Damaged your ACL? Skip the horror stories and learn what recovery looks like in the latest edition of From the Doctor’s Desk.
If you’re a sports fan, you might associate ACL injuries with images of athletes hobbling off the playing field. But you don’t have to be a professional sports star to run the risk of damaging your knee ligaments.
This type of injury can have a lot of downtime, but what does recovery look like exactly? And when can you expect to be back at your best? Let’s find out.
What is an ACL?
The Anterior Cruciate Ligament, also known as the ACL, is one of the four main ligaments in the knee. These tiny fragments of tissue connect the bones of the upper and lower legs. The ACL, as the name suggests, is on the anterior (or front) of the knee structure.
Ligaments like the ACL are essential to stabilizing the knee and enabling movement like walking and running. They have to be sturdy and withstand a lot of pressure as people move about in their daily activities.
However, that doesn’t mean ligaments aren’t prone to injury. Anterior cruciate ligament damage is among the more common knee injuries and is often the result of overextending, twisting, or tearing the ligament beyond its usual range of motion.
ACLs are most commonly associated with sporting activities like football, soccer, or basketball. Damage can be long-lasting and might make it difficult to walk or move without pain.
A period of rest and recovery is essential, but what does that timeline look like in practice?
What does ACL recovery look like?
An ACL injury usually requires surgery for the best chance of recovery. Surgery may reconstruct the damaged ligament using grafts from elsewhere in the body. Full tears almost always require reconstructive surgery, but less severe injuries may be prescribed a period of rest only.
You’ll likely find that you’ll need a brace or crutches to help you get around. It’s essential that you don’t put any weight on your knee, so using crutches can help keep you balanced.
Full recovery after surgery typically takes 9 to 12 months, with a gradual progression through physical therapy stages, including regaining mobility first, then strength, and eventually returning to sports or pre-injury activities.
During all phases, you should continue to do outpatient and light physical therapy (PT) exercises.
Let’s break the timeline down.
Phase I: Initial Recovery (0-6 weeks)
- After Surgery: You will need to wear an ACL knee brace and use crutches for 4-6 weeks to help with walking and weight-bearing. The severity of the injury will determine what kind of brace or crutch you’ll use, as some allow for more weight-bearing than others.
- Physical Therapy: PT starts a few days after surgery, depending on how invasive the treatment was. Exercises at this early stage might include light flexes and stretches to retain some motion in the knee while healing starts.
Phase II: Building Motion and Strength (6 – 12 weeks)
- Physical Therapy: PT continues to gain a full range of motion. Your doctor might also prescribe some light strength-building exercises for the knee, like riding an exercise bike for short sessions.
Phase III: Stability (3-6 months onwards)
- Physical Therapy: You’ll likely continue working with your physical therapist to build motion and strength back in your knee through exercises of increasing difficulty.
Phase IV Sports-specific Agility Training (6-9 months)
- Physical Therapy: As you approach a year, you may be able to begin a slow return to sporting activities. Your physical therapist might put together a guiding plan of jumping, stopping/starting, and turning exercises to promote knee strength.
Phase V: Return to preinjury sports (9-12 months)
- Physical Therapy: Once you’ve recovered a full range of motion and aren’t feeling daily pain, you might be able to fully return to your previous level of activity, including sports. Your doctor will best be able to guide you here and suggest how to ease yourself back into regular exercise.
Though ACL injuries can rule you out of action for up to a year, with a careful approach, you can ensure you come back as strong as before. If you’ve recently suffered an ACL injury, book an appointment with me, Dr Rupesh Tarwala. Start your recovery journey today.
