Any ACL reconstructions?

Hi all,

Battling uphill after an ACL reconstruction last September. Got to the point when I had a solid couple of months training in April/May out at 30k per week but slipped back into plenty of joint pain for the last 6 weeks.

A bit of background, used to be a competitive powerlifter (75k class so I'm not a big guy). The main issue I seem to face is that unless I give my quad/hamstring a lot of strength training on my bad leg, they waste pretty quickly and I end up using my calf to compensate. It's only a couple of weeks of this before my knee lets me know!

Anyway, I'm getting on top of it for now, just was wondering if anyone else has had an ACL reconstruction and what you do to maintain it longterm for training out in the hills. Looking to learn as much as I can.

Hi mate,

I've had ACL reconstruction and so far not had any problems with running - I've only done up to half marathons on the road up to yet and the furthest I've done on the fells is 15 miles so far but I train over 40 miles per week without any niggles at all.

My quad on the leg of my reconstructed ACL is slightly smaller than my other leg but when I run I don't seem to feel any difference at all, either in my calf or my thigh...hopefully there is someone on here who is maybe a Physio or has had similar experiences with muscular pains as you have...will try and help you if you've any more questions though?

My 20 year old daughter had ACL reconstruction but followed that up with a pretty brutal physio regime which she followed religeously. She's not a hill runner particularly but does play women's rugby to a serious level, playing wing or full back. The injury happened in early 2014 (the same day exactly that Theo Walcott did his) and she was back playing rugby by October. Unfortunately she then went and dislocated her shoulder (again) soon after....

Her physio was crucial I think as he really worked her leg to build up muscles and ensure full extension etc right from the off and she had full power back come the autumn, including sprinting, turning and bone crunching tackles

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Originally Posted by Stolly

My 20 year old daughter had ACL reconstruction but followed that up with a pretty brutal physio regime which she followed religeously. She's not a hill runner particularly but does play women's rugby to a serious level, playing wing or full back. The injury happened in early 2014 (the same day exactly that Theo Walcott did his) and she was back playing rugby by October. Unfortunately she then went and dislocated her shoulder (again) soon after....

Her physio was crucial I think as he really worked her leg to build up muscles and ensure full extension etc right from the off and she had full power back come the autumn, including sprinting, turning and bone crunching tackles

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I would second that too...my physio regime was brutal (also very, very repetitive) post-op but spending 3 hours a day on the gym floor working on my weakened or basically non-existent muscle back then, really was apparently the key. I've always had big legs in term of their muscular build but I had it drummed in to me that the 3-4 months post-reconstruction were vital in the future of the muscle's strength & health

Thanks for this guys. Interesting, I've been doing working with a physic but nowhere near 3 hours per day! What have you found has worked best for you Clavin in terms of building and keeping the strength there? Mine seems to disappear quite quickly if I don't keep on it. Is there anything you do regularly now?

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Originally Posted by Mark Robinson

Thanks for this guys. Interesting, I've been doing working with a physic but nowhere near 3 hours per day! What have you found has worked best for you Clavin in terms of building and keeping the strength there? Mine seems to disappear quite quickly if I don't keep on it. Is there anything you do regularly now?

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This will be no help at all to you mate but I don't do anything in particular to build or keep strength there. I don't even have a gym membership anymore, I just fell run and maybe once every week I will do a few road miles. My ascending is always above 5,000 feet a week at the moment, which probably helps though?

I did previously do a lot of single leg raises while sat flat on the floor, along with squats ( then leading to single leg squats once I felt I had more confidence in my ACL strength) and did a lot of spinning on a spin bike too...I hope that helps mate

Hi mark, apologies for the delay I don't look at the forum much these days. I have had my left acl reconstructed twice, first time over 20 years ago and second time in January 2014. Without doubt my knee feels stronger if I work my hamstrings, I got out on the road bike as soon as I could after the operation coupled with leg raises. I find if I focus too much on my hamstring though I get cramp without stretching so use both. Leg curls did nothing but set me back the first time so I avoid these, I did use squats after my second operation which worked but do it no further than seating position to avoid overload. In terms of keeping the strength alternating between running, cycling and stretching works for me. The knee doesn't seem too keen on too much of one thing for the first 12 months after the operation. Hope all goes well mark, it will settle down I'm sure, give it time. Best wishes, paul

Thanks Paul, I've been working with a pt for a couple of months and interestingly enough we've come to the same conclusion with the hamstring. My weaker leg is only around 60% of the good one, especially in the medial but with some focused work it's coming back. Lots of squats, deadlifts and single leg body weight work in the morning. I'm back running 5-10k's now!

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Originally Posted by Mark Robinson

Thanks Paul, I've been working with a pt for a couple of months and interestingly enough we've come to the same conclusion with the hamstring. My weaker leg is only around 60% of the good one, especially in the medial but with some focused work it's coming back. Lots of squats, deadlifts and single leg body weight work in the morning. I'm back running 5-10k's now!

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Keep plugging away mate, it does take a while but it will eventually seem like your other leg! When I first tried my return to sport (football it was then though), I kept having problems with the hamstring but I just worked on it even more then eventually it seemed fine! Now I don't play footy and just run & race, not had a single problem with my knee or leg. Keep up the good work mate!

How are you getting on mate? I'm 18 weeks post-op for ACL reconstruction with Meniscectomy. Physio has told me an ACL can't be rehabbed properly without access to a gym albeit at the last visit he had me do a leg extension on each leg to compare strength and I was swollen for 4 days afterwards. I am doing cycling at the moment and just did my first run last week - 30 minutes of 1 min jogging and 1 minute walking alternately. The knee felt great but the rest of my legs were stiff as a board for a couple of days thereafter! Hoping to get back to hill running in 2017. Stuc a Chroin would be virtually one year post op - nice easy one to start with :cool:

Meant to add, I'm sticking with bodyweight exercises for the time-being contrary to what the physio has advised. I feel weights are too soon at this stage. I think it is fine to take professional advice but one size doesn't fit all and it is also important to listen to your own body.

Granty - if you're feeling strong enough to run on your knee then you are putting more than body weight through it everytime you step onto it.
no, one size does not fit all, and yes, by all means listen to your body, but there is a reason why they say use more than body weight: It is so that you can put a certain amount of load through the joint in a controlled and scale-able way in order for it to strengthen to the point where it can cope should you overload it in an uncontrolled way when running.

Hey Granty. Glad to hear your rehab seems to be doing well. I'm finally getting closer to being able to train regularly 2 years post op. It's been a long road. Main thing I found was it wasn't my knee that was causing my knee pain. Whole body has been seriously out of alignment. Did all the gym work, could do one leg pistol squats, all the balancing stuff etc but still in a lot of pain. Finally resolving some of the underlying issues which are mostly in the hips/pelvis area although also in the calves and feet and I'm having some good days and recently put in a 25k without any problems. Taking the long route but I reckon it'll be worth it.

Cheers
Mark

Good stuff guys. Glad to hear you are feeling positive Mark.

Been in the gym the past few weeks. Softly softly catchy monkey! Have done a very slow 5km jog now without walking and a 3km faster treadmill run. Still have stiffness in the knee and don't think i'll ever be able to hyper extend it the way my left leg does but, bizarrely, my 'bad' leg is still dominant on the Watt Bike. Go figure!

All in all I'd say I wish I had the op done years ago but now 5.5 months down the line I'm starting to feel a lot more positive about things

11 months post op I did the OMM A class with no problems last weekend, but also did the highlander 5 months post op which was fine as well. I was and remain annal about doing the various exercises and drills I was given by the physio

Like Mark most of my problems that I had came not from the op but from everything getting stuck and unbalanced as a result - some painful physio required to sort that out

Keep going its worth it

s

Nice one Saz. I am getting there with it. Ended up with 17 miles under the belt on Sunday. Hadn't intended it being that long but had 'navigational issues' ;-)

No ill-effects other than a bit of stiffness. Continuing with the physio more strictly now and am onto hopping exercises which are a real eye-opener in terms of how far I still have to come to get the operated leg back on a par with the 'good leg'.

Onwards and upwards guys!

Great to hear, Granty. I used to get a lot more "stiffness" in my knee during winter, the cold used to torment it a bit but it doesn't really seem to affect me in that way at all anymore

Nice one Cal. I think the biggest risk to it is me trying too much too soon :-)

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Originally Posted by granty

Nice one Cal. I think the biggest risk to it is me trying too much too soon :-)

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Yeah, I just kept telling myself I need to be patient. It's a great feeling when you can see your strength growing through your exercises. Keep it up bud!

Will-do matey!