ACL and meniscus surgery advice

Listen to the Dr. Do what PT tells you to do. Be diligent.

The best thing you can do for yourself is maximize your PT and allow it to heal to full strength before you go ride or race moto.
Do as much PT as they will allow you to do and try to get your range of motion back as quickly as they will allow.

When you are less active and your body is healing, it is even more important to eat healthy.  Try to stay lean or get back in shape as quickly as the PT and doc will allow.

I watched a lot of old supercross and motocross races and used my exercise bike and indoor rower during the PT months.   Then, I switched to a cheap road bike until I bought a nice mountain bike six months out from surgery that I have ridden consistently for the past two years.

 

Had my ACL done 20 years ago (I was 32), also a hamstring graft.  Surgery was in the afternoon, next morning they had my knee on a machine to start getting flexion movement back.  Wouldn't discharge me until I could walk around on crutches, which was the next day.

Back then the choices of graft were hamstring (longer recovery but better long term results), patella graft (quicker recovery but not as good long term - often chosen by pro athletes for the quick recovery aspect), or cadaver graft (not very common).  These days I understand that synthetic grafts are common as well.

I did the physio and recovery stuff meticulously, and took a bit extra time before I went back to active sports.  In the intervening 20 years I've played touch rugby, squash and continued to ride dirtbikes with zero problems from my ACL.  I've recently had a very minor meniscus issue, probably due to trauma on it at the time I did the ACL years ago.

If you don't do the ACL your meniscus and cartilage will deteriorate much faster over time (due to the lack of stability from no ACL) and you will be accelerating toward a knee replacement prematurely.  

Had both surgeries, they are great these days, my last one I walked (not well or comfortably) out of hospital and never needed crutches..

***Dont ignore this advice****
Do all the stretches and everything they tell you to as you recover, once I could walk comfortably I slacked off on them and my range of motion was really affected, I couldn’t squat down comfortably because one side wouldn’t bend all the way..

I got it back eventually, but after you are fully healed, it’s a lot more work and not the most fun.

Had the same 16  years ago. They sent me home with a ice machine that runs cold water around the knee. I felt like that thing did more than any of the drugs they sent me home with. 

I was stuck inside the house for 2 weeks until I could get out with crutches and drive. I did everything I could to regain my range of motion so my PT was a breeze. 

BUT. The hamstring strength as far as a "curl" goes is TRASH, lol. In my case my "good" leg seems to have super strength in comparison. 

Bpc 157, growth factor 9,  take pt very seriously and you’ll be good to go in no time.  I was 41 at time of surgery 12-2-22 left rotator cuff  and 12-30-2022 left acl “cadaver” oh and make sure you get yourself the machine that pumps cold water through the lines and ice ice ice

I did my ACL and Meniscus, doc had me no weight bearing for 6 weeks, hopefully you won't be in the no weight category because that made the process a lot harder. 

As other say, ice machine, I bought a acl surgery specific pillow off amazon which was a game changer for comfort. I got lucky and we had a raised toilet seat with handles so it was easy to lower down on to it, shower seat also was nice. 

Sounds terrible now, but the worst pain was for the first few days is getting off the couch onto your feet. The blood rush sucks. I peed in one of those bottles for a few days and had the girlfriend dump it for me. (Shes a keeper, I'm marrying her in less than 2 weeks lol) 

A GOOD PT makes a world of a difference. I started at a basic PT place that was dealing with all 80 year old people and they had to follow a very basic PT plan. I then switched to a more athlete focused PT place, they were so much better at focusing on goals to return to sport. So find a good one, that deals with ACL often. 

Good luck man, it sucks but 3 years out now I am glad I fixed it right. 

Just did the same surgery last October at 32 years old. I also recommend finding an athletic focused PT. Luckily or unluckily I already had a good relationship with an athletic PT that was comfortable in pushing it with me during rehab. In result, I healed very quickly and restored range/strength faster than most expected. 

One thing my PT said to do right after surgery (clear with your surgeon just in case) are "quad sets" (flexing the quad) and "heal slides" (just pulling/sliding your heal toward your but while sitting down straight legged. don't exceed ROM set by surgeon)

See if you can find a PT that will do BFR (blood flow restrictive) training. It's kinda like a blood pressure cuff that restricts blood flow to the knee while you do squats etc. Helps stimulate a more adaptive response without having to load a bunch of weight on the movement. 

I'll say after a year my knee feels pretty damn good. Good luck and keep your head up!

Did my acl. Definitely do the nerve block. The first few hours it helps when you get back home. You can get set up in a couch or chair without discomfort. Elevate it the first couple days. And once they clear you get that mfer moving and do the pt and even more if your able. It took me a while to regain full motion. I too got my hamstring grafted. As far as riding I took 6 months off. Your acl will be strong at first then it gets weaker around month 2-4 then month 5-6 it gets strong again. It takes a full year to fully heal but if you have a good set of knee braces (got my insurance to pay for both of mine with prescription) you will be fine. Also with riding it took me a few months to not be self conscience about putting my foot out in turns and get my confidence back but after that I didn’t even think about it. 

I haven’t had ACL surgery, but I did have shoulder surgery and got the nerve block. I’d recommend it, but be aware that you’ll have zero control or feeling and that is a strange deal. I panicked a little and called my Dr the night after surgery. It took a good 48 hours to get normal feeling back into my shoulder/ arm. As mentioned , being diligent on the PT is probably the most important thing you can do after surgery. 

I had mine done in Jan 2021 (35 yrs old). Meniscus and ACL with graft from quad. Non weight bearing for 6 weeks was the worst part. Once I was able to put weight on it, I think I progressed rather quickly. I was riding my pit bike following my son at 3 months and back riding at 6 months. Took a full year to not be constantly worried about it while riding. I did get the Mobius knee braces and wore a cheap compression sleeve from Walgreens under it at first and really tightened it down. Still a little cautious with both legs in deep ruts but you get used to it. Good luck hope this helps.

I had it done three times growing up with the last time being 15 years old. I am now 34 and my knee is shot. I'm just sitting around hoping we find a way to grow new cartilage before I get too old and it becomes a real problem. Make sure you take PT seriously and stretch a ton. You want to get full mobility back in that knee and not let scar tissue settle in. 

I did the same about 8 years ago (was 21). Take the PT serious, eat right and do a bunch of stretching and range of motion exercises at home. I bought an ice machine that had a pad that wrapped around my knee and that helped a lot when the swelling got really uncomfortable. Took me a long time to trust my knee again, probably a year an a half until it was off my mind while riding. The hardest part of the whole thing was managing the swelling and not being able to move around normally for 6 weeks. To me, the surgery was way more painful than the injury itself. Hate to be that guy, just wish i was more mentally prepared for that part of it. 

What is your fitness now? I would have said earlier to PT your legs as much as you can stand to help your recovery. With 2 days to go though that won't be any help. It might be too late now to look for a good physical therapy facility. Sports rehab is the best. If you tell a regular type of PT place you want to ride they may start wringing their hands and tell you it's a bad idea. 

As others have said follow your PT plan to the letter, you can over do it and set yourself back.

Work it out before surgery. Hit PT hard after surgery. Range of motion is hugeee. Bend that knee everyday!! I didn’t get my range of motion back so they had to knock me out again and bend it. I tore everything in my knee so maybe mine was different. & just be patient…don’t rush it. Listen to doc and your PT. 

You may think some pt exercises are stupid. Don’t skip or half ass them. Every little thing works to rebuild your knee strength and ROM and if you do them seriously you’ll be back to normal asap. 

Like said above PT and wait to get back on a moto bike, let it heal and get your legs muscles back before you trust it to do that intense work again. Mine was done at 22 with a tibial plateau fracture, meniscus, I think lcl, pcl, and I know patellar tendon. It works fine but gets sore sometimes very sore. Crepitus is scary but harmless but my knee at 29 sounds like a bag of chips but its harmless I've been told. I still ride handrails on my BMX bike and ride my dirt bike but I keep a close eye on bails and not putting legs down when I can etc. I found within the last month how much wall sits seems to get rid of any soreness I have, building muscles in the legs will save you alot of headache!

I had the same surgery at about your age. The biggest regret i have is that i didnt demand to have the machine that moves your leg set up at my house. I feel that my recovery took a lot longer. Take it easy but do the PT they recommend.