I just had ACL reconstruction surgery and i'm freaking out a little because my smart self decided i could rehab. my leg on my own and it got in the way of work so i stopped my physical therapy (i'm a physical therapy session drop-out). Now i'm going nuts because everywhere i look on the internet the people's comments all say they never went back to 100% mobility with their knee, and sometimes it was worse because they did nothing afterward. i don't even know where to start with exercises and i'm craving cardio and i don't have a bike, which is what the woman had me use in p.t.. So i guess i also wanna know if anyone knows of some type of cardio that i could do also. All in all can anyone help me with this?
2006-09-10 19:46:24 · 2 answers · asked by Penny L 1 in Health ➔ Diet & Fitness
Go back to physical therapy! If you had to have surgery, you would make time for that. If you were sick, you would take time off work for that. You need to make time for physical therapy. If the clinic was not open convenient times, then try another clinic. A lot of them are open early, late, or on Saturdays to accommodate the average working adult.
I am not just saying this because I am a PT. Rehabilitation post surgery for an ACL reconstruction is very structured and there are certain exercises that will damage your ACL to the point where you will need the surgery redone. If you do not gain your full ROM you may need to have surgery again as well. Have I scared you enough to go back to PT yet?
By the way, the majority of medical information on the web is inaccurate, so be careful where you get your information. I have had many ACL patients recover full ROM, strength, and resume their normal activity level (it does take 6 months to a year). But these patients participated fully with PT, were compliant with their home exercises, and worked hard to return to their prior level of function.
So, unfortunately, I am not going to give you exercises to do, because I do not know how many weeks it has been since your surgery and I do not know your current status. However, if you insist on not returning to PT, I recommend going online and searching for "ACL protocol" and find a site that looks reputable (an orthopedic surgeon or PT site) that has a week by week protocol of safe and appropriate exercises. Make sure that the protocol is appropriate for YOUR surgery (hamstring autograft, patella tendon autograft, allograft, etc).
Good luck, and I hope your recovery goes well.
2006-09-11 15:43:25 · answer #1 · answered by realove336 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would encourage you to go back to see your therapist and if they agree that you can rehab your knee properly on your own they should be able to provide you with some instruction handouts on exercises you can do on your own.
2006-09-11 02:50:57 · answer #2 · answered by Jim 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋