Hi all,
I had an ACL reconstruction and LCL & cartilage repair in October last year following a rugby injury. Had 2 weeks in plaster cast & 4 weeks in a brace. Had problems in getting my leg straight & had manipulation under anaesthetic in January with a night on a CPM machine. I managed to get full extension by about April I would say and my knee is generally feeling really good (returned to rugby training a month ago although without contact) and was assessed by the physio at my knee class a few days ago. I passed the various tests & did pretty well on the hop test but physio said it's quite obvious I am lacking the stability & strength in my knee (I stumbled a fair bit & lacked control).
The thing that worries me the most is the fact I still cannot bend my leg as far as I should be able to. If I kneel on the floor I am still about an inch or 2 from being able to sit on my heels... I get pain in the front of my knee and behind the knee, a sharp pain if I push suddenly but its more uncomfortable to try and sit through. Is this normal this far on from my original operation (which is a year ago on thursday)!! Physio havnt said much apart from to stretch my quad muscles as much as possible and the frustration is really starting to kick in...
So really I wondered if anyone had any advice at all about (more importantly) getting my leg to bend more, anything apart from kneeling on the floor (starting with pillow & decreasing the width) which doesnt feel like its getting me very far?
And secondly the more effective ways of building up strength, whether its running, cycling or circuit type training?
Any advice would be very much appreciated!
Many thanks from an increasingly frustrated person who really wants to return to rugby... (I know I am probably not alone in this)!
