The trouble with return to activity after ACL surgery

The trouble with return to activity after ACL surgery

I often find myself talking people with recent ACL repairs to hold off on returning to running activity for as long as possible. The reason is that long term studies show that ACL repaired knees have more degenerative changes 10 years out than ACL rupture knees that were not repaired. I firmly believe that the reason for this is premature return to activity.

Returning to full function should be something that one does on a gradient. This means that functional strength needs to be fully restored over a six month period and the transition to athletic running (cutting, spinning, sprinting and generally changing direction) should be fully recovered after the ability to lunge, jump (take off on one leg land on two) and hop (take off and land on one leg) has been fully restored in all three planes.

Return to play, then should happen after that and again, there should be a gradual increase in field time at match pace. This is especially true in contact sports like soccer, basketball and football.

As an athlete in these sports, my advice is to work up to full match participation by gradually increasing the amount of time you practice at full speed and similarly gradually increase your time on the field in competition.

The moral of the story? Be PATIENT. Recover fully before participating, and protect your knee's long term health after ACL reconstruction.