Phase: Day 1 – Week 8
ACL Diaries of a Physio
Day 1- Week 8
Hello, my name is Anthony, and I am a Physiotherapist here at Inertia.
Over the next few months, I will be bringing you all along my journey of my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction and my recovery.
You may have seen me hobbling around if you have been in the clinic in the past month or so. Well, you’d be glad to know the hobbling has stopped, and I now have two (sort of) normal knees again.
I had my surgery on December 21st last year (2023), so my summer break was less eventful than I had hoped. My surgery was undertaken at Calvary Adelaide by Dr Luke Mooney. Dr Mooney is a knee and hip specialist surgeon and one of the best in the business. As practitioners here at Inertia, we have been working alongside Dr. Mooney for some time, seeking his professional opinion regarding surgical considerations. With good outcomes from patient experience and surgical results my decision was clear cut.
The first couple of weeks were quite challenging, while I was mainly focusing on pain management, swelling control, and returning to walking without the use of crutches. Simple activities such as standing up and swinging my leg were tricky, and being active made this period challenging. This was a painful and slow period in my rehabilitation. Still, nonetheless, it would serve as an essential phase for me to attack the next part of my rehabilitation.
After getting the all-clear from Dr Mooney, it was time for me to get involved in the next phase of rehabilitation. This is when I could return to the gym and begin loading up my knee via supervised (even though I’m a physio, I still need some help and motivation along the way) and unsupervised rehab exercise. In this stage, those tasks that were difficult initially, such as walking without crutches and sitting to stand, were much more straightforward. I encountered new difficulties with having to start from zero and rebuild. I then had that sinking feeling that all patients get at this point. I realised this long road was longer and harder than I first anticipated and would need further assistance.
If you have been in the clinic over the past year, you would have noted the new inclusions of Revival Lab SA. Here, we have some awesome recovery, wellness, and biohacking equipment. It comprises of Infrared Saunas, Hot and Cold contrast therapy pools, and Normatec Compression equipment. I realised I was fortunate enough to utilise this to assist with my recovery. I began using these extra modalities to help gain an edge and speed up my recovery so I could put in more rehab work. Pat had been telling me to stop mucking around and get into the lab to get things moving quicker, and to be honest, initially, I was sceptical about how much more effect it could have than allowing the body’s natural processes to occur. Well, let me say, I hands down will be recommending this gear to my patients when I’m back on the tools. The Normatec therapy and hot/cold contrast therapy were absolutely pivotal in allowing me to stay on top of my rehab plan and have the ability to back sessions up over what is going to be an extended period. The first 6-8 weeks of ACL rehabilitation are vital in restoring the knee’s range of motion and reducing swelling while regaining some much-needed muscle.
I am so impressed with how the contrast therapy and Normatecs have reduced my swelling (I mean, the cold pool absolutely destroyed my swelling and pain visibly within minutes & the Normatecs added enough compression & lymphatic drainage that I was almost pain-free. Now, you’ll struggle to see me out of them; they have become my second home! Utilising these little biohacks certainly boosted my recovery & the much-needed manual therapy from my colleagues allowed me to regain my range in an optimal time frame and has set me up well, giving me a boost to push through my initial rehab phases.
If I’m around the place and not in the pool, feel free to chat with me about anything knee related. With my much-needed time off, I have been reviewing lots of evidence to get the best outcomes for myself and to incorporate into my clinical practice regarding knees and post-operative care and rehab. Of course, if you have any questions regarding Revival Lab SA, any of our friendly staff members will gladly answer them.
I hope you have enjoyed part 1 of the ACL diaries. Stay tuned for more on my road to recovery.
Anthony xx
