5 ACL Rehab Mistakes That Slow Recovery

[00:00:00]Some of the most common mistakes that I see after ACL reconstruction, first and foremost, you're not working on extension long enough. So, you end up walking with a bent knee, you sleep with a bent knee, and you sit with a bent knee. Another very common mistake that I see is thinking that doing these exercises just a couple times a day, or only when you're with your physical therapist, is enough. It has to be done quite often throughout the day in order to see the most appropriate results.

[00:00:22][music] Next common mistake that I see is not icing or using compression. So, icing helps decrease the amount of pain levels that you have. Although temporary, it helps with pain relief.

[00:00:32][music] The compression side of things actually helps the most with the swelling. Another common mistake that I see is not activating your quad enough throughout [music] the day. So, whether you're in school, whether you're sitting at your desk, whether you're at work, no matter what it is, the ability for you to contract your quad consistently and often, even up to a two, three, hundred, four hundred times a day. Lastly, one of the most common mistakes that I see is discontinuing crutches too early.

[00:00:56]>> [music] >> So, if you have an inability to get the knee straight, and you have an inability to truly activate your quad sufficiently, you're going to see deficits when you go to walk for the first time.