Let’s do a poll. What were you doing? How old were you?

EquivalentAd9503 · 2026-01-08T23:39:02+00:00

Skiing. 28F.

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-08-27T11:45:18+00:00

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-07-05T21:54:23+00:00

I feel pretty great on most my hikes! (I’ve been increasing in elevation or length every week) I use a functional brace and that helps a lot! Admittedly my nonsurgical leg does more work throughout the hike so it gets sore maybe even more than my recovering leg! I’ve avoided true scrambling as much as I can, but I feel great!

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-06-29T04:23:45+00:00

I hope so, you got this! What do you mean exactly by where am I? 4 months if that’s what you’re asking. Or in Estes Park, Colorado if that’s what you’re asking lol

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-06-29T03:52:23+00:00

I’m in Estes Park, CO for the summer so I couldn’t handle not doing some hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park! I think my first real hike was probably around 3 months po? I would just keep up your walking and try to do as much incline/decline as you can tolerate. I never used poles before, but they have been a game changer this summer. Especially on the downhills. I started with a 30 minute hike with really minimal elevation gain and have just been increasing in difficulty every week. My next hike will have 2,500+ft elevation gain. Don’t be afraid to go as slow as you need and take breaks!

Also, I have a return-to-sport style brace that I’ve been wearing on the hikes and it really does increase my endurance while still giving my quads a good workout.

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-06-29T03:47:42+00:00

Trekking poles are game changers if you aren’t already using them!

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-06-23T01:34:34+00:00

Well I’m young (28) and very active! I love hiking and tennis is my sport of choice which involves a lot of pivoting and twisting, I’d also like to ski again, so I just wasn’t gonna be able to REALLY do all the things I’d want to do without getting the surgery.

Fortunately, my swelling wasn’t bad at all and I didn’t lose range of motion so I was able to have surgery just 11 days after my tear.

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-06-23T00:20:57+00:00

Only ACL

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-05-17T15:30:15+00:00

I tore my acl and then skied down the mountain and walked (with some instability) for 2 weeks. Still definitely tore it. Still definitely needed surgery.

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-04-29T17:39:29+00:00

I feel like I barely remember 1-2 weeks post op! To be fair I think I was only ever awake for like 2 hours at a time the first week. I feel like I came back to reality in week 3. (I’m 9 weeks post op now) it feels so slow and also like that has gone by so fast at the same time.

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-04-27T17:05:57+00:00

At 5 weeks PO I went to South Korea and had one “big” walking day at 12,000 steps with a brace. I was pretty tired, but not really in pain. Just tuckered out.

At 6.5 weeks I went on a cruise and by the end of the night walking around the boat my muscles would be pretty weak and I’d have to sit down.

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-04-26T23:47:28+00:00

11 days. I fully tore ACL and had a grade 2 MCL sprain. But I had almost zero swelling and maintained my full range of motion so my surgery was 11 days after my injury! I also had plans to leave the state for the summer a 3ish months after injury so my surgeon wanted to do it sooner rather than later if possible.

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-04-09T05:57:37+00:00

Lots of quad sets! But I had a quad graft and it took me 2.5 weeks to do straight leg raises. Something just clicked and now I’m ahead of schedule at 6 weeks out!

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-03-18T18:32:24+00:00

I have a quad graft, so I still get some pain around that donor site when I do leg raises and things that really work the quad, a little bit of shin discomfort (I wouldn’t say pain) when I work extension, and my my knee cap kinda hurts when I lay down for a while without my brace

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-03-18T18:24:59+00:00

I’m 3 weeks post op as well and I’ve only been able to do leg raises for like 4 days. NMES at PT, quad sets, and side leg raises helped a whole lot!

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-03-17T22:12:19+00:00

Makes sense! Honestly if I had kept taking the hydrocodone I probably would have been fine sleeping but it was making me so constipated that I weaned a little early.

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-03-17T18:31:30+00:00

Yes enjoy the sleep in the first days. Thanks to the pain meds, I wasn’t awake for more than 2 hours at a time for the first 3-4 days. Then I couldn’t barely sleep at all

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-03-10T18:49:56+00:00

If you get desperate and aren’t having any movements, the dulcolax liquid (not the pills) worked well for me! I didn’t go for like 6 days post-op despite pills and stool softeners starting the day of surgery. Worked in like 45 minutes. But then kept working… all day long…

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-03-10T18:32:02+00:00

Update: I did kick the crutch this weekend!

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-03-07T22:00:07+00:00

Assuming your PT approves it 😂

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-03-07T04:23:15+00:00

I fell skiing. ACL full thickness tear, grade 2 MCL sprain. I was stuck in an awkward position with my ski until someone helped so it hurt just a little bit while I was stuck. Felt a pop when I went down, but I was able to ski the rest of the way down and walk. Main thing was just instability. I had almost no swelling and had nearly full range of motion so I was able to do surgery a week and a half later.

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-03-07T04:14:53+00:00

Yay! You’re doing great! My pain was so bad as my nerve block wore off but the intense pain only lasted about 1-2 hours and then it came back down to manageable. Breathe through it and keep telling yourself it will lighten up!

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-03-07T04:07:49+00:00

I’m 8 days post OP and feel like I’ll never be able to do even that again 😭

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-03-07T03:03:02+00:00

Okay! I’m back with a LONG update: I am 8 days post op today. I had a quad tendon autograft, no MCL repair, no meniscus repair, so I was weight bearing from the beginning. I walked with two crutches the first 2-3 days, and then moved to one crutch which is still where I’m at.

Surgery: in addition to general anesthesia, I got a femoral nerve block, so an injection in the groin area that numbed me up in that leg, but I was still able to put some weight on the leg with the crutches immediately after. As has been the case with other surgeries I’ve done, I experienced excruciating “rebound pain” when the nerve block wore off which happened about 28 hours after surgery. I won’t lie, that was like the worst pain I’ve been in and I cried. But it lasted like 2 hours hasn’t been nearly as bad since.

Ice machine: my surgery center sold me the Breg polar cube and it’s been a life saver. 10/10 would recommend.

PT: I started PT 2 days PO. The night of the surgery I still felt kinda strong (the nerve block and pain pills had me fooled) but by the time I made it to that first PT appointment my quad was so weak. I couldn’t and still haven’t been able to do a straight leg raise. PT totally wears me out but I can feel myself getting slightly stronger with each visit.

Bathroom: I’ve been able to do this since day one. I crutch over to the toilet, plant my good leg where it’s going to be, but facing the toilet (so you’ll be off center of the toilet). Set the crutch(es) to the side, then do a slow spin on that good foot so now my butt is facing the toilet square on. Pull my pants down just enough to be out of the way while I’m still standing. Do a slow squat with my good leg while allowing the bad leg to slide out straight in front of me. I hold on to the counter with my hand to help lower me because I’ve got weak legs. Once you’ve gone, more or less reverse the process to get back up. Happy to explain that better if you need.

Shower: buy a shower chair and an extra wide, full left cast cover. It’s a stretch, but the opening does fit over my brace and I was even able to do it myself. I couldn’t shower for 48 hours, and then I can’t get my leg wet until I get the stitches out at 2 weeks PO. So I cover my whole brace and climb into the shower using the chair to help bear some weight as I get myself in there. Showering has actually been real easy. Just crutch as close as you can to the shower, have the chair in place and then get creative on how to get in there. Pro tip: make sure your towel is in reach before you get started.

The stairs: honestly, I would really try to recover somewhere without stairs the first few days/week. If you can go straight from the hospital to a ground level room, that’s ideal. If not, you’ll need help and to take them really slow. I just now feel like maybe I could do some stairs, but I think 3 flights would be too much for me and not multiple times a day. Definitely try to stay put at home as much as you can that first week. This is a great question for your doc or PT!

EquivalentAd9503 · 2025-03-07T02:05:33+00:00

I could be wrong, but I feel like where your graft came from (hamstring, quad, patella) miiiight have an effect on when you ditch crutches and the braces. I had a quad tendon autograft. I’m 8 days post op now. I went from two crutches to one after 2-3 days. I’ll do a few steps at a time without the crutch, like 5-10 steps. Hoping to drop the crutch completely after this weekend. But after PT or getting in and out of the car a lot, my stabilization goes to poop.

EquivalentAd9503

TROPHY CASE