ACL RECOVERY Month 1

Week 1

Surgery day you will spend sleeping, eating and icing. Doing anything else is like running a marathon. Plus the morphine doesn’t ware off for about 5 hours, then it’s onto Percocet’s or T3 your preference of course. I took perc’s I found them to be very strong and they put me to sleep as well. This was a blessing considering I couldn’t do anything. The dinner I ate that night was small but, like going on a long ski trip and coming home to the local pub for a burger and beer it was the best god damn dinner of my life.

Day 2-4

For days 2-4 I highly recommend calling your mom. No one will wait on you hand and foot like your mommy does. I was blessed to have my father fly out from Ontario for the first 5 days. I am a daddy’s girl and he is my hero. Thanks DAD!

I was in so much pain these days that I could only stand for mere minutes to go to the bathroom. To shower I used a chair…this was awesome. Sitting on a chair, while hot water runs on you is a must for waking yourself up from a pain killer daze.

I made a mistake in the first week by not moving my leg enough. This caused trouble in the coming weeks as you will see by reading. I would recommend sitting with your leg as straight as possible and moving it as much as you can to avoid the seizing of your hamstring, calf and quad.

Days 5-6

By day 5 I could crutch around no problem I even went for the car ride to drive my Dad to the airport. I was in much less pain and took painkillers less frequently. Movement at this stage in crucial. Your exercises should be provided by your surgeon in a nice little booklet.

Day 7

This is the day they take the bandages off and check out your gnarly lady killers (scars). Mine bled a bit with the removal of the tape. This is normal. A sense of relief comes with this moment as your knee can finally breathe. They put regular store bought bandages on your knee and off you go.

WEEK 2

Day1-2

This week I started physio. I decided twice a week would suffice my schedule and budget. My recommendation for physiotherapy is to choose the best physio in your city. Going to the closest place to home may yield disappointment and slow recovery. I see Alison Mclean at Peak Performance Physiotherapy in Whistler BC. She is a physiotherapist, manipulative therapist, acupuncturist, and intramuscular stimulation and rehabilitative Pilates are just some of her arsenal of treatments. She is also an athlete herself which is important to me. She has won many awards for physio of the year in Whistler BC and is sought out by some of the best winter sports athletes in the game. Her credentials are a list too long for this blog.

PEAK PERFORMANCE PHYSIOTHERAPY

Day 2-4

By this point you should begin walking with your crutches and mimicking the movement without putting weight on your injured knee. Remember movement is the key throughout this process to avoid muscle cramping and stiffness. Walk around your house without crutches using the walls and counter tops as support and try firing your quad muscles as often as possible. Getting your knee straight is the first step to walking without a limp. The sooner you get it straight the better and faster your recovery will be. Be patient, everyone heels at different rates and your recovery time will be different than others. This is just a guideline.

Day 4-7

At this point I was off of pain killers entirely.  I recommend continuing icing in intervals 20mins every hour. Depending on your surgery you can at this point heat your hamstring graft with a hot pack to help get your knee straight if you received patella or a cadaver graft this is not applicable. I took Advil for swelling and continued to ice, elevate and rest as much as possible doing stretches and exercises outlined above about 4 times daily.

WEEK 3

Day 1

At three weeks I was back at work and having no issues standing or weight bearing on my leg. I continue to ice and stretch as often as possible. I go to the gym to swim and bike and work out 5-7 days a week depending on how I feel. I began walking with one crutch except for long distances and was biking in full rotation, without raising my hip.

Day 2-4

At this point your physio becomes more aggressive and you are pushing your leg to the point of pain. This is normal when working to achieve your flexion and extension. You should be doing…

Stationary biking minimal resistance

Quarter squats

Hamstring exercises

Core work

Calf exercises

Swimming

Day 4-7

By this point you will want to be walking without crutches. You’ll feel your strength coming back. This is when you should start being more careful not to over train and to rest and ice adequately. Remember its about frequency of the activities not about one session a day. Your scars will be fully healed at this point. I recommend keeping them out of the sun and using vitamen E to prevent them from drying out. Vitamin E can be used at week 2 is desired and will not affect your healing process negatively.

WEEK 4

At week 4 you’re over the hump. You’re walking, exercising and keeping a regular log of your progress. At this point your flexion and extension are getting better and you are walking with a limp. Avoid exercises that incur pain. Talk to your physio therapist about what exercises you can start doing, and keep your patience with your muscles. Everything takes time and getting back to 100% is not about speed. Quality not Quantity is what your want in your recovery. GOOD LUCK.