I Tore My ACL

Yes, I tore my ACL and had a Meniscus Tear in my left knee of which I had surgery on when I was 23. I am now 35 and still feel the pain :( I was on crutches for a week and in a full knee brace for 6 weeks. The recovery wasn't horrible and I was on pain medication for about 10 days. I did go back to work once I was off crutches of which was great. I don't know how old you are but I bounced back well. Unfortunately over the course of the last 10+ years I feel I have re-damaged it and am making an appointment to see an orthopedic here soon. I am on my feet a lot, move a lot and am just very busy so I think I have done some damage. You will be fine and it isn't all that bad. Good luck! Oh and I also did physical therapy on my knee for almost 3 months - ugh! That was more painful than anything :)

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Sorry about your ACL J.! I tore mine about 10 years ago playing ball. My doctor had me go to a physical therapist prior to my surgery to build up the strength in the muscles so there would be less atrophy after. I was in college at the time I tore mine, I waited until after finals, (Christmas break)had the surgery on a Tuesday, was at the PT on Thursday to start moving it! I will not lie, the post rehab is tough! I was a very athletic person, played three sports recreationally plus did strength training myself, so I was stunned at the frustration level that I had @ first. I worked a lot outside of my PT work to get back to the level I wanted to be at, I was back playing softball that summer. Basically it will all depend on your own abilities prior to and willingness to work post. I wasn't off work for all that long, as a matter of fact when school started back up in January I was there for my first day! So under 3 weeks out for sure, but @ least 4 months before I felt strong enough to truly go. ;-)
I've never had any problems with mine. I loved my orthopaedic! That would be huge thing as well. Good luck! Best wishes, J.

I tore my acl and had reconstruction skiing about 6 years ago. I had surgery on Thursday and was back at work on Tuesday. I used crutches for less than one week and it took about 4 months of rehab and it was probably 9 months before i felt normal again. Riding the bike will be the best thing for your knee when you start exercising . . . I will say the first week or so of therapy is no fun - trying to get your knee bending again . . . Good Luck!

I had reconstructive ACL surgery and meniscus was torn as well ... total time before i was comfortable with knee was about 9 months... the recovery time will just depend on how severe the damage is. My daughter had ACL surgery in December and is set for release in June but then my cousin had ACL with severe damage to meniscus had surgery in October and wont be set to release til July .... I was on crutches for a while ... i stayed home for 1st 2 weeks and did therapy for about 4 months ... Good luck with surgery and recovery!

OMG...I am so sorry! (sorry for using text-speak but more sorry for tearing your ACL)

I tore my ACL 21 years ago so yeah, things have changed. I was also much younger then. Now, at 37 I am still quite active in fitness-based cardio and strength training but sports? Heck no!

There are no tricks to a fast recovery BUT ask your doctor about perhaps seeing a physical therapist prior to your surgery. You most definitely can start a course of SLRs (straight leg raises) immediately. This will help tremendously in the recovery and rehab because you are strengthening the stabilizing muscles and tendons associated with ACL movement.

This is a website for a well-known Chicago-area doctor who specializes in knee surgery. http://www.bachmd.com/ (He is a Rush University doctor and a team physician for the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks)

Click on the following to learn more:
-Surgery Instructions
-Rehab Protocols (knee and hip exercise)

Last year I thought I was going to have to go under again and have mine redone. Fortunately it was just (another) meniscus tear and a cortisone shot temporarily fixed the issue. Poke around the website and you'll find a lot of great information.

Good luck - I am sooooooooo sorry to hear you blew out your ACL!

And...you want to ride your bike? Oh don't worry...you'll be on that bike tons in PT! If you're like me you will grow to hate that damn thing!

My BIL just had his surgery last Thursday. He's going to be off of work for the next five to six MONTHS!