Hi all, just to premise this entry; I am a 31 y-o male and I partially tore my ACL 5 years ago playing basketball and then completely tore it back in January, again playing basketball (stupid decision, I know). Never had any other surgery besides lasik and oral (wisdom teeth). So this first "real" surgery had my emotions all over the place. My reasoning for having surgery is that I felt like I can still do the things I needed to do but there are things that I wanted to do that I couldn't without surgery. After much research and the help from you fine folks, I decided that since I am "relatively" young, I should opt for the patellar tendon autograft based on it being considered the "gold standard" and the rate of success and strength vs. an allograft. I know, there are pros and cons to both types but it came down to my age and rate of success/strength.
I had surgery last Wednesday and things are going well. I live with my fiancee' and she is a physical therapist so I am fortunate to be able to do my rehab at home everyday. We've spent nearly 2 hours each PT session and really, that's the only time I feel alive. I am a pretty active and healthy individual overall and so I've been fighting this depression about being bedridden and the inactivity that accompanies surgery. Anyhow, I seem to have gotten over that now that things are progressing quite nicely. Even before the surgery, I acquired a TENS unit from a co-worker and after surgery, I was sent home with an ICEMAN unit. I keep the ICEMAN running throughout the day as long as I have my leg elevated. The TENS unit is used before and after a PT session. Before PT is more like a warm-up and then afterwards for pain management. It works nicely and I am very thankful that my co-worker let me borrow hers.
The hardest part about PT is the flexion exercises (heel slides, etc.) although my fiancee' says that I have been doing excellent and have surpassed her short and even mid-term goals. I am consistently getting flexion between 100-115 degrees and just yesterday unlocked my brace to 90 degrees (just to be conservative and get used to it when walking around). I am still on crutches and make every effort to remember to do the minimum exercises while still propping the leg up on the couch/bed (in complete extension). Leg lifts were not a problem the first 2 days but after the first PT session I lost significant leg strength and felt the pain in the patella where my graft was harvested. That's the usual pain I feel when doing any bending exercises obviously.
I know my situation sounds similar to many others but I hope this helps at least one person with their decision/research. I look forward to hearing from others who are either in my shoes or contemplating surgery and I hope to continue adding to this thread. Thanks for your time and good luck!!
