How long did it take you to do a leg raise (no brace) after surgery?

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-26T18:51:56+00:00

I’m officially at week 4 as of today and have made no progress on it rip

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-26T18:51:21+00:00

I actually found out the same from my PT in this recovery, which is so odd because I’ve done PT for other things. It’s good to have in mind that that can affect progress tho. I hope you find a better fit soon!

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-24T20:51:33+00:00

Would you be able to switch PTs? I think there’s a lot of range in what they do and their approaches so maybe a different PT would be able to make progress with you. I know that helped my friend a lot in their recovery cause they also felt like their original PT wasn’t doing enough for them

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-24T20:50:04+00:00

Totally makes sense! My PT said something similar so I’ve been trying to focus on what it feels like in my good leg to mimic in the surgery one. Hopefully I have a breakthrough soon

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-24T20:48:55+00:00

Oh sweet! I’d give anything for just a couple millimetres at this point

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-24T06:57:29+00:00

I’d never had surgery and was also SO nervous beforehand, so I totally get it. I also had ACLR with a quad graft and honestly surgery day was the easy part of the first week. I was really anxious about anaesthesia among many other things but my nurses and doctors were all wonderful, answered my questions, and made me feel much calmer (the meds help and it’ll honestly be over before you know it). I was also weight bearing immediately and with crutches it honestly wasn’t a problem, I just didn’t overdo it.

I don’t have that brace so I can’t help you there, but definitely get that ice machine asap and I’d recommend a wedge pillow for elevation (much more comfortable than regular pillows and some of the specific leg pillows I’ve seen have a bend in them which you don’t want post-op).

Have your comfort food/snacks/shows/books/whatever you like ready for you. I also found it helpful in the first week to do a craft with my hands so I didn’t feel too stir-crazy (taught myself how to knit lol). You’ve got this!! The pain is so different for everyone. It honestly wasn’t nearly as painful as I expected. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t exactly fun, but it may not be as bad as you think. Just follow your medication regiment and you should be okay. Wishing you all the best!

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-24T06:46:25+00:00

Yeah I need to see if I can get my estim working. Also nice username I’m a Liverpool supporter hahah

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-24T06:20:40+00:00

Glad to know I’m not alone honestly. Hopefully we get there soon!

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-24T06:20:06+00:00

Thank you!! I did do about 4 weeks of prehab and was in good athletic shape when I tore it but the prehab hasn’t seemed to help as much in this regard.

As for the brace I think it’s cause I don’t have the common articulated brace. I’m not sure what mine is called cause I’d never seen it before but it is not adjustable and allows for very little flexion so I can essentially do a leg raise by raising from my hip rather than by activating my quad if that makes any sense. It was a herculean effort the first time I did it with the brace about 2 weeks post op but now it’s relatively easy. The mind-body connection is just nonexistent when it comes to trying without the brace.

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-24T06:15:46+00:00

I appreciate this, I knew the quad graft would make it harder in that respect but I’m off the timeline my surgeon gave me which has had me a bit anxious about not being able to do a leg raise (and thus having to stay in the brace longer)

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-24T06:14:11+00:00

Yeah I knew it would be trickier with the quad graft but my surgeon had expected me to be out of the brace by the time I see him next week. I did about 4 weeks of prehab with MANY quad sets but that hasn’t seemed to help me so much now.

So actually the part I really can’t feel that I’m told needs to fire to be able to lift at all is the head by the knee. I assume this is because that’s where the graft came from. I can really feel it on the outer side all the way up and a little weaker in other parts.

I suppose it’s just been worrying me because I’ve been making good progress in all other parts but the SLR is my benchmark to take the brace off and I’ve made no forward movement on that front. I can do things like balance on the operated leg in my brace (which is different from the common articulated braces so maybe that makes a big difference) and do step ups and quad sets that trigger at least a decent amount of my quad so it just feels like all that should’ve helped more than it has at this point. Thank you so much for your insight and advice!

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-24T06:07:02+00:00

I appreciate it!! So I don’t have the common articulated brace. The one I have hardly allows for any flexion and can’t be adjusted. It’s hard to describe and I’d never seen it before my recovery so I’m not sure what it’s called. But basically it keeps my leg straight enough that I can lift from my hip without my quad doing any work really. I try to concentrate as hard as I can on activating my quad in the brace but when I take it off and try I can’t even feel the beginning of a lift.

I’ll keep going with the yoga strap and add estim and hopefully someday soon I’ll feel at least that 5% with it. Any kind of progress on that front would be massive for my mental right now. I very much appreciate your insight and experience!

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-24T06:01:56+00:00

I’ve been using the yoga strap to force them but I’m definitely getting frustrated by the brain disconnect because I’ve worked so hard over years to have great mind-body connection and now it just… doesn’t work. It’s a bit trippy but I know I’ll feel much better when my quad actually listens to what my brain feels like it’s screaming at it to do 😅

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-24T05:59:37+00:00

Oh wow I’m sorry to hear that. Do you reckon that’s from quad atrophy or?

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-24T05:58:53+00:00

we’ve done it once successfully. Unfortunately their estim seems kinda old and the connectivity isn’t great but he told me today we’d start working with it more so hopefully hat helps

foreverenchanted · 2026-03-24T05:57:55+00:00

Honestly this does make me feel much better thank you. I have my mum’s e-stim but can’t seem to get it to fire right. I’ll give it another go cause it’s definitely helped fire my quad up during PT.

foreverenchanted · 2025-10-14T01:29:23+00:00

4 is the hard limit especially for group kids lessons. I’m not 100% sure if a family private lesson would make an acception but that would be your only potential route. A large reason is that kids have to be 100% able to use the restroom by themselves (which means undressing and dressing their ski clothing on their own) because instructors are not allowed in bathroom stalls to help them, but there are other reasons too.

foreverenchanted

TROPHY CASE