ACL pre-operation

[Shenagh]

I tore my ACL last Thursday in a game of hockey and have more than likely some cartilage damage too. A MRI this Friday will hopefully confirm, either way I am proceeding with a knee reconstruction. I just have a couple of quick questions after doing a lot of reading over the past few days.

Firstly, are there any exercises I can do pre-operation that can help strengthen my knee or the muscles surrounding it to increase the chances of a speedy recovery?

Secondly, my Dr said to be mindful of DVT as I had a lot of swelling in the calf and lower leg region during the few days after the injury. I have been take a couple of aspirin a day (off my own accord, not Dr’s instructions) and been moving and walking as much as I can. Should I still be wearing a compression bandage on the knee area or will this make things worse? Any tips or things to look out for?

Thank you,

Shenagh.

[injuryupdate]

With an acute injury and swelling don't do too much physical activity or the swelling will increase. On the other hand, do some static quads contractions regularly to stop the muscles wasting.

A controversial area in the field of ACL reco is whether to have an early op or wait 6 weeks until swelling has gone down.
Upside of early op = maybe more scarring and incorporation of the graft tendon (greater stability) + less chance of secondary cartilage injury whilst waiting + less stuff-around factor if you definitely want a reco and want to get back to sport quickly
Upside of delayed op = less post-op stiffness, pain and quads weakness + less chance of arthrofibrosis (severe stiffness) + chance to bail out and not have the operation if you discover your knee is not really that unstable

DVT risk - taking aspirin sounds like a good idea if you are not bleeding too much + stay moderately mobile.

See you doc if you get chest pain, breathlessness or increased calf pain and swelling, and put off the op if you have any of these

[Shenagh]

Thanks for the reply. Well, it’s 3 weeks in since tearing my ACL and I have to say it’s pretty depressing! Reading Zoggy’s & others comments have been great though, at least you get some idea as to what to expect post op and how quickly you can get back into things. Oh, how I am craving going for a jog though!

My questions this time round is I still do not have full movement in my injured leg. I can not extend it fully, can not walk properly at all and have a very prominent limp or shuffle as my kind friends tell me! I still sleep and sit with it propped up and really struggle walking further than a hundred metres or so. I’ve been doing the static quad raises as often as I can. Is this still swelling behind the knee or around the nerves as I have read on this forum? My Doc said not to push myself to extend it, but is this normal to be so restricted 3 weeks after injury?

Last quick one, what are the chances of having the knee reconstruction op under local instead of general anaesthetic? Has anyone opted for this? I’ve been told that it is generally the surgeons choice not yours, but curious to hear from others.

[stimpy123]

you can have an epidural if you want to avoid having a genrall anasthetic.

Static leg contractions and raises. are a must.

[stimpy123]

YES-wear a tubi-grip/compresiion bandage. this will help reduce puffiness. Also to help get the swelling out, do loads of static quad contraction. really concentrate on tightining the muscle on the inside of the quad.