ACL tear and muscle sprain/Exercise Ideas??

Shuutnstar

Hey ya'll... I'm going to get an MRI today to confirm a tear in my ACL and diagnose what's wrong with my ankle/tibia, poss stress fracture... ugh.

Anyone have ideas for exercises I can do while rehabbing? I am going to PT, but they usually focus on stuff I can do there. I don't have a pool and we don't have one in my community/city so that is out... but open to anything else! I have a bike and I've been doing a little of that... just trying to focus on NOT stopping on my bad leg.

Any suggestions appreciated! Happy Monday!

snowsflake

Well, the bike, swimming and the ellipitcal are the best things for a bad knee. I had reconstructive knee surgery and have osteoarthritis so I have to watch what I do. If your doctor is okay with it you could also do the rowing machine if you have access to one.

Do anything to raise your heart rate. You can do high knees without the jumping, if you can bare weight, - just raise each knee. You can also lift your arms straight up and as you bring up one knee, bring down your arms and then switch. You can also do ab work at a high pace to raise your heart rate as well as arm movements - bicep curls, kickbacks, overhead shoulder press, etc. While you're on the bike you could grab 5 lb weights and do those same arm movements as well to get your heart rate up even higher.

There is still a lot you can do even if you can't run, jump or do leg work. The key is to get your heart rate up. Good luck!

mvl1014

On this, I'd definitely recommend only listening to your dr's advice. Your PT should be able to give you home exercises as well.

Shuutnstar

I'm so frustrated! I had my MRI today and they said they couldn't see much of anything because the interference caused by the rods in my leg. So we are hoping that there will be enough to go on in the MRI, but I'm not holding my breath.

Shuutnstar

Update! ACL is not torn but has lost 70% eleasticity... so I will need an ACL replacement. I'm liikely going to do that soon (next few weeks) because I am getting married in 6 months and I need to be recuperated before then!

But my ACL is not the cause of the pain in my shin... We were able to rule out a stress fracture... which is what I was worried about.

So good news and bad... but at least it's something!

fivefatcats

FYI - I had ACL repair in 1992. Spent alot of time between then and now doing nothing but eating and occasionally getting on brief fitness kicks that didn't last.

NOW: I have good (not great) range of motion - still unable to put full weight on flexed knee (like a full squat). Have a some lateral instability - doing side jumps makes me really nervous. Currently I run 3 days a week (have no trouble with the knee running). I can do stairs/stairmaster without any trouble. It's the squats/lunges that scare me - I worry that the knee is going to give out. I have an appointment with a sports medicine specialist next week - I never needed one before but my exercise routine is getting more aggresive and since I do not currently wear any type of support on the knee, I am totally looking for suggestions from the specialist on the best ways to get the best performance possible from my imperfect body!

Good luck on your surgery and wishing you a quick recovery!!