Help! Question on ACL surgery 1 month post op

Hi everyone,

Im a newbie on this forum and only joined because I needed to ask a question which has been worrying me for a few weeks.

I had ACL surgery with a patella tendon 1 month ago and all seems to be going well. I have about 110-120 degrees ROM and my muscle is getting better.

However the thing I am worried about is that sometimes, my knee seems to tighten when trying to bend and i dont want to push any further just in case i rupture anything. It feels like something is stopping it from bending. I then have to stretch the leg out again for a few seconds to get the knee to function again properly. However if i dont then the knee will continue to be restricted.

Another problem i have is that sometimes when i bend the knee a pressure builds and I push past this, (this is hard to explain!!) and something seems to slide to one side inside the knee or the pressure releases and all is good again.

I dont know if anybody else has experienced this before and I am dying to get some answers as the worrying is killing me!

Any input would be great

Thanks

Simon

Where in your knee do you feel the tightness? What does it feel like? Do you feel a stretch or just a block. If you feel a stretch or a general tightness in the front of the knee do sustained stretches for 30-60 s at a time, staying away from pain and do them several times per day.
If it is a blocked sensation, I would talk to your PT and surgeon. Marj

Hi Simon

First up it is completely normal to feel stressed about your knee. Let's face it you've either shelled out some biggish dollars to have it done privately or waited for ages to get it done publically. Are you seeing a physio at the moment?

You have to remember that it takes pro athletes at least 5-6 months to get back to sport, and then they are usually not at their best for another 6 months.

For the average person who can't devote their lives to the exciting world of knee rehab it takes 8-12 months to get back on the field.

The good news is unless you have done something to cause a specific injury like playing sport, going for a run, kicking a ball, falling down stairs etc your knee should be fine.

I agree with Marj that if it feels blocked - as in you get to your maximum bend and it feels really solid and just won't go any further you may want to chat to your surgeon or physio. Otherwise do what Marj suggested with the little and often bending stretches.

Is your knee swollen?

Does it have an effusion (swelling which is contained by your knee capsule much like a water balloon)?

Ask your physio to do a swipe test. Or your can have a crack at it yourself. I can't post a link but if you put "knee swipe test" into youtube there are videos you can watch. You basically push the fluid to one side of the knee then swipe it back and look for a bluging out of the skin.

The symptoms you describe of something sliding around your knee sounds like it is just fluid sliding around the joint which is normal after surgery.

If it is swollen ice it more regularly - you can do it for 10-20 minutes 4 times a day, and try not to do anything that may aggravate the knee like walking up and down stairs.

At the end of the day as a physio I'm happy if the knee goes fully straight at the stage of rehab you are in. The bending almost always comes, and 120 degrees of bending is ok for one month.

Sorry for the long post. Let us know how you get on.

Dear Sim
One of the most overlooked problems with the knee is the effect of the popilitus and the planterius on the knee. These lock and unlock the knee. If traumatized, they can increase inner knee joint pressure.

If you have not had this checked, it may be in your best interest to have this checked.

Hope that this is helpful.

Best regards,
Neuromuscular.

Dear All ,

i had ACL surgery one month ago , and i'm under recovery period , u know PT , sorry if my English language so bad , first of all i wanna thank u all for the nice comments , its really useful , much appreciated .
my case here is so similar to simon , i can get my knee straight without feeling anything which i think is good , but when i try to bend my knee there is a point become block and solid , i think when i bended more than 90 degree.
please take note that i have swollen in my knee for three days , and i'm putting ice on it 3-4 times per day and after exercises , but the problem here is muscles is still dead even i'm an athletes , my question here is it normal about what is happening to me & how much time do u i need to make muscle more powerful ?? , btw i haven`t walked on it till now i'm still on crutches , thank you all in advance and much appreciated your urgent help

Best Regards

Tamer

Hi!
Im not a doctor just someone who tore their acl :p, but i am also one month post op and can bend 135 degrees! I remember when I would feel the tightness and pain build up when i was bending my knee until it got to that one point where it all went away. I just pushed past it, and I think maybe thats why ive gotten so far in pt! i also had medial and lateral meniscus tears, so that might/might not make a difference? Hope you guys all get better really soon!