The ACL Repair Blog Firsthand accounts of ACL surgery and recovery

Today I went in for my three month post operative checkup. The doctor asked me a few questions about how my knee was feeling and did his standard exam of the joint. He declared it to be nice and tight and told me I could ride my bike as much as I want, [...]

My recovery from knee surgery pressed on today with a six week post operative visit to my orthopedic surgeon. I told him about my fall a couple weeks ago and he quickly brushed it off after i described the motion of the fall.
After a quick exam of the knee he announced that he thinks [...]

I finally got my borrowed trainer yesterday and set it up in the garage (A trainer is a little device you can strap a bicycle into to make it a stationary bike). I was most surprised by how different the action felt than riding the stationary bike at PT. The seat height is different, but [...]

Today I had my first Physical Therapy appointment for recovering from my ACL Reconstruction.  As I expected we started by taking measurements of how far i could bend and flex the joint as well as measuring the size of my quads, calfs and knee.
We then moved to a stationary bike where i was quickly able [...]

My second post-op appointment was today, two weeks and a day since the surgery.  First the doctor cut off the dressing and removed the sani-strips that had been on the incision since the surgery. He said the incisions were looking good, let me snap a picture and (most excitingly) told me i could start showering.  [...]

I just had a bit of an idea.  Since it’s still uncomfortable to walk and i’m definately quite slow, i’ve been bringing a lunch to work.  This practice has well documented health and financial rewards in addition to keeping me of the mean streets of Downtown Seattle with a less than perfect knee.
My idea is [...]

Today is day seven and I can proudly say I haven’t used a crutch in two days.  I have some pain when i’m walking but it’s light and already feels better day over day.
I started watching the video of my surgery tonight, which i wasn’t sure i could do.   I’ll eventually package it up and [...]