Surgery for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Deficiency in Children and Young Adults.
Edited By: Gregory A. Schmale, M.D.
Last updated Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Recovering from surgeryPain and pain management Recovery of comfort and function after anterior cruciate ligament
(ACL) reconstruction continues for the first year after surgery.
Immediate post-operative pain control is managed with a combination of
oral pain medications and a cold-cuff (cold therapy wrap applied to the
knee). This combination of treatments tends to provide excellent pain
relief and allow the patient to be discharged home the day after
surgery.
After the first week or so, oral antiinflammatory pain medications
and intermittent use of the cold-cuff are all that is needed for pain
control. Recovery and rehabilitation in the hospital Regaining motion in a knee having undergone an ACL reconstruction
must proceed in a controlled and deliberate fashion. The limits of
flexion (bending) are slowly pushed until the knee comfortably bends to
greater than 90 degrees, usually over a period of six to eight weeks.
Extension (straightening) is not aggressively pushed after hamstring
ACL reconstruction, so as to avoid premature loosening of the graft. At
approximately four months post-operatively, the patient should be
approaching near full extension and flexion to about 120 degrees.
Training in crutch ambulation and home quad and hamstring isometric
exercises is begun in the hospital before discharge to home. Besides
working to slowly regain motion, regaining the strength of the
secondary stabilizers is a major goal of the post-operative
rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction. Hospital discharge The patient is typically discharged to home in a hinged knee brace
locked in approximately 15 degrees of flexion (bending), with crutches
and training to weight-bear on the operative leg as tolerated. At the
first therapy visit, post-operative week 2, the brace is opened in
flexion to the degree that the patient comfortably flexes (bends)
without assistance. After approximately one week, the patient typically
has adequate quad strength and balance to discard crutches. After
approximately one month, the brace is usually discarded because of
adequate quad control with ambulation as assessed by the therapist.Surgery for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Deficiency at the University of Washington If you are interested in making an appointment to discuss this procedure, you can request an appointment using our online referrals website. To request a referral online, please click here. You can also call 206-987-3700 to make an appointment.
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