How long acl surgery pain

The ACL stretches diagonally across the middle of the knee and helps with rotational stability, as well as controlling the back and forth motion of the knee. The MCL connects the femur thighbone to the tibia shinbone and helps stabilize and control the sideways movement of the knee. Luckily, all but the most severe MCL tears are typically treated with physical therapy.

Unlike recovery from a torn MCL — which can usually be rehabilitated back to health — recovery from an ACL tear almost always begins with surgery. Learn what to expect during your ACL reconstruction.

If your surgery was successful with no complications and you plan to follow the rehabilitation recommendations of your orthopedic surgeon to the letter, the best guess is no less than six months. The most difficult thing about ACL rehabilitation is sticking to the program — whether that means pushing yourself past your comfort zone or reigning it in so as to not overdo it.

Pushing the limits and staying within the rehabilitation lines differs from person to person and from day-to-day. This gives the joint time to heal properly without stressing your newly-fixed ligament. And hot. And maybe a little itchy… but it will help protect and stabilize your knee while speeding up your recovery. Wear it everywhere, all the time. You want to rehab your ACL.

It will hurt. It will be boring at times. Your future knee will thank you. I am convinced that I tore my ACL but am being treated for a torn meniscus it has been two months since my injury happened what are my chances of recovery no surgery was performed only days no MRI pain is excruciating at times. Linda, I would recommend getting a second opinion. I hope this helps!

I did acl reconstruction and meniscus repair and its already been 2 and half months. Still i feel pain, swelling, clicking, pinching, locking in my left knee. Even, i am doing PT on regular basis. So, what can i do now? Rishav, Healing after ACL reconstruction is a process.

It takes time and consistency. Although these symptoms can be due to many contributing factors, here are a few common causes: Locking after ACL reconstruction can be due to lack of adherence to a strict stretching routine post surgery.

Popping in your knee can be due to scar tissue after surgery. It takes time for the joints to heal and begin to move smoothly again. Mild swelling is typically part of the healing process, as it is a sign of inflammation. Although these are the common reasons for these symptoms, there are obviously other less common scenarios, such as another knee injury.

You should speak to your surgeon and physical therapist about your concerns. Make sure they are aware of your issues.

All the best. Christian, Each ACL injury needs to be evaluated, diagnosed and treated on a case-by-case basis. You would need to consult an orthopedic knee specialist to determine the best course of treatment.

Hope this helps! How normal is if for your hamstring and calf to twitch and spazz out? Mines been doing it quite a bit since my surgery this morning. Tanner, Muscle spasms are common after surgery.

If you are concerned you should reach out to your surgeon. I do not think so.. And this ear i tore my other acl miniscus and mcl in my other knee. I am coming up to 2 weeks post op and i can bend it to Im having the same problem. Its now going for the 6th week and I can only manage around 40 degrees currently. My kneen is still very swollen. Could the swelling also be reason why it might be difficult to bend the knee a bit more than what i currently am able to?

Hey I just had surgery for my ACL brand new they used my own parts to replace i also had my meniscus fixed.. I was in the back sitting up with my leg propped up.. Amanda, Pain and swelling are normal after surgery, as pain is part of the inflammatory response to surgery. That being said, if you feel your pain is severe or intolerable, you should contact your surgeon.

Express your concerns and your doctor can let you know what steps need to be taken — this will most likely include ice and elevation. We hope you heal quickly and feel better soon! Thank you! So my flexion is not great. I work on my home exercises and go to PT..

Besides possible scar tissue. I have the exact same thing going on. I tore mine doing jiu jitsu. I tore mine at taekwondo. Been 2. I tore mine during taekwondo. I want to go back and continue but I am scared I can reinjur myself or tear my acl on my good knee. Your comment is scaring me. How long did the severe pain last?

Happened on May 30th, had ACL reconstruction surgery August 13th after doing two-and-a-half months of physical therapy. Four days after surgery, I was able to put weight on my knee and walk without crutches. Anyway, my point is that everyone is different. I got acl surgery June I was doing some weight bearing pery orthopedic but since July 8th I been limping. On July 10th I can barely walk or put weight on my leg. They told me that I tore my meniscus I said I want an mri ended up being an acl I tore.

Ask them for an mri. So true, same happened to me. Get the MRI. Then even after that once actually doing the surgery, the meniscus was torn worse than expected, I had to have the back of me knee scrapped and the bone bruising was pretty extensive. Your injury sounds similar to mine.

Why did they scrap the back of your knee? Do you recall how much flex ion and extension you had in your knee before surgery? I went months assuming it would heal because I thought it was just my meniscus.

When in doubt get a second opinion and try to get an MRI. It could be both too. Knees are important! Try to get it taken care of as soon as you can. Good luck!! Always question and tell the dr what you want done. Absolutely, ask lots of questions. If you feel unsure about what your doctor is telling you, ask them to clarify, request imaging, or get a second opinion.

I had acl and MCL grade 2 tear and had a surgery…I can bend my knee after a month …. Abhinandan, The goal of any orthopedic surgeon is to get you back to normal, and as close to the way you were before surgery as possible. With that being said, each patient heals differently. You cannot get back to normal without consistent rehabilitation post-surgery. It sounds like you are taking all the necessary steps and are on your way to full recovery! Happy healing!

Once that was done they ruled my meniscus was normal and I had shredded my acl. I had surgery here and they removed my ACL ligament completely but did not replace it.

I walked home the next day. The surgery I consider to have been successful as I have no problems with stability. I feel very slight aches every now and again but I can jog cycle swim ect. I am very unsure on what to do though in terms of furthering my recovery even though there is no ligament there.

Do I do specific exercises to strengthen the muscles and ligaments around the knee? I want to continue with sports, should I continue without the ACL ligament or is this considered risky? I am sorry to hear about your injury. The ACL provides rotational stability to the knee, especially with cutting, pivoting and twisting exercises. Preventing the knee from giving out is the best recommendation for someone without an ACL.

This can be done with quad and hamstring strengthening in addition to avoiding those activities that cause the knee to give out. If you have any questions or other concerns, I recommend you see an orthopaedic surgeon. You can perform sporting activities as long you dont take risks and do anyi sharp cutting motions. I have been this way for about 3 years now. I ended up getting a second opinion after a doctor told me nothing was wrong.

Currently recovering from full reconstruction and repairs!! I fell 9 feet down from a ladder and landed on my leg. I ended up in the ER 3 days later and had x ray. A couple of months went by and my doctor sent me for a MRI and yes it was a turn Acl. Knee hurts still but swelling is going down.

I can bend my knee to about 70 to 75 degrees but my knee still feels stiff. This same exact injury just as it happened to you, happened to me!

I had a total ACL replacement and menisectomy! No pain though! I see my dr on Friday! Second post-op! I was told in my first post-op to try and do bending exercises and straightening exercises! But no one told me exactly how I should be elevating my leg!! Go get 2nd opinion. Come to find out he was getting surgery the next week to a completely torn acl.

Hi did your 13 year old have open growth plates did they talk to you about that. My son 13 has torn his ACL and has been advised to wait due to still growing and will wait till next year. My son is 15, and tore his ACL and lateral tear to his meniscus.

His growth plates have not closed. The surgeon completed the surgery and used his quadricep tendon. He is in surgery now. I will update on the recovery which I am very nervous about. How has your 13 year old recovered? Just got word today that my 13 year old daughter is possibly facing an ACL reconstruction surgery, just waiting on MRI to confirm.

This has to be one of the shittiest injury recovers someone has to go through. Hi Linda , i was just like you i injured my knee during football and thought it was a minor injury.

After 8 months i realised and felt that i need to do an MRI and the results , complete rupture of ACL , medial meniscus tear , some cartiladge problems. After the surgery , i followed all the doctors instuctions and the physiotherapists too and now after a month of surgery , i can bend my knees degrees and can walk without crutches or knee brace.

The doctors guessed MCL sprain at first, and I believed them. My knee got strong enough again where I was running a couple miles a day. It would be really sore though, so I went to get an MRI, play it safe. Showed complete ACL year and lateral meniscus tear. Get it checked out with an MRI.

Same thing happened to me. I had a skiing accident and went to urgent care. The doctor was super great and told me it was likely an mcl sprain after my x-ray came back clear. He said if it gets a lot better it is likely nothing serious.

I also have lots of mild bone bruising and some soft tissue bruising. I am waiting on an orthopedist appointment. I am so anxious about the surgery and the recovery. I know it will be really long and challenging. Any advice? X-ray can only take the pic of your bone not all details inside your knee such as tear of ACL, Meniscus or MCL… so since I got my first surgery I went to urgent care and took X-ray and the doctor said that I had an MCL sprain and then until I asked my friend he is an eye doctor and he told me X-ray does not provided enough details and he required me to go and take an MRI.

Thanks all for your great comments — very helpful to read through. As one of these twists happened a few weeks ago and effects did not just wear off this time, I went to specialist and had MRI etc. Diagnosis was completely ruptured ACL and large meniscus tear.

Now I am day 2 post ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair surgery. Still quite painful of course and in leg brace with leg up in bed… fingers crossed for swift recovery to everyone! I will check in on how mine is going…. I had ACL surgey 1 month ago and I am still having really bad pain in the shin, calf, and foot almost all the time.

Is that normal? Ava, I am sorry to hear you are in pain. Have you discussed this with your Surgeon or Physical Therapist? It is normal to have some discomfort after ACL surgery, and more so when you exercise. Calf, shin and foot soreness can be normal because you may be temporarily walking different or using the muscles in an unusual way while you recover. Sorry to hear that but I had a surgery a week ago and follow up everything with my doctor and physical therapy require me to do.

I used to be an athlete until this happened. Therapy days after surgery. So now I have knee swelling constantly and still deal with the ACL pain that was my original complaint. Go see another doctor and ask for an MRI to rule it out.

Meniscus tears in my experience are much more painful than the acl. The meniscus tear would make my knee lock out and was extremely painful. The only way I was able to fix the meniscus issue was with surgery.

I would get a second opinion for sure. I went to see my PCP because I was having difficulty walking and pain in my knee. He said I had all the classic signs of a torn meniscus. I did physical therapy for 3 months and I still had pain and inflammation. Now I am seeing ortho and having surgery. Not something to be taken lightly at all , get the mri and get it taken care of!! Should I have pressure wraps on both legs? Thanks for your questions. Pressure wrap instructions vary by patient.

As for the ice machine, we typically instruct our patients to apply the ice machine in 15 minute intervals. Again, this is all subject to your medical history and your doctors specific orders. I tore my ACL in my right knee and am having pain in the top to the right of my knee where the graft is. Mj, Pain after surgery can be normal. Have your had a post-operative appointment yet?

I would recommend voicing your concerns with your surgeon and they can give you detailed advice. I had accident 10 April Acl pcl mil reconstruct took place on 2 May I am still not normal.

Aged Or put too much weight as a normal person. How much time it take to be normal. With that type of injury and knee reconstruction it is going to take more than 8 weeks to recover. I would expect it will be closer to 6 months.

Work hard on your range of motion and strength. They had me start re-hab prior to surgery and immediately after. My range of motion is great, but I still have some pain and stiffness occasionally. Be patient. Is there any complication?? If Yes How??? There is some concern for such limited flexion after 2 months post op. Besides just passively moving your knee into flexion be sure to be working those hamstrings into flexion. A prone hamstring machine might be of benefit.

It is going to take a lot of hard work to get to degrees in 20 days. If you live in the Park City or Salt Lake area I would be happy to demonstrate the exercises in person. John Flint. Do graston technique… it will give instant range of motion… i am 16 days post operation of my ACL surgery and i can bend degrees already without pain… i could bend 95 degrees just on the 14th day… believe me Graston technique is the best treatment ever.

Where did you have your surgery? I would love to know where I can get the Graston Technique performed. Thank you. Gage, If you are concerned about your range of motion I would discuss this with your physical therapist. They can help you work towards full extension and flexion. Exercise and movement are crucial during this time.

Hang in there, were wishing you a speedy recovery! I had my acl and meniscus repaired 18 days ago. Not sure if this stuck feeling is normal or if I buggered up my meniscus. Either way it is unlikely the meniscus.

Keep working on range of motion. Sometimes the swelling in the joint can cause that feeling. Saroj, If you are having stiffness or pain after surgery, I would recommend following up with your surgeon. Knee stiffness can have many causes.

If you are worried about your recovery after surgery you could also consider getting a second opinion. Hope this helps. I am having my acl revision, during my first surgery hamstring graft was used but now BPTB is being used please can you tell me the bones taken from front of knee cap heals or not.

Hi Aryan. The bone from the donor site in the patella typically fills with bone and scar tissue. Often a patient is unable to notice any defect or pain from the surgery in this area. All the best! My best advice for anyone recovering is to take your PT seriously. It can be tempting, especially for athletes, to push your body to the limit when doing physical therapy.

Although it is important to perform the recommended strengthening and stretching exercises, doing too much too soon can actually slow down the recovery process.

If you think you can do more, check with your physical therapist before attempting to go further. Pain and swelling are at their peak in the first week after ACL surgery. Adding active compression with a cold therapy device may further reduce swelling by helping your body pump away excess fluid and enabling the cold to penetrate deeper for a longer-lasting therapeutic effect.

So how long will you be on crutches after surgery? It depends on a number of factors, but if you are proactive about accelerating the healing process, you may be off crutches as soon as two weeks after surgery.

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Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment.

Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. ACL Surgery Recovery Timeline Although every individual is different, you can expect the following rough timeline for ACL surgery recovery 1,2 : The First 2 Weeks After Surgery This is a critical time during the recovery process because it is when your body is most vulnerable.

Place the leg over the edge of a bed or chair for knee flexion. Place a prop under the heel when straight for knee extension. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

Recovery starts immediately: Your body starts healing the day of your surgery, and you can help it by actively participating in your recovery. Most healing happens within weeks: As your ACL surgery recovery progresses, you will learn more exercises and increase the intensity of your physical therapy. You can continue cold and compression therapy through this phase, especially if you continue to experience swelling. Full recovery takes time and patience: The months after the initial phase of ACL surgery recovery can be challenging, especially for athletes.

Although the pain and swelling may go away relatively quickly, you must limit your activity until the tissues in your knee have completely healed. Adding too much activity or increasing the intensity too much may lead to reinjury or unnecessarily prolong the recovery process.

Work with your physical therapist to find the right balance of activity and rest in the months after ACL surgery. The long-term rehabilitation process typically takes months, and most athletes may not return to their sport for at least six months. References Rehab timeline expectations. It can be hired through some physiotherapists. Achieving a completely straight knee referred to as extension is actually the single most important thing following ACL reconstruction surgery.

However, to get it out fully straight, you will need to have your pain under control and reduce the swelling. Do an extension stretch exercise repeatedly throughout the day. If you are lying down or sitting, have the leg out straight with the heel propped on a pillow to gently force the knee straight. Remember that stretching exercises are a low load, long duration. Stretch and hold. A knee that does not fully straighten causes a permanent limp.

To assess your progress from week to week, lie flat on the bed and attempt to put a hand under your knee. By the end of week six, there should not be enough room to slide your hand easily between the back of your knee and the bed. The knee should be fully straight by the end of week twelve at the absolute latest. Difficulty with knee bending or flexion is much less common following ACL reconstruction surgery. It is very safe to bend the knee and the physiotherapist will have you onto the CPM machine day one after surgery.

Start with the drop and dangle exercise in my rehabilitation program. Some people are apprehensive about damaging their reconstruction. This can be a mistake as it leads to inadequate rehabilitation and stiffness.