post-op knee surgery, how much longer to "normal"

[bmccasland]

I had ACL repair on my left knee in early June, and my knee still doesn't feel "normal." It doesn't hurt or feel weak, but I know it's there. I'm still doing my PT exercises 2x / week. The other thing I noticed while plodding away on the treadmill this morning is that my left foot kind of plods down instead of going heal-toe. I know my first PT worked with me to not drag my foot, having me step over 6" hurdles. Not sure how to replicate that exercise.

Any thoughts?

[Reesha]

Hi Beth! I think it depends what type of ACL surgery you had. I had a cadaver replacement and felt fantastic within weeks of surgery, though I understand replacements using your own tissues take much longer to heal. Did you have any other tissues damaged?

I remember working often with a giant rubber band on my own time. I also started to certain yoga to really break in the new ligament after about six months. I will say that it took a long time to get my knee to full flexibility. Like 2+ years. That said, I didn't need the full flexibility, as I rarely sat down Japanese tea style on my knees, or even cross-legged on the floor.

[7rider]

I know my first PT worked with me to not drag my foot, having me step over 6" hurdles. Not sure how to replicate that exercise.

Any thoughts?

Slightly related as the goal was a bit different - I took a circuit class where the instructor had us going over these hurdles (or something like them). He also recommended we just replicate them by using cracks in the sidewalk or even lay out a bunch of sticks or something.

As for "normal" knees - I had a LCL repair (more invasive) and it took a looong time to feel normal. Not sure how long, as the surgery was 10+ years ago, but it took a while. But it gets there.

[Reesha]

Man, I didn't ask the right questions when I had the knee surgery!!! I was just 20 when I had it (it was my second) and they didn't even give me the option for hamstring tendon. Nonetheless, after ten years and much activity, my cadaver ligament is perfect. No knee trouble since then

I also like that I have a part of someone else inside of me!

[ny biker]

Well, it wasn't knee surgery, but back in '93 I had surgery to repair a torn tendon in my ankle. They took part of another tendon in my foot and used it to replace the torn section of tendon. They also moved my heel bone about 1/4 inch to take pressure off the tendon so the problem would not recur.

The healing process was very gradual. I didn't notice progress day-to-day, but over time I was able to look back and see how much better it had gotten.

About a year after the surgery, I realized that I couldn't remember the last time I felt any pain or stiffness in my ankle as a result of regular activities. For example, it wasn't stiff when I woke up in the morning and it didn't hurt when I ran to catch a bus. For a few years after that, I had to make sure I had shoes with very good arch support if I was going to do any amount of walking, or else it would hurt.

Now I am mostly but not 100% pain free -- if I turn my foot a certain way, I feel a twinge, and I no longer need to be as worried about arch support as I used to be, but if I walk a lot in shoes no arch support at all it will hurt a bit.

[Artista]

My foot on the side that I broke my ankle on doesn't like to roll heel-to-toe either. Here's an exercise that my PT gave me that might help you too. It's called "retro walking". I walk slowly backwards, toe-to-heel, while I tighten the glute on the side that is currently stepping. He has me take relatively small, even steps with each foot. I do my retro walking back and forth down a long hall in my house for about 3 minutes each session and do 2-3 sessions a day. The retro walking is helping my foot to roll heel-to-toe again but I still have a ways to go with it.

[Reesha]

Not all doctors perform all surgeries. I was lucky to get the top sports medicine guy at MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina), who performed an aggressive procedure.

If your knee is perfect with the cadaver, then the hamstring tendon may have been overkill (no pun intended), my knee was quite bad.

Indeed it sounds nasty! Mine was a partial tear that eventually ruptured completely. It was wacky times, the years I spent without an ACL without knowing it... my knee did all kinds of unusual things!

[Artista]

Another thought...my foot seems to roll heel-to-toe better as I increase the strength in my atrophied calf and ankle muscles. Is there any chance that you've lost strength in your calf and ankle during your knee ordeal? If so, you could try strengthening those muscles to see if it helps your foot to roll better. One of the things that I've learned in PT is to not ignore the muscles in the front of my calf. I had never considered working the front of my calf before my muscles atrophied but it turns out that those muscles are as important to walking properly as are the muscles in the back of the calf.

[Gypsy]

I had ACL surgery too, but not with a cadaver... They gave me that option, but told me it wouldn't last as long either, so they took a piece of tendon from my knee (rather than hamstring). Also, from a sports medicine doctor, who tend to be more aggressive and focused on letting you go back to sports.

I didn't feel "normal" until about a year later, after surgery. I had PT for many weeks, but even after that was over, I wasn't with full movement/flexibility. I had to get "second" dose of PT about 5 years later to "tune up".

I was able to ski 18 months after surgery with no problem whatsoever.

Now, 10 years post surgery, I can tell you that I think that knee is better than the non-surgery knee and I joke that I need to get surgery on the second one to match the first.

[bmccasland]

Thank you everyone for the input.

"Patience Grasshopper" seems to be the overall message At least I have a time frame now.

Artista - I'll put retro-walking on my self-PT menu. Figure it can't hurt.

My surgeon harvested part of a tendon from my hamstring. I find if I'm on my feet a lot - especially standing around, my knee hurts the next day.