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What to expect with ACL reconstruction surgery?

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What to expect with ACL reconstruction surgery?

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I tore the ACL in my left knee and had reconstruction surgery (patellar tendon autograft) last summer. I had an epidural block, which worked out pretty well. There was no real pain getting the line put into my spine, just an amazing amount of pressure as the anesthesiologist inserted the needle. Not being able to feel my legs upon waking up was pretty odd, but the effect wore off pretty quickly. Overall, I preferred the epidural to my prior experiences with the side effects of general anesthesia. As for initial recovery, I rebounded pretty quickly. I was off of my crutches within 4 days and out of my brace within 12. The first day back at work without the brace may have been one of the most tiring days of my life though. Probably a bit ambitious, but I only took it off once my doctor allowed me to. For my initial recovery, I had a PolarCare pack, which pumped ice water around my knee round the clock and was pretty good for keeping the swelling down. I began PT with a CPM about 4 days a

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I had ACL reconstruction surgery in 2000, using the hamstring tendon from the injured leg as the means of reconstruction. My post-op recovery period was exactly as skwn described above, so I won’t reiterate. After the initial recovery period (about a week of using the passive excerciser), I started physical therapy. These were hour-long visits with a therapist two or three times a week. Initially, the therapy consisted of stretching, ultrasound, electro-therapy, massage, and putting weight/pressure on my leg (just pushing against the therapists hand or body at first and building gradually from there). As therapy progressed, the exercises became more intense and varied. There were balance/flexibility exercises, squats, stationary bike rides, etc. I was surprised at how quickly I regained confidence and strength in my leg. I forget how long I continued with the therapy visits… I want to say 8 or 10 weeks. By then, I was told that I was ready to resume physical activities (wearing a bra

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I snapped my ACL in a knockabout game of soccer in the local park about 10 years ago. It was about a further year before it was surgically repaired. A strip of tendon from below my patella was used for the replacement (no option, I was told that’s how it should be done). The operation was under general anaesthetic. After, I was in bed with a constantly running passive exerciser for about a day or so, an ice pack for a few hours, and a fluid drain. The pain was present, but dull, and didn’t need very much in the way of medication. After that I was discharged and was on crutches for about a week, I think, and given some gentle, frequent exercises, mainly to keep the knee moving. Post operation, I had no splint, just a support bandage. Finally, there was about three months of physiotherapy – lots of low load, high-repetition exercises. Nothing high-tech, just gentle gym stuff and stretching, gradually increasing in intensity. It was strongly emphasized to me that the quality of recovery i

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I was quite young (I’d just turned 15) when I had a patellar graft ACL reconstruction, so I’m not sure if my experience may be atypical (kids bouncing back and all that). While reconstructive surgery isn’t really fun, the surgery itself wasn’t that bad. Waking up from the general anaesthesia proved to be a bit disorienting – though I knew where I was, it seemed like no time had elapsed and, since I wasn’t feeling any pain in my leg (which had been partially frozen with a local anaesthetic), I managed to convince myself that they hadn’t done the surgery! As my leg started to thaw out, the pain increased; however, it was very manageable with pain killers and ice. I stayed in hospital overnight, stayed home from school for a couple of days, and started physiotherapy later that week. I was walking, albeit tentatively and only for small stretches, a couple of days after surgery and on a regular basis about a week or two after that. Here’s my postsurgery advice. Ice/coolness is fantastic for

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