8 Weeks Post Op!

It's hard to believe it's been almost 2 months since surgery. Time is definitely flying now! I've been hitting the gym 6-7 times a week and sometimes twice a day, mainly for the bike, but also for:

Hammies!

I think my hamstring muscles are playing games with me. I originally thought doing 3 sets of 10 with 10 lbs weights on the hamstring curl machine was tough. But I decided to move up anyway and bumped it up to 15 lbs. 15 lbs felt the exact same as 10 lbs. So I bumped it up to 20 lbs and felt the exact same toughness as it did with 10/15 lbs. I could still do 3 sets of 10. My hamstrings didn't feel sore the next day either. So it appears my hammies are pretending to be weak when in reality they aren't. It still feels like I'm straining them a bit, but apparently that's ok!

Since it's the 8 week mark, according to my acl rehab protocol, I should be trying to light jog. But the first step in jogging is hopping on the one foot. I'm still slightly timid on doing this as I'm terrified of ripping/stretching/crunching/snapping/breaking my new acl. But after some slow warmups (on the trampoline and glider) I finally managed to hop from one position to another!

18 more weeks to go!

7 Weeks Post Op!

Another week down, 19 more to go!

Nothing much new from last week. I've added side lunges with a body twist and forward lunges with the body twist to my workout. The side lunges really, really worked my hamstrings / groin area and as such, walking around is very sore at the moment.

I continue to hit the gym almost every day for 30 min on the bike. I've bumped up my resistance quite a bit now. I've also hit 70 pounds one legged on the quad glider and I finally did 3 sets of 10 with 10 pound weights on the hamstring curls. No Hamstring snapping either!

Physio is only once a week now until the 10-12 week mark where I can start running / jumping again. The rest is in my hands (or legs)!

6 Weeks Post Op in Review

Another week down!

I had my last chiropractor session for a few weeks. He says everything looks good. I have almost full flexion and full extension. One thing he mentioned was my inner quad (vastus medalus). It doesn't look like it's "firing" properly until fully warmed up. So I've been focusing on that muscle before every workout.

Physio continues 1-2 times a week. I've been told to push myself harder which I'm glad to do. The Scar tissue under the skin has gotten smaller but it's still there. I have 2 bumps outside the kneecap which I massage daily. I can also now religiously do 15 one-legged quarter squats on the bosu ball without falling over. My leg is usually shaking at the end, but it's worth it! I have one issue with the bosu lunge. I can do it easily if I send my injured leg forward, but sending my non-injured leg forward causes my left leg to shake. This might be a result of weak hamstrings which leads to...

I did hit one roadblock which I finally overcame: Hamstring Curls. I can do them with no weight, but I tried the curl machine at the gym and 10 pounds was too much! Considering before surgery I was up to 80+ pounds per leg, 3 sets of 8 I was a little shocked. However, this is somewhat expected as they did take parts of the hamstring tendon to redo my acl. There's no pain, but it feels like I'm about to "pull" the hamstring muscle when I do them. So on Wednesday I decided to bite the bullet and give it my best and just deal with a strained hamstring if it occurs. Booya! After 3 sets of 6 of the 10 pound weight I was fine! Each curl felt like my hamstring was about to snap but it didn't. It's great that I can finally use this machine and see actual progress over the next few weeks / months.

Although swelling is almost a minimum, I still have inflammation of the bursa sacks around my knee. Not completely unexpected but I was hoping both knees would look the same around this time (minus the muscle diff).

White men can't jump.

Nothing could be more true at the moment! Today my physio had me attempt a one legged hop. Up and Down. I stood on the peg leg and tried to bring myself to jump... but I couldn't do it. It's been 8 months since my last leap off that leg, 8 months since my last soar through the air. It's not the strength I'm lacking, its the confidence. I love jumping, but mentally, I'm not ready yet. This is the first exercise Mark gave me that I just wasn't able to do. So I had to use the old man's jumper: The Trampoline. At first I couldn't get any height, but eventually I started to get a little and became a bit more comfortable. Then he had me hit the glider for push offs. This I was a lot more comfortable with, but also made me tire quite quickly.

As Bob would say: Baby Steps.

5 weeks Post Op

Another week bites the dust!

My physio added lunges onto the bosu ball to my workout regiment which scares me a little as my acl protocol from the surgeon says "No Full Lunges". Maybe it's not a full lunge since it's partially on the bosu. I'm also allowed to do the squat slider at the gym.

Since I'm going into the 6th week, this is where the actual graft is at its weakest. Worrying about if the graft is going to pull out is secondary to it stretching. So I'll be avoiding the step downs except during my physio and do my best not to over strain it with activities.

I've had some pain in my hamstring below the knee on the outer side, almost to where it connects to the fibula. Acupuncture really helps but it does come back the next day. My physio thinks it's from not walking 100% perfect. Due to the fact it's no where near where they took the graft from or where they drilled, I don't think it's something to worry about.

Couple of important milestones were reached this week: I'm below 150 days left till Ultimate! and I did 15 one-legged mini squats on the bosu ball without using the wall!

Dude, where's my quad?

Here's a picture of both legs with muscles fully flexed. The quad in my right leg is quite noticable whereas good old stumpy on the left is lacking.



This was taken at 1 month post op. I've got a good amount of muscle building to do over the next few months, but I'm up for the challenge!

The real one month!

Today was the real one month since my surgery!

Here's some other blogs worth reading!:

Adam's Blog - Tore his ACL playing basketball (Currently 2 years post op)
Summer's Blog - Tore her ACL playing flag football (Currently 3 weeks post op)

1 Month Down, 5 more to go!!

Ok maybe in 2 days it will be one month, but it has been 4 weeks and I'm too excited to knock off 1 month till I can play Ultimate again.

My progress has been great. I'm back in full force for bending (120+ degrees) and I still have full extension. I've been taking it easier on the physio as per Mark's instructions. My leg strength and balance is very good. Walking is *almost* normal. I still have some swelling above the kneecap but with the reduced workouts that should go down soon enough. My left quads are quite significantly smaller than my right. But that's ok, more work for me! I get the odd aches and pains every now and then but they seem to disappear within a day. The bruising has fully disappeared too, although I still have a small scab on the bigger incision .

While in physio this week another girl had an acl reconstruction surgery a week after mine. She went to the same surgeon (Dr. Theodoropoulos) . She was told to use crutches and the immobilizer for 2 weeks after her surgery and then after that she was allowed to ditch one or the other. She was also told to bend her knee right away. (I was told no knee bending for 10 days, but could ditch the crutches as soon as possible, and after 10 days could ditch the immobilizer). So it looks like the surgeon tailors the rehab (specifically the first few weeks) to each individual instead of just a common rehab. I always thought everyone gets the same rehab but I'm definitely glad I had mine, even though I had to spend extra effort bending, I'm happy I could ditch that horrible immobilizer right away!

I've also discovered I'm starting to hate acupuncture. I know it's good for breaking up the scar tissue and, with the electric stimulation, helping rekindle the muscles. Originally I didn't mind it but having it done 3 times a week is starting to get on my nerves (especially when the needle goes right in a nerve). I so loathe those dreaded words: "I'll get the acupuncture"

My goals for the next month are:

• protect the graft (be careful going downstairs or ramps, no jogging)
• get rid of all swelling + scar tissue (30 min on the bike each day should help this, plus reduce the # of workouts)
• more quad strength without causing more swelling (more Intense workouts but do them less often)
• Strengthen the hammies
• Loosen up the knee (30 min bike every day)
• Maintain my balance, ( I don't think it can get better, but keep it top knotch)

And the most important goal: Increase positivity!