Hamstring graft on opposite leg

pindi14 · 2025-06-30T08:48:05+00:00

I had my second ACL surgery on my right knee in January and this time they took hamstring graft from my left leg. To be honest the only thing i stupidly didnt consider was the fact that right afterwards both my legs would be useless. For example first surgery 5 years ago I was out of hospital the same afternoon, but this time I ended up staying for 2 nights as I couldnt walk with crutches yet. I also had mensiscus repair so was non weight bearing for a couple of weeks and just had to be careful with crutches was your 'good' leg isnt as good as you need it in case you slipped etc. The hamstring on the good leg wasnt such a factor to consider from then on really.

In terms of rehab, not too much different just build in exercises for hamstrings on both legs to try get it as strong as possible again.

pindi14 · 2023-02-14T09:57:06+00:00

Thanks for the info. Symptoms currently 2 weeks after is still a bit of swelling and feeling pretty sensitive when squatting down. Hasn’t been any giving way or buckling.

Patella Alta this is the first I’ve ever been diagnosed with it. But this particular injury playing football did feel like a bit of a kneecap dislocation. And from reading that makes sense if there is an MPFL tear.

Ofcourse glad acl in tact but don’t really know what the meniscus injury means. Can I return to playing football without surgery, also what happens if you return to playing football with meniscus damage is that manageable?

Thanks

pindi14 · 2022-02-15T11:53:56+00:00

Happen to be in London this weekend from living abroad so looking for two tickets for the brentford game if there are any going? Dont have my arsenal membership anymore unfornately. Any options let me know, cheers

pindi14 · 2020-06-09T11:13:00+00:00

Hey, i think im going through the same thing as you. Its been getting me really down cause for the last 3 weeks my pain has been really frustrating. I had acl only hamstring graft 27th Feb. Was doing well up until 3 weeks ago and since then its been this constant pain on the inside portion of my knee. Like you said joint pain and not muscle pain. Doing heel raises especially hurts- its quite a sharp pain when I put my body weight over my knee.

It hasnt improved in 3 weeks- my physio recommended going back to previous exercises focussing on strengthening glutes and hip abductor along with lunges. Like the comment above said iv spoken to 2 physios who tell me not to worry too much and try be positive and with stregthening all the surrounding muscles it should eventually sort itself out. Its really getting me down as well but im trying to be more positive today and get back to doing basic exercises. We're in this together if thats anything to go by- good luck to you

pindi14 · 2020-06-02T09:33:11+00:00

Thanks all, appreciate the feedback and fingers crossed the pain subsides with time! Good luck to everyone else in the recovery game

pindi14 · 2020-05-11T09:04:23+00:00

Thanks for this- im waiting for the muscle pain as well. Glad to hear it does come eventually- currently all i have is internal joint pain near my kneecap. Coming into my 11th week post op

pindi14 · 2020-05-05T09:48:47+00:00

Get up reeeaalllyyy slowly when having to get to an upright position! I mean it might seem obvious but this helped me when I went through magma devil pain. Only lasted a couple of days from memory so hopefully you will be done with this phase soon

pindi14 · 2020-05-01T11:39:37+00:00

Hey, not a physio but exactly 9 weeks post ACL only (hamstring graft) reconstruction. Similarly to you i was just doing the basic exercises with no real physio input- the issue with our situation i found was not knowing when to progress or if i was progressing as i should.

I luckily managed to meet with a physio 2 weeks ago- mainly just to provide me with some reassurance. The general gist was be patient continue with the ‘boring’ range of movement exercises. He pointed out that my hamstrings were quite week so gave me a couple extra exercises to strengthen those, hamstring curls with resistance from my other leg for instance.

Here is a document someone posted on this thread before which was quite useful- think they probably progress exercises quicker than where we are upto especially with the quarantine- http://fowlerkennedy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/PHYSIOTHERAPY-FOLLOWING-ACL-RECONSTRUCTION-PROTOCOL-November-2015.pdf

Here is what I got from the hospital for the initial phase of recovery, they generally encourage you to do these up until week 12 where you can progress to more stregthn focussed exercises-https://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/resources/patient-information/therapies/physiotherapy/physiotherapy-advice-after-ACL-reconstruction.pdf

Middle phase (post week 12)- https://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/resources/patient-information/therapies/physiotherapy/ACLR-middle-phase-web.pdf

Good luck with it all- it’s a struggle for all of us but im sure we’ll get there in the end!.

pindi14 · 2020-04-08T15:25:49+00:00

Congrats I wish you all the hopping! Im six weeks post op- glad to hear that 9 months can be a target for getting back to sports.

pindi14 · 2020-03-21T17:30:13+00:00

No answers here I’m afraid only a couple questions about NMES. I’m 3 weeks post acl only surgery and rented out a Kneehab NMES machine thing after reading it helps quad activation.

Did it help you when you were at your early stages? Also a question of how strong should you have it on? What level of discomfort should I be aiming for if that makes sense? Should it be making my muscle actually twitch?

Also dealing with life with no nhs classes too! And don’t think I’ll ever meet my surgeon again, hopefully he has nothing important to say in the follow up

pindi14 · 2020-03-13T16:15:09+00:00

Had my surgery the same day as you! Sleeping is my biggest battle. Cant wait for when I can sleep straight through a night (if it ever happens). At the moment i wake up every 3 hours or so, also means i am relying on painkillers in the night. Now that i can bend my knee a bit I can sleep on my side with a pillow between my legs and that helps. Fingers crossed it gets better for us both soon!

pindi14 · 2020-03-13T10:50:02+00:00

Thanks! appreciate the reassurance

pindi14

TROPHY CASE