Lisa's ACL recovery; a long haul

by Lisa
(California)

I had my ACL surgery about 5 weeks ago and am feeling very discouraged about my progress. I'm extremely active as a runner and weight lifter, exercise keeps me sane. I also work in the fitness industry, so my physical well being = my career and livelihood. I tore my ACL and my meniscus and badly sprained my MCL in a skiing accident on 3/12. It was excruciating at the time and remained very painful and swollen for the 3 weeks prior to surgery. I was able to get almost full range of motion and maintain some quad strength prior to my surgery and chose the patellar tendon graft as it has the quickest recovery and is the most stable long term. Unfortunately, my body lays down scar tissue quicker than my PT can rip through it so I've had huge problems with pain, swelling and limited ROM. I can fully extend my knee and just this week my PT got my knee to 105 degrees of flexion. This was hard earned, involving excruciating sessions with my PT ripping through the scarring while I do rehab exercises and daily gym workouts on my own. I'm still in the big brace and walking with a pronouned limp due to the immobility in my knee. It's very tender to the touch and feels rubbery and unstable, like it's about to buckle. I'm reading about people who were back on their feet without crutches at one week out, and I'm wondering how it's possible that I could do everything right and still be so behind the game. I really thought that with my fitness and rehab background, determination and fitness level going into the surgery that I would cruise through this process. It's humbling. I would love to hear some success stories from others who've had slow starts.