I am 21 weeks into the new rehab. Overall, I'm 15.5 months post ACL recon (started the new rehab at month 11). I have been regularly mountain biking the past 6 weeks which has been pure joy. I even bought a fancy new mountain bike to commemorate my 42nd birthday AND well, I deserve a damn ACL present. I bought a 2018 Giant Stance 1 and this thing is awesome. Lighter for a full-suspension bike, under $2000, climbs well. Very happy with it! I picked it up the day before my birthday so I was able to bike on my actual birthday which I wanted. I even did quite a burly ride last weekend that really put my endurance and strength to the test. Quite pleased that I could do it! I am still aware everyday with every step that my knee is not there yet, rather the quad is not strong enough yet which affects the front of the knee. I'd say I'm 60% of normal maybe? Definitely is improving as I gain strength. I haven't had a true flare up since April 1, so that is almost 2 months now. I still tape up for weights and I still wear the Ace bandage for most of daily life. KNEE SCORE UPDATES! Time for updated knee scores. Last scores were from 2 months ago. Before that was in December before I started new rehab over. We have some improvements! Lysholm (100 max) - Score is 80! OK that seems kind of high, but then when you look at the question "I have marked pain in my knee during or after walking more than 1 mile (10)" or "Intermittent or slight pain in knee after vigorous activities (15)" there isn't much in between. What is vigorous? Is this 1 mile of walking flat or rocky? Nothing between walking and vigorous like moderate? I can kind of power hike uphill with poles, I can bike fast/climb steep hills, but I couldn't run or play soccer or anything. If I tried to run a mile I'd surely be hurting. I went with 15.
IKDC (100 max) - Yes! What probably bumped it up the most was my change of activity level. Before I'd answer "Light activities like walking, housework or yard work" as my max level, but now I'm more of "Moderate activities like moderate physical work, running or jogging." While I'm not running or jogging, I do think I am mountain biking and hiking moderately so I changed it to this. Also squatting is getting better, not that it's part of my work out yet.
Kajula - I don't have a pre-rehab score, but I do have two scores now. Improvement in just 75 days! I don't really limp much, pain overall is improving, atrophy is still there but muscle is building.
KOOS Score - KOOS has a more detailed calculation, but in general this questionnaire addresses five categories: Pain, Symptoms, Functional Daily Living, Sports/Recreation, and Quality of Life. Overall everything has improved, but pain category (but still there) and QoL like worrying about your knee health improved the most. In another post, I'll talk about how I will know I'm ready for running, agility and landings. Still need a few more months of strength building!
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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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