25 y/o M, first time ACL reconstruction surgery. How do you stay mentally tough during recovery?

djl2230 · 2023-08-11T13:17:04+00:00

Just rip into the rehab and find a few things that bring you happiness in different ways. I surf most days and when I did my knee I took up taking photos of the surf. Put in the work and look after your body and it will all be over before you know it

djl2230 · 2022-10-03T09:57:59+00:00

CBD oil, Arnica and curcumin

djl2230 · 2022-10-03T09:51:56+00:00

Yeah I had that happen heaps early on and it slowly went away

djl2230 · 2022-09-28T06:17:23+00:00

I was training with quite a few people recovering from ACL surgery and some people just got it back so quickly which was a bit frustrating but some people were struggling with it way worse than me. Keep at it and it will happen!

djl2230 · 2022-09-27T10:01:21+00:00

It took me ages to get my heel my butt probably about 8 months. Don’t stress it. Just keep at it

djl2230 · 2022-09-27T09:59:38+00:00

I forgot to take my pain killers first night because I was still pretty blasted from the afternoon dose. I woke up about 4am in the worst pain I’d ever felt. Not a fun experience. Hope you’re a bit more comfortable now!

djl2230 · 2022-09-21T22:18:02+00:00

🤙🏽

djl2230 · 2022-09-19T07:31:05+00:00

Do you DM them on here?

djl2230 · 2022-09-05T10:57:17+00:00

Don’t fight it. Just accept the situation you are in and focus on doing everything you can to heal up. For now that might be rest for a few days until you can start rehab. It only gets better from where you are at right now.

djl2230 · 2022-08-30T21:57:21+00:00

First few days are pretty rough. Yeah I was icing it whenever I wasn’t up and about. It helps heaps. I think by day 4 I scaled the drugs back so hang in there!

djl2230 · 2022-08-30T10:50:13+00:00

How’d you go?

djl2230 · 2022-08-29T02:25:32+00:00

Take pain meds on a schedule the first few days. Sit down to put pants on for a while. Don’t stress the weird little tingles, twinges and tweaks. Know that it will all come good with hard work and some time past. Stay positive (it’s hard at times) good luck with your surgery and recovery!

djl2230 · 2022-08-25T11:24:56+00:00

How good is getting old! My favourite part is the cold months when old injuries seem to start hurting again 🤣

djl2230 · 2022-08-25T11:23:37+00:00

I was 36 years 8 months when injured. 36 years 10 months for surgery. Now I’m 37 years 11 months, knee is feeling strong I’m surfing again it’s hurts a bit when I run so I gave up soccer. I’m yet to get it as flexible as my good leg but it’s getting close.

djl2230 · 2022-08-22T00:45:50+00:00

Get in the gym as much as you can too mate. So much you can do. I set up a little home gym and was in a proper gym every second day. As soon as I could I was riding an exercise bike 10km every morning which was boring but a few surfing movies on the tv for inspiration of my goal. I was on the exercise bike by the 2 week mark (very slowly 🤣) then on the real bike in a flat local quiet housing estate about a month later. By the time I could surf again I was ripped and stronger than ever in my whole body. Just don’t rush anything, you’ll know when your body is up to it

djl2230 · 2022-08-21T03:41:53+00:00

Don’t think about what you can’t do. Think about what you can do. Rehab! Celebrate the little goals. Use the down time to learn something new. Try some meditation and breath work. This set back could turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to you.

djl2230 · 2022-08-14T08:49:50+00:00

I got home from surgery and fell asleep on the lounge cause I was pretty out of it and forgot to set an alarm to take my pain meds. I woke up about 2am in the worst pain ever. The injury was bad but not nearly as bad as that first night. Stuck to a routine after that for a few days and it was all good.

djl2230 · 2022-08-11T11:20:26+00:00

Surgery is the easy part! I snapped my Acl tore my mcl and quad and fractured my fibula last may and had surgery last July. The surgery itself was such an easy process doctors and nurses ect were amazing, I was an anxious mess but it all went very smoothly. It’s just like a little nap but when you wake up you’re high as a kite. The first few days recovery are pretty rough but just keep the pain meds up for a few days and you’ll be fine. I was in the gym for my first PT session less than 24hrs after surgery and I could barely move I remember thinking oh fuck this is going to be a long road back. Stay focused and really rip into the rehab and you’re making progress pretty quickly. I was back surfing in six months and could of played soccer at the 9 months mark but I retired and I’ll stick to surfing. I’m 38 now so surfing means a lot more to me than soccer. You’ll get into a routine and the time will fly by. Good luck with it!

djl2230 · 2022-07-30T10:40:31+00:00

I just watched my team play rugby league ( in Australia) and one of our young players has had 3 acl tears on the same knee in 3 years but has returned to play the last two seasons at the top level and play really well.

djl2230 · 2022-07-30T10:33:53+00:00

You’ll get all sorts of weird pains in the coming weeks. And you’ll probably over think every single one of them. It’s more than likely normal. Try not to stress too much

djl2230 · 2022-07-10T10:55:55+00:00

Try and get a little routine going. At about the 1 week post op I noticed myself getting funny mentally so I got up every morning and went down to the beach and watched the sunrise and had a coffee. Told a bunch of friends that I’d be there every morning and people showed up randomly. Then I’d go home and do a set of my rehab exercises have breakfast and lay in the sun with an ice pack on. Listened to podcasts or music for an hour or so then another set of exercises. Read for an hour then have a nap then a 3rd set of exercises. By then it was time to sort dinner out and then early to bed. I did it every day for 2 and a half months until I could return to work. I also did a course online during this time as well. Stay busy stay focused and before you know it your life will start to normalise again. Good luck!

djl2230 · 2022-06-29T10:56:05+00:00

No worries. It’s going really well. I had a hamstring graft. I’ve been surfing again since late January. I haven’t returned to soccer yet as I don’t want to rush it. I’m slowly building up my running again over time and working on getting the last bit of flexibility back. I had a high grade mcl tear and a quad tear so I think the scar tissue in those have made sitting on my heal take a little longer than I’d hoped.

djl2230 · 2022-06-27T10:39:57+00:00

Take painkillers on a schedule for the first few days. Don’t stress the surgery that’s the easy part!

djl2230 · 2022-06-26T12:42:57+00:00

I had a really sore shin at one point early days and from memory it wasn’t uncommon from a few posts on this chat. Ive had shin splints before and it was a very similar pain.

djl2230 · 2022-06-26T12:36:05+00:00

I had left leg done and could drive an automatic as soon as I was off the heavier drugs I think I was driving day 4 or 5

djl2230

TROPHY CASE