ACL surgery recovery will be different for each person but I can share my experience with you.  One piece of advice that I want to share is:

Do not skip out on your rehab exercises!

Surgery Day

I woke up in my hospital bed after the ACL surgery and realized  my leg was in machine which bends the knee for you (more on this machine later).  I had significant pain in my knee but it was all wrapped up so I could not see if it was swollen or not.  There was quite a bit of pressure and throbbing in the joint.  This was immediately after the surgery.  I spent most of the first night in significant pain but the pain went away pretty quickly the following day.

Days After Surgery

I unwrapped my knee to apply medicine and was pretty surprised at what I saw.  I was surprised at the size of the incision on the front of my knee and the small scope holes on the sides of the knee. It was swollen but not as bad as I thought it would be.  There was some bruising which followed.  I was told to basically lay around for about a week and make sure to keep my leg in the machine which flexed the knee forward and back for at least 2 hours per day.  During that first week after surgery, I was on crutches with little movement in the joint.  I had to physically pick up my leg with my hands when I needed to get around the house.  Having my parents there to bring me items was almost a necessity.

Final Part of Recovery

I started to regain the motion in my knee after the first week and started walking without crutches.  Tenderly of course.  I was shocked at how quickly I was able to walk after that first week.  From there I began my rehab exercises at a local gym.  The exercises consisted of much stability training and side to side motion for the knee.  I wore a brace after the surgery for about 3 weeks and then from there I no longer needed it.  The rehab exercises were definitely the most important part of the process.  I would be lying if I said I didn’t get a little bit lazy after about 4 weeks.  They were monotonous but I could tell how much stronger the new ACL was getting.

Final Result

My ACL surgery was successful and I must say that my knee is extremely strong today.  I do still deal with knee pain in the front of the knee where the patellar  graft was taken.  If I am doing any task that requires me to kneel, then I must kneel on a pad or complete that task within about ten minutes.  Again, the biggest issue I have had post surgery is tendinitis and pain where the graft was taken.  The other issue I have is with pressure in my knee when weather changes.  It is not extremely painful, but it does tend to ache when this happens. I continue to participate at a high sports level but stamina of the joint is not what it was before the torn ACL.

 

After your MRI, you will have the images viewed by an Orthopedic doctor and he can make recommendations.  Depending on the extent of your injury, you may require surgery if you have a full ACL tear.  There a few different options for this surgery which you need to be aware of and you need to ask your doctor about. Here are the three options I am familiar with.

1.  You can replace the torn ACL with a patellar tendon graft.  The surgeon takes a piece of your patellar tendon which is located on the front of your knee below your kneecap. They then connect this small graft in the back of your knee to replace the torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).  This is the surgery which I had. This results in the 3-5 inch scar on the front of the knee.  I can tell you from much experience that the new ACL is very strong. However, the graft taken from the front of the knee will likely give you some recurring knee pain.  I do still have some loss of feeling in the front of the knee.  This surgery is very popular among athletes.

2.  You can replace the ACL with a hamstring graft.

3.  You can replace the ACL with an allograft (tendon from a cadaver where thy don’t use your patellar graft)

If I had an opportunity to do this surgery again, I would have likely chosen the hamstring graft or allograft.  This is because I still have knee pain at the site of the patellar graft. During heavy physical activity such as weightlifting and recreational sports, I feel the tendinitis in the graft site and burning after prolonged physical activity.  It is important that you weigh your future sports endeavors against the surgery you choose.  Ask your doctor about each of these options and choose what is right for you.  Each doctor will have their own preference as well as each patient.

Do yourself a favor and consult with multiple doctors prior to undergoing the surgery.

Although nobody likes going to the doctor, if you suspect you have torn your ACL, you should go and see a doctor.  The doctor will probably recommend that you have an MRI done.  The process is pretty quick and typically only takes about 1 hour to complete.  The MRI process involves laying still for about 45 minutes while the machine takes images of the inside of your knee.  The trick to an MRI is just relaxing and staying calm and motionless while the machine takes the images.

The MRI machine is simply a large tube where you lay on a table.  Some may feel claustrophobic in this tube, however others will be just fine.  The good news is that when they take images of your knee, you typically don’t have to into the MRI headfirst.  If you have a shoulder injury however then you will have to go in head first.  Here is a picture of a typical MRI machine.

When you are in the machine, it makes quite a few different noises.  For me, relaxing and closing my eyes made the time pass quickly.  If you have any claustrophobia issues then you should consider going to an “Open MRI”.  Open MRI machines don’t have a tube.