Torn ACL

[mfavor]

Looking for a DVD that I could use to workout after post surgery for my ACL. Please help! Would you recomend any of your workouts for someone who had surgery on their ACL? I had surgery back in December and I've come a very long long way to recovery, well so it seems. I'm still not 100% recovered but my physical therapist gave me the okay to start working out again. So here I am looking for a workout to get back into.

I used to love doing your workouts faithfully so I am familiar with it, but I'm thinking the jumping might be a little too much for me. Just a little note, right before I had my surgery I just recently gave birth to a baby boy. Talk about double whammy! So as you can imagine, I have a long way to go to regain my muscle strength.

I was thinking of purchasing your beginner low impact DVD but noticed there was still some jumping in your routines. Would it be wise for me to try?

HELP!

 

[CassieRN]

Sorry about your ACL but congrats on the baby!

I tore my ACL in 2006 and had 3 surgeries before achieving a successful reconstruction.

I've been doing Cathe workouts since 1997 so it was torture not being able to do what I had always been able to do. I feel your pain!

Do you have a brace? Have you asked your surgeon what specific moves he or she is comfortable with you doing? I ask these questions because my first PT cleared me for going down the stairs one-at-a-time (I didn't check with the surgeon!) and unfortunately I wasn't ready. I fell, tore the graft, and ended up having two more surgeries.

I have started doing step again but before doing that I started running. I wasn't a runner before but I found that it was a great way to strengthen my legs without the fear of torquing my knee. I also really work my legs hard with Cathe's weight training workouts and that seems to help with stability. My last surgery was 15 months ago and my surgeon just cleared me for doing step without the brace. I will however be wearing it when I ski (which is how this whole saga in my life started!).

Do you have any of Cathe's step workouts? If so, I think you could modify them. If not then her beginner workout is a good place to start (it's one of the first step workouts I did when I was cleared to step). Also, I would start out with the just the step platform for awhile to get used to stepping again. Remember, after ACL surgery your proprioception is messed up and you need to regain that sense of awareness.

And after saying all of that I would ask your PT AND your surgeon what moves they think are safe for you. My second PT (who was exceptional!) reviewed all my Cathe DVDs for me and wrote notes on what modifications to make.

Good luck and HTH!

Cassie

 

[Kathy G]

Hi,
I also had ACL reconstruction (plus meniscus repair) in June 06. Cassie gave you some great advice, take it slowly and don’t risk a relapse or another injury.

Are you still going to PT? I had to have PT for five months and it included weight training, balance exercises, slide board, and some agility exercises toward the end. My lower body exercises during that whole time were closed chain (squats, lunges, leg press). I was very careful about not putting too much stress on the graft. I wasn’t allowed to start running again for about 3.5 months post op. The PT started me back slowly because you’ll be amazed at how weak your entire leg will be! Biking is also a very good cross training workout that will strengthen you quads without stressing the joint.

My first suggestion is to build strength back up before attempting step. It took me several months post-op to be able to do step workouts again. I started back with easier workouts like Basic Step and Low Impact Step and slowly worked my way back to more complex DVDs. Not only will your leg be weaker but your mind/knee coordination will be off. Your mind will be telling your leg/knee to go a certain direction and it won’t work right, lol. I still have some minor issues with some side to side motions that I’m working through.

But there’s light at the end of the tunnel, just keep pushing through!

Kathy G

 

[Gayle]

Another ACL reconstruction grad here.

Cassie and Kathy G have both given you excellent advice. I'll also emphasize talking to your PT about these workouts specifically and see what he/she suggests.

From my rehab experience, in addition to the training Kathy G mentioned, adding plyometric work (under my PTs guidance) really produced a noticeable improvement in getting leg strength back.