The 1st 2 weeks of recovery from ACL Reconstruction are a very sedentary period – there is much rest, much sleep, much discomfort and most likely quite a bit of pain. However, the beginning of physical therapy signals the first true step pun intended to recovery – it is where you will retrain yourself to walk on your repaired knee and where you will work to get your injured leg in a pre-surgery state. Even though your leg has only been immobile for 14 days – possibly less – you will most likely have at least some atrophy in the repaired knee that will need to be remedied via physical therapy.

The start of therapy will be exciting, at times grueling and quite possibly scary to go into. But, with a dedication and commitment to the mandate that you will help yourself heal, you will soon be back to your active lifestyle, even stronger than you were before surgery.

As you are about to enter your first therapy sessions, keep the following points in mind

1. You need to trust yourself. You are soon going to be asking your newly repaired leg to do things that it hasnt done in a couple of weeks – lifting, some bending, some kneecap exercises and maybe even a little bit on a stationary bike. Have faith in your healing process, and know that you can get through whatever lies ahead.

2. You need to trust your physical therapist. They are going to be asking you to do the activities listed above along with some others. Initially you may think that they are crazy to ask you to do such activities. However, keep in mind – they are professionally educated to help you recuperate, and they know what you need to do to have a successful recovery. Also – they may very well have some other ACL reconstruction patients in their current workload. In fact, take a look around your therapy room as you are doing your work – odds are you are going to see some other patients who are in If you have young children, prepare them for the fact that you are going to be immobile for a period of time and that they cannot rough-house around you while you are recovering. You will soon be doing some of the more advanced exercises that they are doing.

3. Concentrate on your form while you perform your exercises, and ensure that you follow the instructions of your therapist. Subtle changes to your form or a lack of concentration can greatly reduce the effectiveness of a particular routine.

4. Make sure to ice and elevate your knee. Much like in the first 2 weeks, it will be important that you have a good regimen of icing and elevating, especially after therapy sessions.

5. Dont push yourself too hard. You may be tempted to overachieve, but it will be crucial that you listen to your therapist as to what you should and should not do.

6. Make sure to take your prescribed medications and over-the-counter medications as needed and as instructed. By taking the proper medication, you will continue to allow yourself to heal, will help maximize your comfort and minimize your discomfort and will allow you to go through physical therapy with a reduced level of pain.

7. Do your home exercises between therapy sessions as instructed by your physical therapist. I cannot stress how important this is. You will largely be trying to regain your flexibility and range of motion in the first month of therapy, and your home exercises will greatly contribute to a complete recovery.

8. Gauge the difference between good pain and bad pain. There will be times that you have feelings in your knee that you have never felt before. Make sure to keep your therapist abreast of any pains that feel stronger, more intense or sharper than expected.

9. Similar to your post-op period, ask your doctor if a stool softener would be appropriate for you. Some of the medicines that are prescribed to alleviate pain and swelling may cause constipation, and a stool softener will help counteract this possibility.

10. Continue maintaining your fluid intake.

Once you advance in your stretching and range-of-motion exercise, you will be able to move onto the next stage of therapy – strengthening.

The information in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice or medical services. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your doctor promptly.

A wise man once said “The world can be divided into two groups of people people who suffer from back pain and people that will suffer from back pain. The reason to why this smart man is correct must be found to get a relief for back pain. Today, the chairs are better and the mattresses are best designed to support the back. But, more then in any given time in the history of humanity, people suffer from back pain. This article will reveal the reason and, even more important, a few ways to overcome it.

The root of the problem goes all the way back to our childhood. Have you ever seeing a 3 year child complaining about back pains? Probably – not. Children do everything naturally, you can learn a lot from them, especially from their movements. When they sit, they sit upright. They will always lift things using their legs and not their back, and I could go on and on.

Grownups lose these natural habits and tend to adopt wrong ones instead. The stressed way of life prevents people from taking proper care of their back. Instead, people tend to sit for hours and hours in back hurting positions ending up with a sore back. Moreover, kids run and play all day long keeping in shape Grownups stops all sport activities as a lack of time or the feeling that they are unable too. As a result the body becomes over weight and not flexible, this only increases back pains. Wrong habits lead to wrong posture and when attempting to correct it people tend to do the same mistakes they have done before.

The solution is going back to a healthy way of treating our back, sit properly, get up from time to time and stretch up, lift things properly, and
1. Keep you back and especially your shoulder blades covered, in bed.
2. The height of the pillow should let the neck part of the spinal to be balanced with no pressure.
3. It is recommended to sleep in a fetus position lay on your side with your legs against the chest.
4. Avoid sharp movements in the morning. Warm up your back first. Consult an exercise expert.
5. Sit upright but naturally with no pressure on your lower back.
6. When you sit make sure your feet, all of the sole, is fully placed on the floor for support.
7. Get up and stretch once in 30 minutes when sitting for a long time.
8. Use your knees to lift things and not your back.
9. Warm up before any physical activity.
10. End up physically activity with stretches.
11. And last but not least, listen to your body and avoid painful situations and activities. If you feel pain, check it.

It is simple, it is natural, and it is what we would have done in a more natural sane world. Watch the kids for the best live-show on how you should do it. They make excellent teachers for their movements are still pure.