acl help

i had a second acl operation in november and am about 6 months through my rehab. i am having trouble with swelling on both sides of my knee, and building up the vmo and quad muscles. i ice my knee at least once every day yet cannot get rid of the last bit of swelling. the swelling doesnt get any worse no matter how much weights or running i do. i must tell you i had cartilage removed in my previous acl operation about a 20 months ago.

my second problem is i cant build up my vmo and quad muscles. i would say my leg is as strong as my good one but it looks so much smaller?

i could really do with some help as i am thinking of going back to playing competitive football in the next month or two and i dont want this to hold me back or stop me. as you can imagine being unable to play much football for the last 6 months has been very hard.

how do.

6 months? try 2 years!! played my first game of football a month ago two years after tearing my acl. long time.

did you have patellar tendon or hamstring graft?

when you say the knee is swollen, to what extent? if you sit with your legs out and knees straight does it look obviously swollen compared to the other knee? or is it just when ithe knees a little bit bent that you notice it? small amounts of swelling are normal and if its not blowing up on you dont worry about it too much.

vmo size? if your strenght is about equal size isnt really an issue. you can have strength assessed by isokinetics if you'd like to go into it in more detail. very important not to focus all strength trainin on quads. hamstrings are just as important, especially if it was a hams graft. adductors and hip stabilisers are very important to strengthen aswell.

just as important also is balance re-education for the knee and body in general. loads and loads of proprioception exercises.

if your thinking about going back competitively soon you must be training now yea? how is it going? are you back at full pace? any discomfort/pain, you dont mention any?

hi roycar
2 years is a long time. i think i would have lost my head if i waited that long!:eek:
the first acl op was a hamstring graft but the second time was the patellar tendon graft. it seems to only look swollen when i bend my knee so hopefully thats a good thing. im back doing all the non contact training just trying to regain a bit of fitness. jumping from my injured leg wouldnt be great but i suppose that can be expected. i have a slight bit of dis- comfort doing this just on the inside of the knee but it'll probably need time to get back to what it was like before.

how can you use isokinetics to assess my quad strength?

an isokinetic machine can be used to give object measures on specific muscle strength. some larger physio practices may have them. the regional hospital where i work has one too, never used tho... waste of money to be honest! Anyway! Dont worry about it too much.

I wouldnt be too concerned with the swelling on your knee. i doubt its enough to interfere with muscle function and control.

I'd keep going with all the non contact aspects. slowly introduce contact play. continue with strengthening- core, hips, knees. Loads of balance and proprioception exercises. Sorry, but I assume you've had the acl repaired in the same knee twice yea? not opposite knee? If its the same knee I'd say your doing very well.

dont rush back. i was training for quite a while before i felt i was ready to play competitively. its still early in the year! :)