Several years on from undergoing ACL reconstruction surgery you'll hopefully be back to normal life and back playing the sport you love the most. You will have come through one of the most mentally & physically demanding journeys of your life and now look forward to beginning the next chapter. Before that though you may be wondering what lays ahead of you, so in this post we will look at:
- Did the surgery on my knee have lasting effects
- Will I have to live my life around my knees limitations
- And can I do what I used to do before the injury
So, let's begin.....
What to expect Years after undergoing ACL Surgery
Your Knee will never be the same as before
- Unfortunately your knee will never be the same as it was before the injury, the simple fact is that because of the severity of the injury sustained it meant that you had to undergo a major procedure which resulted in some major changes to the condition of your knee.
- These changes may differ from person to person but because of these changes you will begin to notice some unfamiliar sensations in and around your knee as it reacts to certain environments and this does not go away over time.
- Now it doesn't mean that your knee won't be strong again or that your knee will have drastic limitation but instead you may experience pains, aches or stiffness around the knee during or after it goes through its natural movements.
Greater depth of knowledge
- As you proceed along this recovery journey you gathered snippets of information from various sources that helped you to achieve the best results for your knee by the end of the journey.
- You were in contact with your surgeon several times, you spoke to your physiotherapist constantly and you even did your own research by reading journals, watching videos that explain how the human body functions and performed exercises that strengthened your muscles.
- This information was learnt through this journey and will stay with you for many years and hopefully you will put this information to use to stay healthy for the rest of your life.
Adjusting to the needs of your knee
- As you move through your life simple everyday tasks may be performed in the same manner as you performed them prior to your injury, but other activities such as sports or working out my not be the same.
- Before if you were someone who liked to stay active everyday of week by either playing team sports, running, cycling, etc... you may find yourself having to adjust your lifestyle around the needs of your knee.
- This may involve you taking rests days, going for shorter runs or lowering the volume of sets you do in the gym. This adjustment may be needed as your knee may not be able to withstand the same load your pre-injury knee joint was use to, if you were to continue with a high volume of activities then it could have a serious impact on your surgical repaired knee.
Stronger both Mentally and Physically
- As you came to the end of this gruelling journey you may notice that your mental and physical well-being is much stronger and durable, due to the challenges you had to face along the way.
- By overcoming those constant challenge with minor victories you slowly became stronger and in-turn developed a reliance that could defeat any roadblock put in front of you.
- Sure physically you will be much stronger from the various rehab exercises you had to perform throughout the journey. However, its the mental side that benefits the most because you made it through this journey and this has a domino like effect for the rest of your life as now you wont be as afraid, worried or anxious when setbacks or challenges happen to you, instead you'll face them head on and deal with them as best you can.
Regularly picking up Injuries
- Now this won't be the case for everyone as many people do return to their sport and have long successful careers either on a professional or amateur level without any complications or difficulties.
- Unfortunately for others the case is not the same because as they return to their sport or activity they may discover that they are regularly picking up injuries such as strained or torn muscle, usually in the lower half of the body.
- It must be remembered that the body went through a long and different journey and some of the muscles, ligaments or tendons in the lower half of the body will not be as strong as before, especially on the same side your injury occurred
- Muscles like Hamstrings, Quads and Groins are the usual suspects and even though you've spent a long time strengthening and conditioning them, these injuries still happen over and over again which can be quite demoralising.
Now that you've finished reading what are your thoughts about the information,
- Did you find it helpful?
- Were you not expecting some of these side effects?
- Have you experienced anything else years after surgery?
Leave your thoughts, questions or answers in the comment section below and I hope you enjoyed this post
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