Just one month ago I was in a huge painful flare up. Now here I am mountain biking every weekend. I'd go after work if time permitted too. I did two rides back to back this weekend! That is a first. I must say the past 3 weekends, everything I asked my knee to do, it held up. Biking, hiking, rehab, gardening, errands, cooking. This does not mean it was pain free or normal feeling, it means it didn't slow me down or prevent me from doing something I had planed, etc. This is really a wonderful thing! I am wearing the Ace bandage less and less too. Another great indicator. Strong quads = less anterior knee pain. I just finished 17 weeks of my new and improved rehab with the DPT at the sports and exercise medicine research center, and recovery day 442 overall since surgery. The leg extension machine has been added to my routine - both isometric single leg holds (5 x 45 sec) and also isotonic 4 sets of 6 reps for each leg (using a metronome to ensure time under tension - 3 seconds up, 4 seconds down and for neuroplastic training). I'm only at 15 pounds right now with my operative leg, but BOY this is really going to get the quad going I can tell even after just one week of the new exercise! Very exciting! I was in contact with another Australian physio who referred me to an excellent criteria based ACL rehab protocol called the Melbourne Return to Sport Score. It's patient friendly and really filled in the blanks for me as far as my overall game plan. It has 5 phases of ACL rehabilitation and they are all goal based rather than time based. So many protocols out there go by time which we all know doesn't work for everyone. You must meet all the criteria, including passing physical tests which are outlined in the PDF, before moving on to the next phase. To return to sport, they have a multifaceted scoring system. I'm in phase 2 working towards "regaining most single leg balance, regaining most muscle strength, single leg squat with good technique and alignment" as the most important goals. The PDF has a list of each phase's tests in detail, but the ones that I know I will not be able to do right now (to move on to Phase 3) are:
That last one, that's like 210 pounds unless I loose some weight really fast! Currently at 95 pounds with 6 reps with the operative leg. The Australian physio said my next phase would be the running, agility, landings portion and I'd need the help of a strength and conditioning coach or an athletic trainer (opposed to a physio). Currently figuring out where I will do that, or just continue on with the original DPT I am working with, but I now she is very busy and in high demand. My nephews are coming to visit me for a week long trip in 5 weeks' time. I'm hoping I can get much stronger so I can do the fun activities I have planned. Also worried about my old dog - not sure if she will still be with us or not by the time they visit; just taking it day by day - as with everything. She require a good amount of care too.
I can count on two hands the number of total mountain bike rides I've had since surgery (that is 8 rides so far on real trails), but it's going to be year of the mountain bike I can tell. A few photos from some rides in my beautiful state!
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AuthorA 45 year old active female who tore her ACL in January 2017 (at the age of 40). Reconstructive surgery in February 2017 with bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft. Archives
November 2022
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