Best products from r/ACL

Sorry about the ACL's, I know it sucks right now, but you'll get through it and have a greater appreciation for the little things like walking and just being healthy.

I initally tore my ACL in my right knee in August 2014 and had surgery a month later. I opted to go with a cadaver graft (donor tissue) due to my surgeon's recommendation. I did my research and found that it's not usually recommended for younger patients (I was 20 at the time), but he was adamant that it was the best procedure so I took his word for it. The first week after surgery is the most difficult, stuck in bed all day with your knee aching with the slightest movement. Along with the pain killers, best thing to do is to ice and elevate. I'd highly recommend investing in an Ice Machine it will make your life a lot easier. Ice was my best friend and would alleviate my pain. After the first week, the pain subsides and it's mostly just grinding everyday in rehab to get back to full strength.

I ended up tearing the same ACL again last month playing basketball and I'm getting ready to go through everything again. This time I'm opting for a patella graft because research shows it is the strongest graft. The best advice I can give you is to remain positive through it all. The process is just as much mental as it is physical. I threw myself a big pity party and I had a tough week post surgery because of it. It's very cliche to say, but it is what you make it. Have a positive outlook and be mentally strong, everything else will take care of itself.


Best of luck to you my fellow ACL friend!


Edit: If you do purchase the Ice Machine, which I HIGHLY recommend, it's cheaper to buy the 2 items separately. The link I included in the original post was for $126.48.

Cooler = $45.39

Knee Cyro = $46.99

I can give some perspective as a long time cyclist and more recent lifter who then had an ACL injury (not weightlifting related). First off just because you were a strong runner (or in my case cyclist) won't make you automatically good at squats/deadlifts. It'll give you a bit of a head start since you'll have some leg muscles to work with but squats use some different muscles and it used them in a different manner. Lifting heavy causes different muscle adaptations and is a skill in its own right.

As to what strength progress you should be able to see… That's hard to say since you don't have pre-injury totals to look at. Leg press is a good quad exercise but doesn't have a lot of carryover to squats. Most people can leg press more than they can squat but there is no set percentage ratio since training in leg press is different than training in squats.

Personally I was able to get back to my pre-injury squat weight at 6 months. I feel I could have lifted more earlier but I was being extra careful. I'm currently at 10 months and lifting more than I was pre-injury. I'm not dropping my lifting stats as it's meaningless to compare mine to yours since you are new to lifting.

Basically with your inexperience, the only numbers I think you can use as reference are to untrained/novice lifters. That said you are not even a typical untrained lifter since you are recovering from a major injury. The Symmetric Strength Strength Standards can give you some insight but there is no gold standard. So take a look at those and use them as something to aim for, but also don't get upset that you aren't anywhere near novice yet.

With a good program, dedication, and enough protein and calories, you likely should be able to hit novice levels in a 2-3 months. Since you have an injury you are recovering from then it will likely take a little longer, depending on how much you are still limited by your injury. You should of course focus on good form and making sure you don't compensate. Also be make sure to include single leg work as your muscles are likely still imbalanced: Bulgarian split squats, lunges, single leg deadlifts, calf raises, etc..

In general, I think it's really good that you are adding in strength training. One of the best ways to protect that knee from further damage and osteoarthritis is to build up and maintain the muscles that support your leg. IMHO it is important to be stronger than you were before the surgery in order to support that knee.

BTW, if you don't have a program look into Starting Strength and/or Phrak's Greyskull LP. The r/fitness sub has a good overview of programs. They have a big bug up their ass against Starting Strength but honestly while Phrak's has some advantages, SS is a decent place to start and has worked for many lifters. The Starting Strength book is also in my opinion a must read for how well it explains how to execute the main lifts. The r/startingstrength subreddit is a good place to post form checks if you don't have someone to help spot your form. Rippitoe's nutrition advice in the book leaves much to be desired but that's a different topic.

I can only go over what I did / have done. Around 6 weeks post op my pt began working my scars with coconut oil vitamin e Vaseline and used a gua sha stone.

Gua sha is the bs Chinese method of scraping the skin until you break up caplliaries that causes bruising it supposed to have a ton of benefits that in the real medical world are pretty much non existent.(nothing you can't get from a deep tissue massage)

He/we did not do that we gently worked the scar up down side to side diagonally all while having the leg in different positions. Normally only did this for around 5 minutes in the morning before a workout. The scar my change color or may become just a little red around and feel a touch sensitive the next day but we never pushed hard to cause bruising. Honestly it does feel a little bit better after you work the scar plus the vitamin e and coconut are great for working with scars and stretch marks.
I'm at 10 months post and do not have any issues with scars but every one is different.

You may run across what are called voodoo bands that claim that they hold onto the top layer while you bend and move your leg causing the scar tissue to break away. I talked to my pt and basically was told that it works the same way as k tape in the sense that doesn't. It is mostly a placebo effect however if a patients needs help mentally to focus on the engagement of a muscle then my pt was more than happy to use k tape to help out his patients. With the voodoo bands it pretty much is the idea of putting resistance on a joint and then removing it making feel easier to move the joint.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01GVAM86Q/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1492010462&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=gua+sha&dpPl=1&dpID=311quHbquWL&ref=plSrch

Wow that's scary, hope you feel better and the clot is destroyed quickly. I'm guessing youre on stronger blood thinners? And how did they find the clot in the lungs? Its good you went to the ER when you did. I completely understand the frustration with the calf pain, it was annoying af.

I ended up going to the ER and got an ultrasound to. They didn't find any clots in my leg, but didn't check my lungs. I also didn't really have any signs of pulmonary embolism so it probably wasn't necessary. The ER doctors kept in contact with my surgeon which was nice, but were unable to give me a solid diagnosis. I finally had my post op with the surgeon a week later and he diagnosed it as a bad hematoma. Apparently my hamstring bled a lot during the graph, and all the blood pooled in my calf, eventually forming the hematoma. He still told me to monitor signs of a DVT, but to try and move around a reasonable amount to breakup the hematoma.

The calf pain was quite shitty for a solid 3 weeks or so but it got slightly better each day. I'm started walking crutch free (around 3.5 weeks post op) and now only a little bit of pain in my lower leg (closer to the ankle), but its definitely much much better. I found that elevating my leg helped a lot, same with regular icing. Also, do tons of ankle pumps.

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These 3 products were really helpful:

https://www.amazon.ca/Milliard-Elevator-Cushion-Washable-Elevation/dp/B01BCQ7U5S/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=knee+pillow+acl&qid=1562975863&s=gateway&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07J1NCNNB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B06XZ5SBD1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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It was a bit painful using the knee pillow and took some getting used to but it helped tremendously. Ideally, you don't want to bend your knee much when sleeping, so I placed a small pillow under my foot at the top of this pillow.

The first ice pack is great as it stays nice and cool thanks to the insulation, and the straps work really well.

The second ice pack is great cause it wraps around your entire leg. I had 3 ice packs I rotated through, started off by icing my knee, then moved it over to my calf after around 20 minutes.

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Hope you have a safe recovery man!

Edit: Grammar

Yes. ALL of your workouts should be difficult. You don't necessarily need to be puking at the end of them, but if you're not taxing yourself then you're not getting stronger. Either start adding sets/reps, or if a given exercise is getting to easy, find a way to progress it and make it more difficult. This is a really good bodyweight program with lots of progressive movements. Convict Conditioning is another great one, and has a great video series that's available on YouTube. T-Nation is a great resource for weight programs if you're more into that. You can progress your balance training with various pads. I use this mostly, but there are lots of others.

// 29 year old male • dislocated kneecap, complete ACL tear, partial MCL tear • ACL reconstruction surgery with hamstring autograft // Today marks 21 days post-op. Days 2-5 were the worst for me. Day 6 was a noticeable change and improvement; it almost felt tangible. We are all different though so you might find that your day 6 comes sooner. Because you are probably just sitting on your ass trying to occupy your brain through the boredom and pain, Ill give you a personal status update: Currently I am walking with my brace unlocked, without a limp, and doing leg raises and several strengthening exercises like a champ - I was just given the green light to unlock my brace yesterday. I can finally go up stairs reasonably well (not gathering both feet on each step), which is a huge time saver. Going down stairs is still a pain in the ass, but all of it will come with time. Also, I can now do a standing squat to about 50-60% of the 'depth' I could get to before the injury. I was just measured at 118 degrees of bend while laying on my back and sliding my foot to my butt so my flexion is getting there. The swelling is still pretty intense and there is still some bruising lingering around but I am noticing some significant improvements. I go to physical therapy twice a week and the other 5 days I do a strengthening routine at home on my own.

Recommendations: Make sure that your ace wrap is nice and loose and possibly even remove it today or tomorrow (depending on what your doc recommends). I kept my leg wrapped with the ace bandages for like 5 days post-op because of the convenience of providing a barrier between my skin and the ice machine, but the wraps can be somewhat restrictive on the circulation in your leg and not allow the swelling to escape. My leg and shin bruised and swelled up like crazy. It was bad enough to where they thought I had a blood clot and had to go in for a doppler scan; luckily I did not have a clot. The doc said it was probably due to a combination of the ace wrap, the brace and the ice machine all strapping around my leg and restricting the circulation. So I would ditch the wrap as soon as you can and just put on some sweat pants or something. Also, you are probably going to want to shower soon and I can't recommend getting something like this enough: https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Protector-Bandage-Watertight-Orthopedic/dp/B07FSRYT7B/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=leg%2Bcast%2Bshower%2Bbag&qid=1568924454&sr=8-4&th=1. It made keeping my leg dry so easy and I was able to shower every day without going through 20 rolls of saran wrap.

Oh and I assume you are taking some form of an opioid and havent takin a shit yet. I sampled 2 different laxatives and 1 stool softener and this one was the best: https://www.amazon.com/Ex-Lax-Strength-Stimulant-Laxative-Chocolated/dp/B000GCI8JW. It tasted good and it worked without messing with my stomach too much and made my shits the most normal out of the 3. I ate two pieces an hour or so before bed and then took my meds right before bed.

Cheers.

the swelling is definitely normal i remember thinking that the giant lump on the medial side of my knee was just dressing, and when i took it off it was just swelling. I also had my ACL done using a patellar tendon graft but 6 weeks later and the swelling 95% gone. Just do your ankle pumps and keep it elevated above the heart at all times and ice every hour, youll be ogod. I didn't have a brace but i did wear an ace bandage to sleep (not too tight, tighter during the day) and it definitely helped.
this cuff has been super helpful

Just do what you can - if you can't fit in the full session, some gentle stretching/balance when you get to work will benefit. You don't want to wear yourself out before working all day, though.

Make sure you're getting enough sleep too (8 hours min) because that's huge for muscle recovery. Sounds like it would be hard in your situation, getting up so early and all.

Also, if you drive to work, i'd recommend this sort of thing. Easy to wear while driving. Put the ice pack in the freezer at work and wear it again on the way home. https://www.amazon.com/O2-Cold-Therapy-Compression-Universal/dp/B003XK9BCW

i'm 2-days post-op and this was my 2nd surgery -- in addition to all the prehahbing (working out your legs, getting full ROM, getting the swelling down), think about practically what will help after surgery when you're stuck in bed or at home:

for me, this has been a life saver -- also, i bought this table/bed desk and some natural recovery supplements.
Not sure what your snacks look like, but also helps to have a lot of snacks handy (but a lot of fruits and veggies, too!)

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Good luck!

Yeah, it as only like this for the comparison picture. My wedge pillow has a trough in the middle so there’s nothing to bend the knee. I have a pillow on the edge for my heel to assist with full extension. This pillow has been wonderful, very helpful for comfortable sleeping. Just making sure to do heel pumps and quad firing throughout the day.

That’s awesome! I thought about doing that when I was recovering, but never did.

On the topic of crutches, you should check out Mobilegs! They’re armpit savers and they’re SUPER agile if you still want mobility.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N9OAW75/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_UF-QCbSEMY7VV

Best thing I did was cook a bunch of food to throw in the freezer. Big batches of soup, chili, etc.

I didn't find that I really needed accessories for my crutches, but I have a small apartment so it wasn't difficult to get around from one room to the other. If you're having to move across large distances, it may be nice to get a bag that attaches. Otherwise, use a fanny pack or something that you already have.

Shower stool was a nice to have, but wish I had borrowed instead of bought it. Only used it for the first 2 weeks.

I bought this pillow to sleep with and it was a god send to me. Before surgery, when I slept in the brace, my leg would keep falling to the side which left me with lots of hip pain. This kept me elevated and prevent side to side movement. Also used this a lot while sitting on the couch and propping up my leg on the ottoman.

Things I found helpful:
Ice Machine - You may be sent home with one, but find out. If you need to buy your own, I recommend it. ~$200 Brega Cube is what I got.

A way to elevate your leg. Pillows will work, this is what I got.

Shower Stool, non-slip shower mat if you don't have one. On the shower stool, I used an Ikea step stool we have and that worked well.

Ice Packs I got two of these. They get cold quick and last 20 to 30 minutes.

A charging station for phones, tablets, and other entertainment devices.

Other things, if you know who you plan to see for PT, talk to them to find out what you can do and should buy for home PT. I bought a balance pad, exercise ball, stretch bands, yoga mat, and put my bike on a trainer (already had). With this, I could do and still do some PT at home.

Other advice: Schedule your meds. You don't want to fall behind, the pain is intense. Drink a lot of sports drinks
or coconut water. Keeping hydrated will help.

I bought this one before my ACL injury but am very glad I kept it:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007595TKU
Cheapish and works great for biking 30+ mins a day while watching tv.

Hey, don't worry, things will improve! Last Saturday is still really recent, give yourself some time this week to focus and by next week you'll be handling it better. Exercise your quads, calves and hips.

If you have a compression bandage or brace, preferably with velcro straps, it will help you in your day-to-day. This one got me through last summer: https://www.amazon.com/Donjoy-Sports-Hinged-Large-Pound/dp/B07FGHMHYS

The Game Ready really is awesome, but after I had to return mine, I strapped one of these on with an ace bandage and it seemed better than anything else i tried....https://www.amazon.com/Relief-Pak-English-Reusable-Diameter/dp/B003YR7KTK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1505411876&sr=8-2&keywords=english+ice+bag

The hospital gave me one of these things. It rocked for the first fou days (then it stopped working so well) but it works okay enough. https://www.amazon.com/Intelli-Flo-Knee-Pad-10230/dp/B07BZHW4MB/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=breg+polar&qid=1557518258&s=gateway&sr=8-5

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Also would suggest getting just some large ice packs. i have one that wraps around the whole leg and it will penetrate. So yes, just get a whole bunch of large ice packs and stack em.

I didn’t shower for 8 days and I found this
Doact Waterproof Adult Leg Cast... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FSRYT7B?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

This is a life saver, it worked pretty good for me.

I got this one and it works well for me https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BCQ7U5S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Bjl8CbKHNW7W9

Extensive scientific information in this recent book by Drs:

This Is Your Brain on Birth Control: The Surprising Science of Women, Hormones, and the Law of Unintended Consequences https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MYLLP21/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_iK1QDb305RECD

I’m almost 3 weeks post op but still ice after exercises. This is the ice pack.
https://www.amazon.com/FlexiKold-Pack-Straps-Standard-Large/dp/B07J1NCNNB