Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Rehabilitation

Following your anterior eructate ligament reconstruction (ACL), there are a number of post operative phases.

• PHASE ONE
  The first phase is whilst you are in hospital and this will be to initially recover from the operation. Should you require pain relief, this can be provided by the nursing staff with either an injection or tablets.
  • Your drain tubes will be removed the day after surgery .
  • You will be seen by the physiotherapist, who will initially help you get out of bed and commence walking on crutches, and detail the exercises and other therapies you must begin.
  • Your hospital stay will vary from one to three days, depending on various circumstances.
    
• PHASE TWO
  After discharge, you will arrive home with plenty of pain killing tablets, which you should take on a regular basis if you have pain.
  • The first week is really a resting phase when you should spend most of your time in bed or on the couch, with your knee out straight.
  • You should ice the knee regularly and also ice the back of the thigh in the hamstring area. The physiotherapist will have provided you with a sheet of exercises which should be performed on a regular basis.
  • Keep walking to a minimum and leave your Tubigrip bandage on, keeping the knee clean and dry when showering.
    
    The second week you may commence walking a little bit more and you may commence fully weight bearing as you feel comfortable. This is still the resting phase, your formal physiotherapy will not commence until you have visited me at the two week mark. If you have any problems in this first two weeks, please feel free to contact my rooms.
• PHASE THREE
  You will see me at about the two week mark, where I will remove your dressings and check that the wounds have healed. At this stage, I will refer you to your regular physiotherapist and if you do not have one, I will will refer you to a physiotherapist in your area.
  • You will now progress through various stages of rehabilitation, concentrating initially on regaining the full mobility of your knee, which should take approximately six to twelve weeks.
  • You will commence fully weight bearing, and should be walking freely after three or four weeks after the operation.
  • You will commence various activities with your hysiotherapist, which will include cycling, swimming and very light jogging.

Once you have gained good mobility, you may commence strengthening the thigh muscles in a gymnasium and also should be able to start light sport specific training three to four months after surgery. A return to pivoting sports depends upon the stability of your knee but more importantly upon the strength of the thigh muscles. The strength of your muscles is usually sufficient by about six to twelve months.

My physiotherapist and I will see you on a regular basis through your rehabilitation program and thereafter you will be seen once a year to assess your overall progress. Should you have any queries with regards to your rehabilitation program, please feel free to ask me or your physiotherapist.