all my basic stuff including hamstring curls with a rubber band which I did for the 1st time yesterday - it was OK yesterday even though I cannot even quite get 90 degrees but today I had a sharp pain at rep 6 at back of knee / upper calf 

I then did unl;oaded leg exercise 1 rotation including one more hamstring curls without the sharp pain but some residual pain this time. 2 x foam roller and stretches afterwards - I can now get my heel to within 3 - 4 inches of my bottom 

I now notice a dull strain at my lateral lower hamstring closely akin to what I had pre-surgery 

[grapplingdude]

Day 21: It has been my longest day back at work and my knee feels stiff at night on the tube. I still go to the gym and do a limited programme consisting of 3 x 15 mins fast cycling and foam roller in between.

For the cycling I do level 15 around 90 rpm most of the time with short 1 minute intervals where I go up tio level 20 (these kil!!) and then down to 10 doing really high rev. That feels good but highly strenuous. I also do 5 mins sci fit and I do 25 reps hamstring curls with the red rubber tape. I get them to about 90 degrees now wit only mild pain at the back

I then do my stertch 3 times where I pull in the heel standing and I can get this to within 2.5 - 3 inches I would say - best result so far but usual slight pain / niggles when I do it.

The lateral hamstring has been feeling tight / stiff / dull achy for most of the past 2 -3 days and today was no difference 
I also got some random pinching sensations around the medial side of the knee after the gym when walking home - I had not had these yet so there is something new...

[PiotrS]

Hi,

I am about 6 days ahead of you in terms of time since the operation, but way behind you in terms of rehab! You seem to have a very aggressive protocol. I am banned from doing squats and similar.

I am just about walking and doing some basic quad tightening and mostly static exercises. Got on the bike for the first time on Monday for a few minutes. Overall the knee feels fine, I get all kinds of strange aches and pains, and since I started walking the calf has been particularly painful.

I have a similar kind of dull ache at the back of the knee to the lateral side - I would like to find out what it is as well!

All the best with your recovery.

Piotr

[grapplingdude]

Piotr

You are right I have been on an aggressive protocol but this has been given to me by my physio and is based on his experiences - he is from New Zealand where ACL injuries happen every day in rugby and he is using a similar protocol on me - it has been working for mr so far but will ahve a less aggressive day today..

The ache at the back of the calf is said to be due to strain on the popliteus muscle which is where the calf attaches to the knee - that gets strained both when you hurt your ACL and during surgery - apparently takes a long while to subside...

The dull ache on the lateral hamstring I was told is due to the bone bruising which typically occurs in the area during ACL injury and the resultant knee displacement. I had this pre surgery as well (ever since the injury) and bone bruising is meant to take many months to go away

I hope this helps!

[PiotrS]

My ache comes when I straighten my leg and tense the quad, although it seems to go away if I stretch for a bit, so it could be just muscle tightness. I get all kinds of weird pains in and around the knee, but I guess that's to be expected. The knee certainly feels tighter and different to how it was before. I really notice it when I tighten the quads on a straight leg, there is definitely less movement somewhere in there!

Well if it works for the Kiwis, then I am sure it is OK. It's interesting how everyone has a slightly different approach and how it varies country to country. I had a similar op to you, hamstring ST graft, but my rehab is much more conservative. I still have to sleep in my brace which is a major PITA.

I had a bit of an accident about 10 days post-op where I did an accidental squat on my operated leg (forgot to put the crutches down when walking). I got a bit paranoid about having damaged the graft, but seeing as you are doing more strenuous stuff than that gives me confidence that probably everything is OK.

[grapplingdude]

Day 22: Been working my longest day today and feeling tired as well as overexercised at night so forcing myself into an unmotivated session at the gym:

Did 3 x 5 mins on the step machine and 1 x 5 mins cycling - nothing fancy but my leg muscles feel real tired. I also do a round of upper body exercises using 12 kg kettle bells and 2 rounds of the following lunges (static) using 16 kg kettle bell x 20 and squats using 16 kg kettle bell x 20 and kettle bell swings x 35.

Also did some bridges to begin with and tried hamstring curls with the black rubber band (impossible)! - feeling powered out at the end even though this was not a long or tough session 

Well I guess muscles will need to rest a bit - I also did my stretch pulling in my knee at night and the result is that I can get the heel to within a hand of my bottom - thats good news 

[grapplingdude]

Day 23: Long day at work and went to the gym at night doing:

4 x 10 mins sci-fit and 4 x 6 mins crosstrainer level 15

My new core programme which the physio gave me this morning which is the same exercises but slowed down and holding a medicine ball squeezed between my knees to switch on VMO and adductors which physio thinks are the real weak spot. I also do unloaded basic leg programme incl. hamstring curls with red rubber band and step overs and squats (which are really strong now)

2 x foam roller and stretches at the end (I can pull the heel in much better now 

Day 24: Got my knee knocked on sideways by a heavy suitcase in the station and some dickhead stepped on my foot at the ticket barriers which made me twist my knee a bit - I do not think anything bad happened but these are the risks of busy stations I guess....

Went to the gym later and did

4 x 16 mins cycling at level 15 with short intervals at 20 and 6 mins sci-fit. That was good and I only did basic leg stuff - 2 x 25 hamstring curls with the rubber band followed by some bridges with the ball and tried some squats with the ball - really works the adductors in this way!

I also did 3 x foam roller which is infinitely better now and when I did my stretches I could get the heel in much closer than ever 

[grapplingdude]

Day 25: Had one of my best knee days today! My gym routine today was:

2 x 10 mins sci-fit, 2x5 mins cycling, 1 x 5 mins sci-fit at level 12

Did full core programme and 2 full complements of leg exercises including step overs loaded with 16 kg and using 5 blocks 

Flexibility was really good and I got my heel to within 1-2 inches 

Knee did feel very stiff at night and I am once more out of anti-inflammatories so i may try getting some more

[grapplingdude]

Day 26: Knee has been stiff all day and I feel like I may have been overexercising so I take a day off - guess what?! Knee feels amazing in the morning.

Day 27: So I had my day off and knee feels great (comparatively) so I do the following gym routine in the morning:

3 x 12 mins cycling incl 1 set at level 16 and 1 with intervals

Also 3 x 6 mins sci-fit

I do some core and leg routine (unloaded) as well and my foam roller work

I then see my physio and we find out the following:

I have no flexibility through the glutes so I am given basic stretches for the glute

My left upper body is much tighter and weaker than my right side so I am given a stretch and side planks

Also I am given a further glute exercise

I go to the gym again at night to just do my new exercises and stretches and I am doing a lot better already 

[grapplingdude]

Day 28: First time I have been wearing "business shoes" rather than sneakers all day and walking does not feel great in them. I also tripped up twice twisting / straining the knee a bit so I change back to trainers at night.

I then go to the gym at night doing the following:

2 x 10 mins cross trainer, 2 x 6 mins sci-fit, my new exercises for the left side and glutes twice as well as some deep squats and hamstring curls...

Not a great session but now that I am back working full-time office based there are time constraints and I am incredibly run down from trying to exercise hard for 2 hours plus per day and being in the office for a good 10 hours 

The good news is that I can bring my heel to within 1 inch of my butt now and could probably force it all the way even though I am not trying this... 

[grapplingdude]

Day 29: Woke up all stiff and braved the gym for a quickie in the morning:

Did 10 mins cycling followed by my oblique exercises x 2, hamstring curls x 2 (still painful at the back of the knee), basic plancks and squats and stepovers

Then off to work having a mediocre day and back to the gym at night doing:

3 x 6 mins steps and 3 x 6 mins cycling. Also doing more core stuff including obliques and a quick upper body workout incl. kettle bell swings and some basic exercises

OK day for exercise in all 

[grapplingdude]

Day 30: Knee was quite stiff and maybe a bit puffed up this morning. I had an early physio appointment where he progressed me to more advanced stuff for the obliques and my 1st single leg exercises - just mini squats and balancing on unstable surfaces and keeps saying how quick my progress is 

He also made me walk on the treadmill saying that my limp is less pronounced when I walk quickly. Because I was so stiff I had some deep tissue massage afterwards which felt GREAT 

Could walk noticeably better afterwards and I have decided to take a day off ecercise today to recover fully and really put my new things into practice tomorrow!