{"id":7794,"date":"2019-07-04T05:43:11","date_gmt":"2019-07-04T05:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/?p=7794"},"modified":"2021-04-19T20:08:06","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T20:08:06","slug":"15-useful-tips-for-a-quick-recovery-from-acl-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/15-useful-tips-for-a-quick-recovery-from-acl-surgery\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Useful Tips for a Quick Recovery from ACL Surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It can take a long time to recover from anterior cruciate ligament injuries. This ligament is one of the most important in the human body as it helps to stabilize the knee and keep you upright. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you enter this particular component, it is going to keep you off your feet for a long period of time you do not allow for a period of recovery that is long enough, then you can injure it again and be stuck with the same amount of recovery is before or you might even do more damage and permanently injure yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recovery from an ACL injury can take anywhere from 2 to 6 months. However, that is just the initial stage of recovery. It can take another few months before you can start participating in sporting events and high-impact activities that could injure the same area again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a look at eight tips for a quick recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Follow Immediate Post-Op Instructions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your first task is to follow any post-operative instructions that you receive. Immediately after your surgery<\/a>, you\u2019re going to have a set of specific instructions that will span over the next few days. These will include any medical visits the need to make right away and any referrals that you are going to need to make appointments for. Of course, there is also going to be the medication component, and you will want to start using ice, heat, exercises or whatever else that your surgeon recommends right away.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important that you do not skip these first few postoperative instructions because they are going to pave the way for you to recover over the long-term. It is important to understand what instructions you are receiving, so make sure you look at them before you leave the hospital or doctor\u2019s office and ask any questions that you need to ask beforehand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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2. Attend All of Your Follow-Up Appointments no Matter How You Feel<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Doctors are frustrated constantly by patients who stopped taking medication <\/a>or do not attend follow-up appointments because they feel a little bit better. This is especially true in the case of antibiotics which do not actually eliminate the entire infection when you only take half of them. But once people start to feel better, they think that they can save the rest of them for later and their body usually doesn\u2019t have enough energy or a high enough white blood cell count to eliminate the infection.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same goes for all of your postoperative follow-up appointments. You need to attend them even if you feel like you are doing fine because your doctor needs no how you are doing in every stage and this can only be done by testing. This way, they can adjust your treatment as needed so that you can either ensure that your recovery is complete or possibly even get back out there sooner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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3. Undergo Physical Therapy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Physical therapy<\/a> is one of the most important things that you will be tasked with after an ACL injury. Physical therapy is probably the most effective tool that your doctor has in order to you back in top shape.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physical therapy may be painful, it may be a pain to have to go every week or even twice a week and it might be fairly expensive if your insurance does not cover it. None of that means that you should skip it, however. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physical therapy is the slow and deliberate process of putting your body back together after an injury. This means getting the muscles to start to work so they don\u2019t atrophy but without so much that you put too much strain and injure yourself again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your physical therapist knows exactly how much work to do with your body to get to heal without injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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4. Do Your At-Home ACL Exercises<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You definitely need to do your at-home ACL exercises as well. Physical therapy is no substitute for the at-home exercises that you will be given. Sometimes, these instructions will be given by the surgeon themselves and sometimes it will get sent home with you after your first physical therapy appointment. In either case, you need to make the best effort you possibly can because all of these are factored into your treatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your doctor is giving you a recovery period of six months after an ACL injury, and you fail to do any of the at-home exercises that they assign to you, then it is most likely the recovery period is going to last nine or 12 months instead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will need to keep performing these exercises <\/a>even after physical therapy has stopped in many cases. By then they should have become so routine that you can do them without thinking about them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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5. Eat the Right Foods<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Make sure that you are getting the right nutrition for your postoperative recovery as well. Many people do not realize just how important a role nutrition plays and recovery after an ACL injury. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your doctor may give you some suggestions on what you should eat after your recovery, but it is more likely than not that they will simply tell you to make sure you eat healthily and that includes getting lots of lean protein <\/a>like chicken or fish, dairy, citrus fruits, vegetables, green leafy plants and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While you are recovering from a serious injury like an ACL you should try to avoid alcohol, sugar-heavy sodas and other forms of caffeine. A little bit of caffeine isn\u2019t going to make a huge difference, but going back to your old lifestyle while you are recovering from something this serious can have a detrimental effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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6. Get Plenty of Sleep<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You should get plenty of sleep when you are recovering from an ACL injury. What most people do not realize is that when you are asleep your body is its optimal healing capacity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you are awake, there are all sorts of processes that your body needs to run such as your brain and controlling things like movement, speech, attention span and much more. But when you are asleep, there is very little for your body to do and that means that I can concentrate on healing injuries<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why you often feel sick when you go to bed at night and feel completely healed the next morning. Your body spends the majority of each night healing tissues and that includes getting your ACL back into the shape it was before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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7. Take Your Medication Exactly as Prescribed<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Again, make sure that you take your medication exactly as prescribed. When it comes to things like pain medication, your doctor may put instructions that you can take it as needed. This means that you do not need to continue taking it after you feel that you are no longer having pain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with other medications that say to take the entire course, you should definitely follow the instructions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should also talk to your doctor about whether to avoid your regular multivitamins <\/a>or herbal supplements and when you can incorporate those back into your diet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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8. Ask for Help When Needed<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You also need to make sure that you ask for help when needed. This is a really common problem when it comes to dealing with an ACL injury<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People think that they are back to their old selves in just a few months and will try to do everything themselves even if their doctor has recommended against playing sports or carrying heavy objects for a much longer period of time. You do not want to fall into this trap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asking for help when you\u2019re entered does not make you weak or less of a person. It just means that you are trying really hard not to exacerbate your injuries of the recovered fully as fast as possible and then get back to doing all the things that used to be able to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An ACL injury is a very serious injury that can sideline you for months and takes a long time to recover from. Being macho has to go out the window<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\r\n

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