Suggested Exercises Following ACL Tear Surgery
Some of the exercises that help in recovery from the ACL tear include:
- Knee Range of Motion Exercises Following ACL Tear Surgery: Exercises to be able to completely straighten the knee and completely bend the knee freely. Walking or full weight bearing with proper knee movement and cycling on exercise bicycle is also practiced for ACL tear. Initially some pain may be felt, but continued exercise under proper guidance will improve the condition.
- Knee Strengthening Exercises Following ACL Tear Surgery: Exercises for strengthening of muscles and ligaments supporting the knee joint. Use of stationary cycling, range of motion exercises with holding in position or light weight training to improve strength and endurance is practiced for ACL tear.
- Balance Exercises Following ACL Tear Surgery: These are performed at the next level, once the full range of motion is almost achieved, there is no swelling or pain and muscle strength is better. Balance exercises include, standing on one leg and then the same with eyes closed. Balance boards, stepping up and down, single hops are practiced for ACL tear.
- Light Sports Activities: Slowly activities like outdoor cycling, jogging, water exercises can be performed. The most important part is continued physical rehabilitation during this phase to be able to sustain the activities and improve on the strength for ACL tear.[1]
Yoga for ACL Tear?
Yoga helps a lot to your knee to become fit for the hard working sessions. Yoga turns the knees to strengthen the surrounding calf and thigh muscles and enhance the acceptance of pressure of the thigh muscles. The following yoga poses/ asanas are recommended by experts for ACL tears:
- Setu Bandha Sarvangasana or The bridge pose
- Sukhasan or The easy pose
- Utthita Trikonasana or The extended triangle pose
- Malsana or The garland pose
- Padahastasana or The standing forward bend
- Reclined leg raises
- Vrikashana or The tree pose
- Balasana or The child’s pose
- Trikonasana or The triangluar pose
- Tadasana
- Veerasana
- Utkatasana or The supported chair pose.
Yoga session can be started only when you are recovered completely from the pain caused by ACL tear and that is also under the expert’s supervisions and guidance. After you learn the asanas, practice them at home. Before you enter into yoga relax your mind and body for 20 minutes. Contact the doctor prior to the session to know if you ready or not for Yoga.
Are There any Knee Braces Available for ACL Tears?
In order to replace the damaged parts of the ACL ligament, the functional knee braces are used by the sufferers of ACL tear. The sports persons who are ready to recommence their activities, without going for surgery, will find the knee braces helpful. But, in case of permanent replacement the functional braces will not do fine, though they offer adequate support and make the knee near to normal state. However, in both the cases, the physician’s suggestions are final.
Like any other pain and agony, an ACL tear is also emotionally and psychologically damaging. From time to time, you may yourself find yourself helpless and useless. It happens as the injury makes you near to disable to do normal activities. In such a painful situation, never get disheartened, rather find comfort outside. Meet people whom you love. At the same time, be full of power, patience and determination.[2]
Knee Braces for ACL Tear
Presently, multiple types of knee brace support are available for ACL tear. These are made of lightweight materials. They offer complete benefits for sport person. You can choose the right one that will be helpful to you to prevent weakening the injuries. With the right braces you will able to enjoy being on the top performance of the game.
What Lifestyle Changes are Recommended for ACL Tear?
If nonsurgical treatment is your choice to treat ACL tear, it is imperative for you do not take part in any future sports that involves jumping, pivoting or cutting. There are a few lifestyle changes that can be performed at home. These are:
- Give rest: Use of crutches helps to take away a part of the weight on the knee with ACL tear.
- Use Ice: Apply ice after every 2 hours for about 20 minutes excluding the sleeping hours.
- Compression: Use of compression wrap up or elastic bandage around the knee to help lessen the stress caused by ACL tear.
- Elevation: Lie down on the bed with the knee supported on pillows or you can insert a pillow between your knees.[3]
What is the Recovery Period for ACL Tear?
A knee joint is very complex joint and an athlete should never rush into faster recovery for ACL tear. A natural process of recovery should happen. If you try to push yourself you surely have a recurrence especially of you had an ACL tear reconstruction surgery. You might feel restless during the recovery period but with patience and determination, you will get back into your activity like never before.
During this period, an appropriate diet that includes vital nutrients should be planned. Protein rich foods like beans, soya, milk, eggs, fish, and lean meat cuts can also help in recovery/ healing time. Sport persons need to pay special attention to their diet and fitness requirements and follow the guidance of an expert.
The recovery period depends on the injury; so patients need to adapt a healthy routine while specifically focusing on physical rehabilitation and regaining overall strength.[4]
What is the Prognosis for ACL Tear?
The rate of success for clinical reconstruction of the ACL tear is 75 percent to 95 percent. Operations do not provide any guaranteed results sometimes, due the failure of grafting during recovery or when recurrence of ACL tear takes place.
How to Prevent the Occurrence of an ACL Tear?
Several sports such as hockey, skiing, running, kickboxing, soccer and basketball increase the possibilities injuries to the knee joint of the players. The players who participate in these sports experience the problem of tear of an ACL frequently. However, there are number of ways that can prevent the risk of tearing the ACL and reduce the negative effects later.
Follow the preventive tips below to decrease the chance of getting an ACL tear:
- It is not possible to stop the ACL tear form happening. An active sportsman, because ACL tear occurs from a rotating knee, should consider decreasing his/ her speed during running fast and reduce excessive pressure on your feet and legs. To avoid this type of tear on knee, you should take care on improving the suppleness, boosting up the strength of the ligaments and extending exercises. So, perform warm-up work out, extending exercise etc. before taking part in sports.
- Train the hamstrings. In particular, the women sports persons must build up the hamstring muscles and also the quadriceps.
- Always follow the appropriate techniques. When the jumping is a part of sports, then learn the techniques to land securely. As per studies, if the knee falls down inward at the time of landing from jumps, then the possibilities of getting an ACL tear increases. By strengthening the hip muscles and taking the training of different techniques to prevents the risks.
- Always check and test your personal equipment. Check the ski bindings whether it is adjusted rightly by a well-trained professional before going to downhill skiing so that the skis let lose at the time of your fall.[5]
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