Peter's ACL and medial meniscus surgery

by Peter
(Liverpool, UK)

I'm 42 and 2 weeks ago playing soccer was tackled from the side from a standing foot, which took my left leg away only for my left knee to crumble under my weight as I fell to the floor. I knew instantly something had snapped and the knee joint swelled almost immediately and I was unable to put any weight at all on my left leg. I had an immediate X-ray at A+E which found I had not broken any bones and a diagnosis made that I had probably torn my medial meniscus, based upon where the majority of pain was originating. Last week I had another hospital review and an MRI scan and today I was told that I had snapped my left ACL and torn the medial meniscus. I'm now preparing for what has to now happen in terms of reconstruction and have found many of the messages here both re-assuring and somewhat scary. I want to ensure that the surgery has maximum chance for success and so I'm trying to find appropriate exercises which I can perform before surgery to ensure it happens as fast as possible. I've been on crutches for the last 2 weeks and the knee is still very swollen. I still cannot straighten the knee and I can't put any weight on it either. The ACL exercises identified on this site rely on the leg being able to straighten, which is something I cannot do at present. Does anyone have any suggestions as to appropriate exercises I can perform which will strengthen the areas around my knee before surgery? Many thanks to all for you help. Cheers Peter (Liverpool, UK)