Week 14 - ACL Surgery Recovery

Welcome to my ACL surgery recovery blog where I have been giving week by week updates on my recovery since I had ACL surgery on my right knee back on May 22nd, 2008.

Progress is still slow and i have not tried any more running at this point. I've been given some extra Plyometric exercises to do. One thing i have noticed is that my co-ordination has really gone in the tank. It usually takes me a few times to get these exercises right.

The first one is Power skipping. Not with a rope. Skipping like you use to do as a kid. You're pretty much jumping as high as you can off each leg and lifting the other knee towards your chest, keeping your abdominals tight and swinging your arms. This is suppose to be a low impact introductory plyometric exercise. I am suppose to do this exercise for 30 second intervals.

The second is similar except you're skipping sideways.

The third exercise was another school yard type activity. Hop-scotch, using this familiar floor pattern below:

You start by hoping on your left leg in the middle of the first square, then jump again with both legs landing on the outside of the lines, right in between the first and second square. Then, jump landing on your right foot in the 2nd square. The again jump landing on both feet outside of the lines just in between the second and third square. Repeat to the end, turn around and do it again.

The final new exercise was using the same pattern and it was just basic running in and out of each square. So you'd start looking at the pattern which is perpendicular to you. Start at one end and run in one square with both feet, then backwards out of the square. Then same thing in the next square and continue that in and out in a fowards/backwards, zig-zag motion until you reach the end. Then do it all over agan going back the other way.

So add those to the list.

I still experience a bit of minor swelling. Nothing really that you would notice looking at it, but i can feel it after i do my routines. Icing is still needed.

As far as scarring goes, at this point it is hardly noticable but that is something I'm not even concerned about. Its only about a 2 1/2 inch scar and quite frankly if my knee is working properly, it was a small price to pay.

Anyway, thats it for my week 14 report. Thanks for reading my ACL Surgery Recovery blog. Take care.

Week 13 - ACL Surgery Recovery

Welcome to my ACL surgery recovery blog where I have been giving week by week updates on my recovery since I had ACL surgery on my right knee back on May 22nd, 2008.

This is week 13 post surgery. Cycling is my main source of cardio exercise right now. I ride my bike hard for about 40 minutes as many times a week as I can get in. My physiotheropy program hasnt changed much in the last couple weeks. We're still focusing on the early stages of running which I am still having difficulty with due to the discomfort in the patella area of my knee. I am suppose to do fast walking on the treadmill for 4.5 minuites and then jog for 1/2 a munite and repeat for 30 minutes. The first week i tried it was week 12 and i had to stop after 20 minuites. This week, I did manage to go the full 30 minuites however, the discomfort was still there. Not as bad, but still there. My knee was sore for a couple days afterwards too.

Also at physio, they put me on this machine, which actually looks kind of old. It is called the Kin Con. I tried googling it but found very little information on it. Basically, it can test you knee's strength doing a variety of resistance tests. It looked like an expensive piece of equipment and seems to get the job done but as i mentioned it looks dated.

Thats it for this week. Next week, I'm suppose to start on a few new plyometric exercises and i'll also report on any progress with my running. In the last couple of weeks I've dropped down on my physio appointments to once a week. At $60 a session, its starting to eat into my wallet. Ive just had to make sure that i continue to do the perscribed exercises on my own.

Thanks for reading my ACL Surgery Recovery blog. Please feel free to leave any comments or questions.

Week 12 - ACL Surgery Recovery

Im at 12 weeks in the recovery stage of post ACL surgery and this week in physio was the big week where we introduce a little bit of treadmill running into my regular routine. So after 30 minuites of biking and all my other exercises i got on the treadmill and started at it. Unfortunately i did not have the greatest results with this test. The treadmill routine is intervals of fast walking for 4:30 and then only run for 30 seconds - repeat for 30 minuites. Well right off the bat on my first interval of running i could feel discomfort in the front of my knee i would suspect in the patella and also the back of my knee a little bit. I was able to do these intervals for 20 minutes and my therapist suggest i stop due to the pain. I could've kept going but she did not want to take any unnecessary risks. Sure enough, the next couple days i was a bit sore and there was a little bit of swelling too.

Very frustracting considering the rest of my body was ready to push the running and wanted to keep going but my knee just couldnt handle it at this point in the recovery stage. Its probably the first thing that the theopist has given my that i was not able to complete.

The theropist suggested that i could try it again on my own during the week if i wanted but i might just stick to cycling for the rest of the week and hit the treadmill again at my appointment next week.

Thats it for my report this week. Thanks for reading my ACL SURGERY RECOVERY blog.

Week 11 - ACL Surgery Recovery

11 weeks post ACL surgery and my physio schedule is still pretty much the same. There weren't any new exercises but outside of physio, however, i was able to start riding my mountain bike. Of course, not over any rough terrain or tough hills but it was good just getting out there. I was able to do a 15 km ride mostly through public parks and paved pathways but i was able to ride fast and hard. My knee was sore the next day...all over my knee, the back, the sides but it passed and 3 days later, I went out for the exact same ride, this time I was not sore at all the next day. I did have to be careful however. My knee is not totally stable yet at this point.

I'm also using an elliptical machine as well with no trouble at all. I started using this a lot after i had my left knee's ACL fixed in 1999 and eventually bought a higher end one of my own. Its a good non impact exercise. You just have to make sure you get one that has a wide enough stride for your body type.

Anyway, I've been told that this coming week i can start running on the tread mill. I will start of doing a 30 minute interval routine of walking for 4.5 minutes and then jogging for 30 seconds. Eventually the plan is to work up your jogging time and decrease your walking time. I'll report back at the end of the week.

Thanks for reading my ACL SURGERY RECOVERY blog. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them and I'll be happy to reply.

ACL Surgery Recovery - Week 10

10 weeks post ACL surgery in at this point. Progress is slow but steady now. I'll be taking my Mountain bike out this weekend but Im not allowed to climb any big hills or ride any rough trails. Mostly just path and street riding i guess. I'm seeing small improvements but i still dont think i'm ready to run yet as i get a pain in my patella if im moving too fast.

Just a quick note that i hope nobody out there plans to reference my posts as an alternative to getting proper care for their surgically repaired ACL. The best thing to do is to get your ass into a physio clinic for the proper training. Yes, it costs money but its worth it. The purpose of the blog is to give you an idea of what it will be like for you.

My phsyio routine this week was not too much different from the previous week. I started with 1/2 hour of exercise bike. Then about 15 minuite on the trampolin just doing basic forwards/backwards and side to side jumping. Then i move to this squat machine they have where you're lying on your back doing squats. I dont remember what the name of the machine was. It uses cables for resistance. Anyways, i do jump squats on it. 5 sets of 10. After that i move to the bungee cords which i explained in my previous post (Check out week 9 for details). Next, a bit of hip work with the exercises bands and then some balancing work on wobble boards. Then i move on to the treadmill for 10 minuites of fast pace walking with an incline.

New exercise of the week was on the "FitVibe" machine. For more info: http://www.fitvibe.com/main.php?lang=GB

Basically its a vibrating platform and i did squats and calf raises on it. Its suppose to work your muscles a lot more. Check out the link for more info.

After that i move onto the Swimex pool for some Jump-squats and Lunges then doing some pool running against the current.

Add Ice to Knee for 15 minutes. Going through this routine takes about 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Repeat one more time during the week. $120 bucks later and thats it for the week. Of course this doesnt include the exercises you're suppose to do at home.

Anyway, thats it for this week. Sorry thats its bit of a rushed report. Thanks for reading my ACL surgery recovery blog.