# Advice on recovering from an ACL tear



## TiCoyote (Jun 28, 2005)

On Saturday, I was skiing and I tore my ACL. Complete rupture with a torn meniscus and sprains to the other tendons and ligaments. A little blood in the knee, but not enough that it needs to be drained. I'm getting a repair in 3 weeks with a patella tendon graft. After that, barring any complications, crutches for 2 weeks and a brace for another 4. 

I'm in my early 40s, 5'8", 150lbs. I generally run 15-20mi per week, and bike 50-100 mi. Probably around 7 hrs per week of running and biking. Then maybe another hour or two at the gym every week. I try to exercise 6 days every week. I run half-marathons, and I usually finish in the top 10%, sometimes the top 5%. I ride time trial in a local bush-league, and I finish near the bottom. 

I'm guess that it will be a year before I'm even close to where I am now at a competitive level, but I would like to be able to run and bike for pleasure and health. I'd like to be able to get out there, get my heart rate up, and sweat. 

The advice I'm hearing is: 
1. Take it slow. Have realistic goals. 
2. Stick to the PT. 
3. Listen to your body. 

People are also warning me about the brutality of the PT. Can anyone offer any other advice or just personal experiences? Thank you.


----------



## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

I don’t have any advice, but I can commiserate. I broke my tibial plateau two weeks ago. I’m told it will be six months before I can get back on the bike.

Best of luck to you in your recovery.


----------



## jetdog9 (Jul 12, 2007)

Don't rush it. You might feel great in 6 months, but just be careful. When pro athletes come back that fast it has alot to do with constant treatment and training they are getting paid for, whereas we normal folks pay for treatments and have jobs.

Definitely listen to your PT folks.


----------



## tmorisol (Feb 13, 2020)

Ti,


What city do you live in? Surgeon? Try to get swelling down prior to surgery. Get quad working as best as possible and try to get full range of motion in straightening and bending. Ride you bike is you can, just spin. 


As far as after do quad exercise as soon as possible to get the quad function back. If you are not having meniscus repair with stitched you can weight bear in locked brace as tolerated from day 1. Exercise from day 1 are quad sets, ankle pumps, hamstring curl active bending sliding for on table, Bridges, clams exercise, sidelying hip abduction with brace on.


Once your quad works and you can do straight leg raise without extensor lag (knee bending), you can walk without the brace one. This is also when you can spin on stationary bike. Keep resistance very low to start. Also start single limb balance, mini squats, split squats, step ups, heel sides, thera band walks, wall sits. Google all those to find picture and probably video. 


Once you can walk without a limp, you can get back on bike for fitness. Stay flat to start. No it of saddle climbing or sprinting. 


Push rehab hard. Should exercise 5 times per week. Let seeking be your guide. If it gets more swollen, probably when you need to elevate, rest and do easy easy motion such as heel slides, Bridges, soon with no resistance. 


From week 6 post op to week 16 is really the time to crush strengthening. Anything goes just no running, jumping or twisting through the knee. 


If you are able to do 8 solid single limb squats holding onto TRx, you are probably ok to start back to jogging. 


I have been a physical therapist for the past 12 years in Ortho PT. Send me a private message if you have any questions.


----------



## Benjamin Huffy (5 mo ago)

Wow that is really bad luck, or maybe it is not luck, it is just that you have to pay to play. I partially tore my ACL and a few other things in my right knee nine months ago and just with that I am still not 100%. For most of the last nine-months my leg that was damaged was noticeably skinnier than the other, because it all went away over the six or eight weeks where I could hardly use the leg for anything but standing. As soon as I could I did get on a stationary bike though, Luckily it was winter and I did not miss as much outdoor riding, but I did miss a lot because one thing you must realize is that the last thing you want to do is injure that same knee again before it is 100% healed or it may never come back to 100%. My PT has been to do cycling, walking and a bit of jogging and weight training, but one thing I made sure of is that I never did anything that caused me the least bit of pain, I did whatever did not hurt and let it heal really slowly. I still dread hitting the same knee again even though I can finally do most of what I could do before it happened and the muscle mass has come back. That was a very painful injury, and I remember after it happened it did not feel like my calf wanted to move with my thigh. I was lucky in that it was not a complete tear and that meant I could go for the non-surgery option, and it seems to have worked, but I know if the ACL is 100% torn then there is no option but surgery to graft new tissue in there. 

I am a bit more careful on a bike now and in general. It has taken nine months to get back to where I can mostly ride without thinking about falling on that knee again, but I think I will always be more cautious a rider now and will always have some little voice in the background reminding me in challenging riding situations of what happened last year. So my only advice is if any PT hurts, then stop and go back to less challenging PT until you can move ahead with no pain. Good Luck.


----------



## fiziks (Jul 22, 2016)

I was 5'8" 150-160 lbs and late 30s when I tore mine (I also pulled my MCL and shredded the inside half of my meniscus). I was playing soccer 4x a week. Plan on taking a year to recover. If it happens sooner... bonus! You'll get a lot of different opinions here about what sort of exercise to do and when. Ignore them. Do what your surgeon and PT tell you. If you have access to a sports medicine specialist, get a consult with them. 

If history is any indicator, the arguments will start about which method of recovery is best in about 5 to 10 more posts


----------

