My ACL Tear and Recovery
Entering Month Six: I’m Cheating Slightly
Okay, so.
On August 27 it will be five months since I had my ACL tear repaired. At this point, I feel like I’m totally recovered. Of course, that’s not the case. The ACL isn’t even close to ready for the “hard stuff” – hockey, basketball, ultimate frisbee and the like – and my knee still isn’t ready for snowboarding either. Furthermore, my left quad is still smaller than my right quad, meaning it’s still a bit weak. I’ve been working hard on that quad recently, though, because it’s going to have to be strong in order to bear the impact of running, snowboarding and so on.
Anyway, all that said, I have a confession to make.
The last time I saw the surgeon he said I could start running “at around six months”. Same for the physiotherapist – he mentioned that come September we’d start working on the treadmill with a bit of walking, followed by a minute or so of running, followed by a minute of walking.
Now, I’ve been doing a fair bit of research lately, and have come to realize that a) lots of folks who have had this surgery are running by now and b) my recovery seems to have been pretty rapid thanks to a bit of aggressive physio, both at the hospital and by myself. So I performed a bit of self-diagnosis this week (I said to myself, “Adam, you’re looking goooooood!”) and decided I was okay to start running. So I bought a new pair of running shoes (I had been holding out until I could start running again) and I hit the gym. So far, everything looks good. Some speedy walking, followed by a minute and a half or so of running, followed by more walking. Repeat.
It feels great.
On Monday I’m getting fitted for my knee brace. Then I’m visitng both the physiotherapist and surgeon in September. By the end of next month, I hope to be booting it down the street, listening to my iPod while I run five or ten clicks.
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Go, Adam, Go!