When Can You Return To Football After ACL Surgery?

Rupturing your anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a common injury among footballers at any level! Mr Jonathan Walczak at Shirley Oaks Hospital has performed countless ACL reconstruction procedures throughout his successful career. We sat down with him to discuss the procedure in detail, sharing everything you need to know about getting back on the pitch after ACL reconstruction surgery.
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First things first, what is ACL reconstruction surgery?
ACL reconstruction surgery involves reconstructing your anterior cruciate ligament.
The ACL is a tough band of tissue in your knee joint that joins your thigh bone to your shin bone. It runs diagonally through the inside of your knee, helping to control the back-and-forth movement of your lower leg. ACL injuries usually happen when playing sport, such as football, rugby, or tennis. They happen if your lower leg extends forward too much, or if your knee and lower leg are twisted, while your foot remains planted on the ground.
Most people feel a pop or tear as it fails and the knee swells rapidly with blood and becomes painful and stiff the same day. If your ACL is torn, your knee may become unstable and lose its full range of movement.
What happens during surgery?
You'll have a general anaesthetic for the surgery, which means you'll be unconscious during it. The operation will usually take 60-90 minutes.
Your consultant will begin by making one or more small cuts on the front and sides of your knee. Through these, they will insert specially designed surgical tools. These are used to remove your damaged ligament and replace it with a segment of your own hamstring tendon. Your surgeon will drill sockets into your thighbone and shinbone to accurately position the hamstring tendon graft, which is fixed to your bones with special screws. The graft will serve as surface on which new ligament tissue can grow.
Your wound will be closed with stitches or surgical clips. If the stitches are dissolvable, they will disappear after around three weeks.
ACL reconstruction surgery typically takes around an hour and a half. Most people are discharged on the same day.
What is the recovery process like for ACL reconstructive surgery?
Your knee will be very swollen immediately surgery. The first part of your rehabilitation will be to reduce the swelling as quickly as possible. This can be done with ice and special ice filled compression sleeves, as well as anti-inflammatory tablets. It is vitally important to get your knee moving as soon as possible, to be able to start regaining the strength and balance that you have lost.
Within two to six weeks, the swelling around your knee will go down. However, the tissue graft inserted during surgery is usually weak around this time, meaning the ligament may only be able to handle light exercises such as extending your knee and walking.
Cardio workouts on a stationary bike or swift walking can be an excellent way to help
regain fitness levels in the early stages of recovery. You should be able to walk unassisted without crutches after two to three weeks. A few months on from your surgery, your knee will be stronger and able to handle more pressure.
By this time, you should have full range of movement. You may also be able
to do non-weight bearing exercises, such as swimming and cycling.
Leave a comment below if you’d like more expert videos from consultants about surgery for sports injuries. We’re here to help!
Further Links -
Mr Jonathan Walczak is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Shirley Oaks Hospital in Croydon.
www.circlehealthgroup.co.uk/h... www.circlehealthgroup.co.uk/c...
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[@LiamDimond]

Most usefull video i found so far, i'm 7 months into rehab and have been given the green lights! worked really hard for this! and its paying off.