An anterior cruciate ligament surgery is a knee surgery performed to repair damage occurred to the ligament that connects your thigh bone (femur) to your shinbone (tibia) and keeps your knee joint in working condition. A person who has undergone ACL surgery may be provided with a rehabilitation program to speed up recovery and avoid re-injury. The program may include rest, physical therapy, and a gradual return to daily activities.
In this blog, you will learn about a few ACL surgery recovery tips to facilitate recovery and help you get back to daily activities. Let’s look at them:
Follow Your Post-Operative Instructions
After surgery, you may be given proper verbal as well as written instructions for a speedy recovery by your medical provider. These instructions may include immediate post-operative care, type of physical therapy, use of ice packs on the knee, tips on showering, and many others. Make sure you thoroughly read and understand them to prevent any damage to the knee.
Attend Your Appointments
While it may be tempting to skip a few rehabilitation appointments or routine checkups, doing so can hinder your recovery. Always attend all appointments with your medical provider to know the health of your knee.
Go to Physical Therapy
Many people think that buying ice wraps for knee and applying it is enough to aid knee recovery. Although it helps in reducing swelling and inflammation post-surgery, to regain strength in your leg, physical therapy is necessary. If you face trouble moving, consider getting help from in-home physical therapy services. Make sure to participate in all rehab knee exercises to the best of your ability to recover faster.
Take Your Medicine
After ACL surgery, pain may be frequent for the first week or more. To alleviate the pain, you may be prescribed pain-relief medications such as NSAIDs. If the pain is unbearable, consider taking them as prescribed. However, don’t overuse them as it can lead to dependency and you may not function well without them for long.
Get Proper Sleep and Nutrition
Recovery happens when you sleep. Along with eating nutrient-rich food such as eggs, dairy, vegetables, get at least 8 hours of sleep to recover quickly.
Don’t Immediately Return to Activities
Many people tend to return to old activities too soon once they start feeling better. However, this often re-injures the knee or hampers full recovery. Make sure you don’t overdo anything and take it slow.
Bottom line
If you or your loved one has recently undergone ACL surgery, make sure to follow all the instructions given to you by your medical provider, get proper sleep & nutrition, and go to physical therapy to promote recovery. If you want to buy the best ice wraps for knee, get in touch with us today as we provide a wide range of knee ice wraps best-suited to your needs.