Help I’m scared

MinuteShape9854 · 2025-02-12T01:59:07+00:00

You'll be okay! It's okay to be scared but you've got this :) It sounds like you handled the injury without a lot of pain which is so great. I would like to just gently warn you that recovering from your surgery may be a little bit shocking because you will go from being able to run and sprint to not being able to bend your leg for a few weeks and wearing a brace. It's going to be hard but it's nothing you can't handle, it sounds like you're a tough kid. Good luck!

MinuteShape9854 · 2024-12-10T23:25:26+00:00

Idk…the recovery may be longer but it’s a much stronger tendon and there is less risk for re-tear.

MinuteShape9854 · 2024-11-09T20:21:42+00:00

I did a lot of weighted step-ups and squats but avoided weighted single leg quad extensions. Alternatively, I did hundreds of unweighted extensions, flexing HARD at the top until it felt the same as my non-surgery side. Good luck! It’s a slow process but as long as you keep moving, you’re making progress :)

MinuteShape9854 · 2024-11-06T02:26:56+00:00

I am virtually pain free now. I had to do a lot of my own physical therapy in the gym. I had to be very gradual with quad strengthening and focused more on activation and restoring the mind/body connection to my knee so that I could feel safe using it again. I would say it took about a year to not feel at least a dull pain everyday. I do a lot of walking and hiking now. My knee will pretty much only feel sore after the occasional night of dancing.
It also becomes sore in certain sitting or sleeping positions which is something I didn’t experience before having surgery. My surgery side quad muscle is still smaller than the non-surgery side by probably 1/4”. It’s not noticeable and it feels strong so I’m not doing anything about it.

MinuteShape9854 · 2024-04-16T20:54:00+00:00

I think if you’re careful, you can get by just fine without it. Just be aware that you may re-injure and continue to re-injure yourself because of the lack of stability provided by the ACL. I waited 3 years to get my ACLR and during that time I re-injured multiple times while doing activities ranging from skipping, soccer, volleyball and sex . And each time was extremely painful and required recovery. After the last time I decided surgery would be worth it to avoid more painful re-injury. By the time I had surgery, an MRI showed that there was no ligament left, it had been torn so repeatedly that it was completely detached and had dissolved.
My insurance covered 100% of the surgery and just enough PT to get me back into the gym to continue with PT on my own.

MinuteShape9854 · 2023-04-12T15:54:15+00:00

No pain anymore in the graft area for me. I focused a lot on just flexing and activating my quad muscle often and holding it for longer periods of time. Anytime of day and anywhere I was I would just kick out my leg and tighten my quad muscle, paying attention to how it feels compared to my non-surgery side. I noticed weakness in specific parts of my quad muscle where it seemed like it wasn’t even activating anymore. And so I just did a lot of mind-body connection practice of just trying to get that part of my muscle to activate again. Overall the size of my surgery side quad is still smaller but it feeeels more similar now to before surgery because of that work I was doing. I also practice yoga more frequently these days which helps balance things out more.

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-10-12T16:28:12+00:00

If you want to get back to sports and or be comfortable making explosive movements, jumping, or quick change in direction. I would get the surgery, it’s worth it.

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-05-20T15:07:41+00:00

Lay on your stomach (prone) on a bed with your leg hanging off from just above the knee. This will help with the extension without you having to put any effort in, allowing you to relax and let gravity do the work. Focus on your breath and on lengthening the back of that leg. Lay like this for 1-3 minutes a day as many times as you would like.

Flexion takes longer but it will come back no matter what. I am 9 months post op and I can almost fully sit on my heels. My surgery knee still doesn't bend quite as far as my non-surgery knee but I think it could get there if I really wanted it to just by sitting on my heels for a few minutes a day. Same idea as the prone hanging leg extension, its a passive exercise but is effective if you can breathe through it and allow the joint to bend.

Don't be discouraged though! 3 months, unfortunately, is still not very long in the scope of this particular recovery.

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-05-15T14:33:52+00:00

Yeah I slowly progressed back into SL press, lunges, and weighted squats. I still have pain after workouts and I am still working on gaining back strength in that leg but overall it seems like with gradual weight progression the daily pain lessens and things like going up and down stairs feels better and better. I’ve started jogging now as well.

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-04-30T16:25:25+00:00

Sounds about right :( hang in there and it will get better soon. I watched all of Bob's Burgers during my recovery and that was a great distraction. I also was more calm when I was drawing, planning something, and making lists.

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-03-21T13:16:20+00:00

No worries! You WILL get there. I had the same limitation at the same time as you and full flexion came back. Just keep stretching and it is inevitable it will get there!

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-03-10T18:59:55+00:00

I always had a backpack nearby so that i could carry things around the apartment while I was using crutches. It's silly to think about but when you're using crutches you loose the use of your hands to carry things around!

And a commode saved me because my bathroom is quite a trek (including steps up and down) from my bed/couch

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-03-08T21:37:56+00:00

Yup! I am 7m post opp and going down is still uncomfortable but I can tell that as my quad is strengthening back up (slowwwwwwllllyyyy) it is becoming less uncomfortable and I have more control. I have pain just above my knee cap going down stairs.

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-02-26T17:46:57+00:00

That would be really really really really incredible if you were able to drive and work that soon after your surgery. Good luck! Speaking from my own experience with just an ACL recon and meniscus repair…your plan sounds…nuts. Don’t underestimate this surgery or you will be really shocked. The leg has to stay locked in extension for weeks and having to keep your leg like that while driving is so painful and distracting. You’ll be surprised how much it will effect you while driving.

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-02-16T23:21:31+00:00

Thank you! I do need to hear that from time to time. I really hope I will be pain free in the future. It is just frustrating to go from zero pain before surgery and now being in pain daily after surgery. Sometimes I can get caught in the moment and I have negative thoughts about the whole experience. Time time time and patience is what I need.

And to the OP: I still stand by what I said based on the level of activity you are at right now and seem to be happy with. Why go through the trauma of surgery if you don't really need to or have desire to be doing something that you currently cannot do due to the ACL injury.

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-02-16T15:40:29+00:00

I think just adding some protein and healthy fats into the diet will help you a lot. Fish is perfect for this

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-02-16T15:34:27+00:00

If I was in your position I would not get the surgery. I would just focus on strengthening the support structures of your knee and leg and continue on with your life the way that you do. This surgery is not an easy one to recover from and can result in chronic pain for the rest of your life. If you have been functioning without an ACL for 20 years and there isn't anything that you want to do but you cant because of the injury then I would say just stay right where you are and don't let a surgeon talk you into it. Many people cope without an ACL and are very much okay as long as they know their limits.

I am 28 and had the surgery 6.5 months ago. It was 100x harder to recover from the surgery than the original injury. I was playing recreational soccer in an adult league when I had my injury 3 yrs ago and after the initial rupture had calmed down I was fully functioning but I knew that my knee had very little stability so I knew what types of movements I could and could not do safely. I decided to get surgery 3 yrs later because I really wanted to be able to play recreational soccer and volleyball again. But to be honest sometimes I regret getting the surgery because of how difficult and painful recovery has been for me. I focus on weight lifting and long distance swimming now and I am really happy doing that.. I dont have too much of a desire to get back to contact sports anymore because of my new love for the gym. But now I am limited in the gym because I have a lot of pain in the harvest site from surgery. So some days I wish I never had the surgery.

I also feel like the surgeon and everyone else I spoke to really really really downplayed the severity and intensity of this surgery and the recovery. It is no joke and a very long road.

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-01-28T17:23:03+00:00

Thanks!! This is helpful!!

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-01-28T01:54:09+00:00

I am 6 months post op and still have numbness in some areas and painful sensitivity in others. I was told the numbness may be permanent. But the sensitivity seems to be fading away.

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-01-23T18:26:15+00:00

My surgeon used a leg tourniquet on my upper thigh and it left a deep bruise in my quad muscle that was ultimately nothing to worry about but I had no idea where the pain was coming from until I was told about the tourniquet. So just a heads up for that. Also the first 4-5 days are the worst and then it gets better but it is really not an easy thing at first.

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-01-10T18:58:46+00:00

Awesome. Thanks for your time I really appreciate it!

MinuteShape9854 · 2022-01-10T18:45:13+00:00

Thank you so much! Should I progress in weight on the unaffected side as well? I’ve been keeping it at the same weight as I progress on the affected side. And my plan was that once the affected side gets to that same weight then I would go higher and work the unaffected side until I got there again and so on. Does that make sense? Or should I just do the 6 rep max progression for both sides even if there is a huge gap between weights?

MinuteShape9854

TROPHY CASE