I am 6 weeks post op next week Left knee ACl reconstruction. I am at 112 degree bend. I had the same surgery on my right knee 8 months ago and at 6 weeks I didn’t get to 90 until like 10 weeks. It does take time. Ice lots. Keep doing your exercises. You will get there. Don’t rush it. The ACL takes a long time to heal.
what type of therapy are you doing ? I have a cyrocast ice machine at home and use that 7-10 times a day for 20 minutes. I’m still in the brace locked out when walking. Able to bare weight, just can’t get it to bend. I have tightness and swelling when trying.
I use the cryocast ice machine too. I didn’t have a locked knee brace. I also use a therapy gun. Love it. Helps with stiffness.
I am going to a physical therapist and they are doing manual therapy and just working on breaking up scar tissue and stiffness
If cleared to do so Alison Nichole, hydrotherapy can be beneficial to get a greater ROM. The ability to reach further in the warm water is wonderful and will set you up for your land based exercises with increased range.
There are some exercises you can do at home. Have you tried heel slides, either on the floor or using the wall?
Ok those are your pretty standard knee/hip flexion based exercises after surgery… Are you by chance doing any self mobilizations (foam rolling, trigger point work, massage gun, etc) to your quads, hips, hamstrings, and calves? If you’re not seeing your PT very frequently, and they aren’t doing much manual manipulation of those tissues that can go a LONG way in helping you get better blood flow (aka lessen inflammation and improve repairing) and improve ranges of motion. If you need any suggestions let me know I’d be happy to help!
thank you, I have foam roller and doing massage the best I can. The manual manipulation is really the best during this time period. I had PT today and did a lot of it. I got the knee bent to 84 degrees.
id definitely consider finding another PT clinic that is more accommodating to your schedule. PT super critical to your rehab to do it routinely 2-3 times a week (equally critical to do in-home PT too). I think your assessment at 6 weeks is reasonable.