The ACL-R 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 isolation (common in skiing) or the injury can include other collateral ligaments (like your MCL or LCL), meniscus injuries, or boney injuries (common in pivoting sports like soccer). 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 knee prehabilitation for 3 months, then had surgery with a bone-patellar-bone graft at the end of 2021. In the surgery, they found a bucket-handle meniscus tear and performed a partial meniscectomy.
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. It’s never an easy conversation to have with an athlete.
The path might be long and hard, but having the support, the education, and knowing your options 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?
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. You’ll also find evidence-based articles on the ACL-R rehabilitation process.
Interviews with Athletes and Clinicians
- Non-operative management for an ACL Tear
- Curating ACLR Rehab for the Jiu Jitsu Athlete with Josh Chung
- Hear from a Basketball Physiotherapist about recovering from an ACL injury as a court athlete
- Tips for injury rehab from Snowboard Physiotherapist Jian Soares
- Getting back on the ski slopes after ACLR surgery
- Attn: Snowboarders! Get back to the hill after your ACLR
- Brace Social – A community for ACLR athletes
Recovering from an ACL Injury
- Getting injured doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
- Why is it so hard to get quad strength back after ACLR?
- What are the rates of Returning to Sport after ACLR? It might be lower than you expect.
- How long does it take to return to sport after an ACLR?
- Staying on track with ACLR rehab
- Exercises to help with knee stiffness after ACLR surgery
- Are you waiting for your first surgery? Here are 3 tips for post-op planning.
- Get your power back post-op ACLR
- Getting knee extension back after your ACLR
My ACLr Recovery Process
- Post-Op ACLR – My experience after 2+ years of rehab
- Post-Op ACLR – My experience hitting the 12 month milestone
- Post-op ACLR – My experience from month 9 to 12
- Post-Op ACLR – My experience from month 3 to 9
- Post-Op ACLR – The initial couple weeks of recovery after my surgery
- The Decision to get ACLR Surgery
- Tearing My ACL as a Competitive Soccer Player
You can find all injury related articles on the HanPhysio blog.
Looking for more individualized guidance? Book a one-to-one virtual session with me to discuss your ACL injury.

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