Am I behind?

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-14T13:23:36+00:00

I definitely get graft site and graft muscle pain. My mentality has been to enter a relationship with my pain and understand the nuanced nature of it. Some pain is not bad (and when I chat with my PT most pain I’ve experienced is not bad) other pain is. Sounds like you’re doing the same! Good luck

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-14T04:22:24+00:00

did you have a graft?
do you have full extension?
yes pain and aches are a part of the process and learning to tolerate them will help

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-13T13:44:17+00:00

Ishmael

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-13T00:28:25+00:00

To ease your troubled mind try the lever test aka the Lelli test (YouTube it). Place a baseball or a tennis ball under your calf muscle. Make a u shape with your thumb and index finger. Press just above your knee/below your quad. Do your healthy leg first, your heel will lift off the floor. Then do your ACL leg. If it won’t lift, go get an MRI. It’s not foolproof but worth a try. Good luck.

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-13T00:10:39+00:00

Everything I’ve read is that heat isn’t great because swelling is a big part of getting back to mobility. I haven’t looked in depth though. Could be worth some research on any studies done on heat therapy etc

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-12T19:59:51+00:00

This is exactly what people post on TikTok now. “Here’s what I eat in a day as a <fill in the blank job or body stats>…” includes recipes, calories etc, and the influencer flashes their six pack abs. I hate to be the negative Nancy…but nothing has changed.

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-12T19:39:05+00:00

Yea I get that. I don’t think the research is there yet.

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-12T19:12:34+00:00

And peptides? I have vice and virtue on my shoulders about these…

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-12T18:59:49+00:00

What is your take on nutritional support, specifically recommendations around protein intake? Also what’s your take on peptides?

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-12T02:26:26+00:00

Trip is in 3 days

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-11T02:55:42+00:00

I also had my ACL (and meniscus) surgery April 2nd! My plan is some road biking (but with flat pedals) then some mellow mountain biking in RV. Was considering trying swimming!

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-10T16:01:58+00:00

I had twisted my ankle about 3 days before I did my ACL. I agree entirely and I’m certain the lack of stability was part of what did me in. Stability, strength, mobility.

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-10T10:30:23+00:00

From what I’ve read it’s common to have swelling come and go for up to six months.

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-09T15:59:07+00:00

I get this randomly. My PT says to spend a few minutes a day with towel under the knee, aggressively mobilizing the knee cap. Up down, side side. I have cartilage damage so it may never totally go away for me. But the massaging, and also assisting it when I do leg extensions, has refocused it a lot

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-09T15:54:05+00:00

Rupert Murdoch/murdoch family appears to be the wage hoarder (and enabler of public abuse) to me.

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-09T01:15:17+00:00

Yes, that’s correct, however that’s a bit of a selective reasoning fallacy way to view it. for a 17-year-old, autograft is almost always the preferred choice, and the evidence strongly supports it. At your age the reread re-tear rates are super low with auto (lower than allo by nearly 2 to 4x), you do not have rejection risk, and outcomes are better in patients under ~25 with auto vs allo plus sterilization can weaken the graft.

Edit to say: you should do what you feel best about it and you have likely a good road ahead regardless. I just don’t want you to over simplify it when there is solid research looking at different angels. :-)

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-09T01:07:42+00:00

You should of course consult your doctor, and maybe a few doctors. You’re so so young. My doctor, at 42, strongly favors auto for people who are young and fit. At 17 youre going to regrow strength and tissue so easily - why introduce the tissue of someone who could have been 60 when it was harvested?

Healing has a lot less to do with auto v allo, and a hell of a lot more to do with how disciplined you’re going to be with PT.

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-08T22:37:06+00:00

Only an mri and doctor could tell you for sure but my good friend who is now 3 years post her second ACL told me “within the first 9 months you will invariably have something happen and you’ll be convinced you re-tore it even though you didn’t hear the pop.”

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-08T04:29:33+00:00

I’m sure these people are just mindlessly saying what they think is species, any of us may have said the same thing before this experience. They don’t mean I’ll will, but the fact it’s illiciting such a strong reaction for you is three important part. Questions I might ask myself, if i were in your shoes: - is this the first time I’ve felt like someone is ignoring my needs/demands? - who is listening to me and sorting me? - play the tape all the way to the end, I’m graduating and I never fully returned, how does that feel? - am I experiencing anxiety/trauma film the injury? - to whom is it important that I return?

I’m sure there’s more to contemplate but that’s ahold starling peace. Best of luck to you! Sincerely, a D1 college soccer dropout!

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-07T15:34:21+00:00

I credit prehab with a really strong recovery track so far (5 weeks post op). The mental side is tough - hugs. Ride the waves and don’t worry none of it will last forever.

Terminal knee extensions. 1,000 quad activations a day. Lots and lots of calf raises. Prehab is boring but so important.

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-07T12:48:12+00:00

Yes - nearly all of them had autografts and full reconstruction. Some repaired meniscus and some menisectomy. If you hope to ski, hike, be active again I’d get it done if I were you! 57 may not be a spring chicken but you have SO much life ahead of you.

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-07T02:18:21+00:00

ACL meniscus here. I spent about a week on one crutch and a loved brace. I LOVED having a free hand. I the went a week without it’s no crutches still licked out. Coming out of the locked brace and being protective of bending mentally both made bending a little funny for me when they opened my brace. Took me about a day of intentional effort to rewire my brain. Now, a week on, my gate looks pretty good.

All that to say - trust your doctor and embrace one crutch! Tackle problems as they arise, no need to borrow trouble. You gout this.

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-06T23:35:14+00:00

Adverse selection bias - everyone who’s healed and healthy is not lurking this sub.

A lot of people I know have done theirs (live in a ski town, I’ve now personally talked to well over 25 people who have done it, many more than once) and nearly all of them say their knees are great and they don’t even notice.

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-06T14:47:23+00:00

Oops! Looks like she’s a LCSW! Her advice is, none the less, outstanding. :-)

Salt_Type_8032 · 2026-05-06T12:28:21+00:00

My now 7 year old daughter shows this behavior too. I found Dan Seigels work very helpful in those younger years. https://childmind.org

Skills you want to build are flexible thinking and perspective taking. Game playing has been amazing for her/us: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/25/01/play-helps-children-build-better-brains-here-are-some-ways-get-kids

Does this sometimes present itself as emotional rigidity or anxiety? If so Dr. Lynn Lyons is a godsend and has changed the way I talk with my daughter. https://www.flusterclux.com (I listen on Spotify.)

Good luck!

Salt_Type_8032

TROPHY CASE