At 6 months progressing into specific training and drills with a with view to return to sport at 9 to 10 months.īefore you return to playing sport you should ensure that your recovery goals have been met. In terms of sport, generally most patients are able to start some basic sporting activities after 4 months.
ACL INJURY RECOVERY TIME FULL
Maintaining your motivation through each stage of your ACL recovery will also be an important factor to regaining full strength and achieving a full knee recovery. The intensity of your recovery exercises should essentially be guided by the level of pain and swelling in your knee. You should aim to continuously improve your knee functionality by gradually increasing the physical intensity of your rehabilitation exercises and maintaining a structured recovery program. Your initial progress in the first week is likely to be quicker than you think and will possibly include taking steps without crutches in a matter of days. The impact of these factors on your recovery can vary from person to person. How long it takes you to recovery from ACL surgery is also dependent on other factors such as age, fitness levels and the structure of the knee. The speed of your knee recovery will largely depend on how your knee responds to the operation plus the duration and frequency of your exercise rehabilitation sessions – as recommended to you at your post operative appointments. The most important factors with your ACL recovery include achieving full knee extension and good quadriceps activation which needs to be a key focus area early in your timeline.
Your ACL recovery timeline and how fast you can return to the sports field will largely depend on how you progress with your exercises and how your knee responds to the surgery