ACL recovery - 16 days post op

Well, it appears the "no brace, no crutches" philosophy has paid off. My strength has dramatically increased the past week. I was given clearance today by Rob to walk one mile on the rail-trail here in Morgantown. Rest assured that I will deeply appreciate this moment as I take that first step later this evening.

The PT sessions ramped up considerably today. We are phasing out some of the stretching exercises and started doing weight training. Most of this entailed simple strengthening exercises with a 2.5 lb. ankle weight but I was quite surprised to be doing reps on an extension horizontal leg press! I also spent 10 minutes on a resistance recumbent cross trainer.

We have also started incorporating balance exercises which are the most difficult type of exercise for me to date. Shoot, I would have had trouble with these even prior to my injury!

My leg has complete extension, and almost complete flexion. Walking is at about 95%, per Rob. I don't feel any real pain and the swelling in the knee has really diminished. It's off to the Cleveland Clinic on Sunday to get all my stitches removed. Yeah!

While everything is proceeding better than I and others could have ever hoped for, now is not the time to get cocky. Now is the time to develop a true sense of patience until that magical 6 month mark, for this journey has really only started.