It has now been almost 4 months since I have right ACL surgery. My recovery has continued to progress reasonably well. My biggest lesson for learning how to run after ACL surgery is below…
This month I have been able to return to jogging outside. I had to slowly build up the distances I could run after ACL surgery without causing pain. I first started doing very short jogs on the treadmill in month 3 and then moved to short (1-2km) outside.
Below is a video of me running on snow with my Dog back at the end of March…
(I apologize for the possible motion sickness)
Finally within the last week I have been able to run 5km without much pain. My knee is noticeably warmer than my left knee after the run but no pain. I simply ice my knee while doing a little stretching after and seem to have no increased pain the next day.
The main problem is I am molasses slow 30 minutes…ouch!
So based on working back to being able to run comfortably after surgery here are my 3 Tips…
Time To Dirty The Running Shoes
3 Tips For Being Able To Run After ACL Surgery
1. Start Slow and Start Early
My return to running after knee surgery schedule looked like this…
Week1-4: walking
Week 4-8: Slow short easy treadmill jogs
Week 12-13: 1-2km jogs outside
Week 13-14: 5km jog/walk
Week 14-16L 5km runs(not very fast though!)
2. Jumping & Balance ACL Surgery Exercises
It was not until I was able to start doing some simple jumping exercises in my 4th month after ACL surgery that I really started to feel comfortable running. Walking and slowly jogging on uneven terrain including sand and snow has been very helpful in getting my stability muscles around my knee firing again.
3. Get an Active Dog
Having a dog is a great motivational tool…for me my wife has been having to take most of the responsibilty of getting our active dog tired. So me being able to get back to walking/running/biking after ACL surgery has been very important
It has been bitter sweet to see spring come here in Canada…the snow has melted before my knee was ready to ski so it will have to wait until next year. However, it has been good getting back out on my bike and jogging.
Over the next month I look to continue my running/jumping and start some cutting exercises so that I will be able to return to sports.
How have all of you found running after ACL Surgery?
