I suffered a major anterior cruciate ligament injury while playing rugby which meant I had to keep my knee straight for two months before undergoing two surgical procedures. Now I'm six months into rehab phase and struggling to get back muscle strength in my leg and mobility and movement range in my knee.
I'd like to get back to playing rugby as soon as possible - do you have any tips or useful exercises for speeding up the rehab process?
- S, Brixton
This sounds like quite a problem. I cannot think why you had to keep your leg straight for 2 months before surgery and this may be a reason why it is taking you so long to recover. You do not say what kind of surgical procedure you had but I am assuming that it was a repair using the hamstring muscles. We see a lot of ACL problems at esph and I have to say that normally we have the client back to full training if not match fit by 6 months with a good range of movement and good muscle strength.
You seem to have been unlucky!
You need to get back full range of motion up to a full squat (non weight bearing to begin with) and strengthening the hamstring muscle will help to give added support to the ACL repair. One of the best exercises to strengthen the hamstring muscle is to do the bridging exercise on the floor and progressing to doing the bridge on the gym ball.
Doing knee bends and mini squats in water will help to increase mobility.
We would normally use isokinetic computerised muscle testing to evaluate the weakness and balance of the muscles supporting your affected knee.
Obviously diagnosing your problem without seeing you is difficult. I would advise seeing one of our physiotherapists for detailed advice on your final rehabilitation. Give us a call!