The ACLR Recovery Journey
The Anterior Cruciate Ligament
Your ACL is one of the ligaments inside the knee joint capsule that attaches from the femur to the tibia. It can be injured in an isolated manner or the injury can include other collateral ligaments (like your MCL or LCL), meniscus injuries, or boney injuries. This is part of what makes each injury unique and specific to the athlete.
ACLR (anterior cruciate ligament) reconstruction surgery and ruptures (grade 3 ligament tears) can be a devastating injury.
ACL injuries, like many ligament injuries, have a massive impact on the athlete – physically and psychologically. It likely will take the athlete out of the season, and possibly for up to 12-24 months following the injury. Rehabilitation options can include both operative and non-operative management – this means surgery and rehabilitation or rehabilitation-only – and both take a substantial amount of time to recovery from.
Rehabilitation should be criteria-based, meaning that the athlete must be able to perform at certain levels of strength, range of motion, psychological readiness, functional movements, capacity exercises and more, before being able to move onto the next phases of rehab.
Unfortunately, ACLRs also have a quite a high rate of re-injury for a multitude of reasons. This makes it even more important to be prepared and knowledgeable about your injury and treatment options. When you’re supported by a team and with the right information, you’re setting yourself up for the best chance of success.
My ACLR Experience
I tore my left ACL playing soccer, I completed prehab for 3 months, then had surgery with a bone-patellar-bone graft at the end of 2021. It ended my soccer season, it took me out of the snowboarding season and had me off work for two separate bouts of about 5 weeks each.
As a physiotherapist, I have also diagnosed and treated many patients who have had this injury. The path might be long and hard, but having supports set it place can make the path easier. In the end, you will get out of rehab what you put into it – so make it worth it.
Here’s how I can help you with your ACL injury recovery:
Download Ripple
In the app, you’ll find:
- More on my ACLR experience
- Short workouts and warmups for mid to late stage ACLR, knee stiffness, anterior knee soreness and upper body moves for when you are unable to weightbear
- Blogs on ACLR insights from myself – a physiotherapist – and other physiotherapists who treat ACLs
- Mental fitness strategies to implement right away
- Stories and Q&As from other athletes I treated who went through an ACLR and retuned to their sport
Check out the ACL Injuries ebook
Reading mixed messages about your injury? Get trusted information on your ACL injury.
In the ebook, you’ll learn about:
- Contributing factors of tearing your ACL – modifiable and non-modifiable factors, including female specific risk factors
- Considerations for surgical or non-surgical pathways of rehab – discussions on the graft types, healing of the ACL and non-operative rehab options
- Injury timelines for the first few days through to the first few months
- Key questions you need to ask the physio you will be working with
- Post-operative expectations including the physical and the psychological
- General timelines and roadmap for ACLR rehab – discussion of milestones to hit for your progressions
Looking for trusted information on ACLs? Read my blog posts:
I injured my ACL in 2021 playing competitive soccer. I have shared my experience through my blog posts to hopefully provide some insight to what this injury entails and to support other athlete in their injury recovery.
- Getting injured doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
How I have been navigating multiple injuries after getting back to soccer after my ACLR. - Court Sports and ACLR
Hear from Haider – a sports physiotherapist and mid-way through his own ACLR on rehabbing court athletes. - Why is it so hard to get quad strength back after ACLR?
Understanding the strategies to build back your quads in the early phases of your ACLR rehab. - Rates of Returning to Sport after ACLR
The common phrase after ACLR is that you will back playing at 1 year, but is that really the case? - Return to Sport after ACLR
How do you get back to sport after your anterior cruciate ligament tear and/or reconstruction? I talk about my experience and some of the Arsenal Women’s players who describe their experience. - ACLR Post-Op 2+ Years
Getting back to women’s soccer at 2 years post-op and keeping up with my sport performance goals. - Q&A with Jian Soares – Canada Snowboard Senior Physiotherapist 🏂
Hear from experienced snow physio about return to snow sports after anterior cruciate ligament injuries and more! - Read this if you are returning to the ski hill post-op ACLR! Q&A with post-op skiing athlete.
Returning to skiing after your ACLR? Read these insights from a client to help prepare! - Tips from a snowboarder to get back to the hill after ACLR
Q&A with snowboarder & ACLR who is a past client – smashed his rehab and is back on the hill! - Staying on track with ACLR rehab
3 tips to stay on track during the ACLR rehab journey. - Exercises to help with knee stiffness
Learn exercises to do for your knee stiffness after ACLR surgery. - Feature on Brace Social
Read about the Brace community for ACLR athletes. - Post-Op ACLR – After 12 months
How it feels being 18 months post-op ACLR and meniscectomy. - ACL and Jaw surgery – what do these have in common?
Watch this 15 minute interview as we discuss ACLR and double jaw surgery, and surgical expectations. - Get POWERFUL Post-op ACLR
An introduction to power based exercises for knee rehab. - How to get Extension back after your ACLR
Are knee extensions safe after ACLR surgery? YES. - ACLR 9-12 months post-op
Returning to sport post-op ACLR and meniscectomy - Post-Op Months 3-9
Putting in the work for ACLR rehab from months 3-9. - Post-Op – The initial couple weeks
My experience the first few weeks after ACLR surgery. - The Decision to get ACLR Surgery
Surgical route for ACL reconstruction – a multi-factorial decision.
Looking for more individualized guidance? Book a one-to-one virtual session with me to discuss your ACL injury, ACL recovery timelines, or next steps you should take in your ACL injury rehabilitation.
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