ACL Surgery Exercises - Top 5 Exercises For The First Week

In the first week after ACL surgery it is imperative to the long term stability of the injured knee that exercises are done that promote range of motion and stability of the knee. The knee after an ACL operation is still able to move, however, if it is left in its neutral "comfortable" position the range of motion can decrease and ultimately may require another operation. It is for this reason these exercises are very important (critical!) in the first week.

5 important ACL Surgery Recovery Exercises

1. Heel lift
Place a towel under the ankle of the injured leg and let the leg lay straight so that there is a stretch under the knee stopping the knee from going to 0 degrees. The purpose of this exercise is to improve the range of motion on the knee.

2. Quad sets
While sitting on the floor extend your legs out as straight as possible. Place a towel or pillow under your injured knee and tighten you quad on your injured leg trying to push the knee into then towel or pillow. Hold the quad flex for 10 seconds and then relax, repeat this ACL surgery exercise 10 times.

3. Heel slides
While still on the ground lie flat on your back. With your leg flat slowly move your heel along the rug while bending your knee. The goal here is to get the heel as close to your butt as possible. This post ACL surgery exercise is intended to increase the range of motion and get the hamstring muscle working again.

4. Prone knee flexion
Prone knee flexion as an ACL rehab exercise is used to increase the range of motion of the knee. Lie flat on a carpet or bed and slowly bend your injured knee to the limits of it's range of motion. As the bending knee reaches it's limit hold it at the limit for 5 seconds.

5. Ankle pumps and rotation
An ACL operation can cause a lot of swelling. This swelling can significantly slowdown the healing process. In order to accelerate the removal of swelling from the leg it is a good idea to do 20-30 ankle pumps(like you are pushing the gas pedal) and 20-30 ankle rotations regularly. This ACL rehabilitation exercise can help blood circulation and get the swelling to dissipate quicker