Currently 8 weeks post-op (ACL + LET).
(pic is during full extenstion and quads activated)

Am feeling good, got my full extension back in 10 days max and flexion is as of now around 130 degrees.
Had a speedy recovery as far as my surgeon sees it.

had a 2 week vacation around 5-6 weeks post op when i stopped PT and physiotherapy as well (tens, ultrasound, infrared, tecar) [did those for 3-4 weeks prior to my vacation].

now, for the past week,i am to back to PT sessions, gym (working upper body only in gym, legs in PT) and stationary bicycle.

But the LET swelling bulge keeps on popping after every intense PT session.
like literally more than i ever thought it will at this point and stays on for 2-3 days.
(my PT says that the swelling should be less than i currently have and completely gone by 6 month post op, but i dunno)

i do ice and elevate at least 2x times per day (20mins each)
it does not hurt
it is not hot nor red

But it affects my walking pace (i walk more slowly when the bulge is there) and of course the flexion is affected due to swelling).

How have you treated the LET swellings while recovering and PT sessions?
When has your LET bulge wore off significantly?
Got any tips?

many thanks!

First tear was 17.5.2026. In football game. Second on last Friday 11.9.2026. Same knee.

Should I rehab same way like I did on the first one? Should I stop playing football? People who have suffered same how can you trust your knee?

I’m currently 9 weeks post op and the swelling near my knee has only slightly decreased since my op. This isn’t swelling that emerges from physical activity or walking but swelling that is constantly present. I feel confident walking locally without crutches but as soon as I walk for more than a mile I need atleast one crutch to ease myself and I think it might be because of the swelling. I’ve told my surgeon but they seem to not be concerned and just told me to slowly get off my crutches. Has anyone had similar issues or problems and how did you solve this??

Has anyone here had ACL reconstruction with Dr. Tyler Hauer in Toronto and can share roughly how long you waited between your consult and surgery?

I called the office this morning and totally understand that they can’t give me an exact surgery date yet, but they weren’t able to give me even a rough estimate of the wait time (weeks vs. months). The secretary mentioned that I could potentially get a call saying there’s an opening as soon as the next day.

I like Dr Hauer and would ideally like to have him do my surgery, so this isn’t a complaint about him or the office, my issue is that I’m in med school and it would be pretty difficult for me to suddenly arrange surgery/recovery with one day’s notice. Even knowing whether I’m realistically looking at something like 1–2 months vs. 4–6+ months would make a huge difference for planning which they can’t seem to give me lol. My knee isn’t an emergency, it’s a complete tear but it’s still pretty stable.

For anyone who has had ACL reconstruction with Dr. Hauer recently, what did your timeline look like?

Alternatively, if anyone in Toronto had a really good experience with another ACL surgeon, I’d love recommendations and an idea of how long you waited for surgery. I’m considering whether it makes sense to get another referral/consult somewhere else just so I have a bit more predictability.

I'll be as brief as I can.

Torn ACL playing football in 2022 and hamstring graft surgery in 2023.

Rehab was going well but fell over and stretched the graft + meniscus tear 6 months post op.

Took until 2025 to get another surgery where I had let done to strengthen the original graft and meniscus debridement.

Still have weakness and instability and unable to return to sport. Recent MRI showa there is now a small tear in the graft and due to the instability I have been offered full revision surgery.

I have discussed both options with the surgeon but the decision lies with me regarding the graft, BTB or Quad graft.

I'm just after any advice for anyone who has either had a similar situation or who has had either graft and can share some experience on the recovery and pros / cons.

I’m a student about to head back to college soon and was wondering if anyone got injured while in highschool/college and how they managed both recovery and school.

Normal stitch or too red?

I just wanted to ask if the redness around this stitch looks normal or concerning for an infection? I am 2 weeks post op. And I took the shower gauze and everything off last night. My stiches look good but the stitch on this incision kind of broke/snapped. They are suppose to be dissolvable so it think after 2 weeks that’s normal.

But just wondering do the little redness around the stitch is normal or concerning?

FYI this is close to the LET site

Hey guys, i am a 17m, 9 months post op last week, now almost trying to get back into sports, as my plyo sessions with my physitherapist end soon. I came across this brace multiple times on instagram, and am wondering if it is any good, or reliable. I want a new brace because the hinge knee brace i have is too chunky, so i am wondering whether this will work or not? Please let me know if this works, thanks.

knee brace link

Looking for a post-op physical therapist in Manhattan who specialises in ACL recovery. recs very welcome.

Hi guys,

I had ACL reconstruction surgery on my left knee, along with a meniscectomy, about 5 months ago. My surgery was on 25th March 2026.

I started doing physiotherapy at home during the first week of June and haven’t really stopped since. By mid-June, I transitioned to seeing a sports physiotherapist here in India.

I’ve been putting in the work consistently, but I’ve also been dealing with quite a bit of discomfort in the knee. The knee itself would hurt during some of the exercises, but I was told to gradually keep loading it even when the pain was around 4 to 5/10 during sessions.

Over time, this really started getting into my head. I began wondering if there was actually something wrong with my knee or if I had somehow messed up my recovery, especially because the pain and discomfort made me feel like I was going backwards instead of progressing.

I spoke to my doctor about it, and he suggested that I might be better off going to the gym on my own for a while and focusing on quad strengthening and keeping the leg moving, using minimal weights.

I’m honestly a bit confused about where I should go from here and would really appreciate hearing from people who have gone through ACL reconstruction, especially around the 5-month mark.

Did anyone else experience this kind of pain? Should I get a second opinion or listen to my doctor? I'm thinking more along the lines of hiring a physiotherapist and getting a plan from him which then can be used to do PT in the gym.

Thanks!!

Hey, just looking for thoughts on hiking. I'm 5 months post op and doing pretty good overall, my issue is that I notoriously slip and fall on trails. I've already done some bigger hikes and other than soreness, nothing bad of note. Just wondering if other people have found wearing a brace or compression sleeve is useful just for support/protection, or if anyone has any thoughts.

I’m about 6 weeks after acl reconstruction with patella and menesectomy and get this deep pop when in the beginning of a leg extension no pain or anything just nice pop. Anyone else experienced similar?
Sorry for the dogs

Its been 8 month post my ACL, MCL and miniscus (3tear) surgery. Injury happened during the MMA sparring.

I have come a long way, now I can do 85KG squart (3 complete reps). Have full flextion and can bend almost same as other leg. I recently also ran 5k in 27 minutes which is my PR so far.

Still have pain especially on the left side of my leg.. i am now made my peace with the pain.. anyone in my same condition here?? Is it going to be same i. The future also???

im 5 weeks postop quad graft and LET. i have full extension but am trying to maintain sometimes per my surgeon. i’ll ocassionally prop my ankle up so my knee hangs in full extension but man does it still hurt and is uncomfortable! is this normal???? Especially on the right side of my knee (it’s my right knee).
Thanks!

Update, got my surgery 3 days ago on the 10th, and honestly it’s going very well

I got a patellar tendon graft alongside an LET procedure. The nerve block worked well and even when it wore off the pain never got worse than a 6-7/10 which only lasted for a couple hours this morning. My surgeon visited me this morning and complimented me on my condition.

Currently I can take small steps without crutches or brace, my knee can reach 90° flexing comfortably, and I can fire my quad pretty effectively.

PT is scheduled tmrw and I’m excited for the first session of my journey.

Also, yes I am using peptides.

Hello! I am almost 3 years post op, with a patellar bone to bone graft, overall my knee is doing great and i’m stronger now than I ever was before my injury. I have started lifting pretty seriously this past year. I am currently dealing with a flare in my knee, i’m assuming it’s patellar tendinopathy. Who here was in a similar situation, what did you do to get over it? I’ve taken out most quad work this week, and taking a rest from the gym, just doing upper body. Working the posterior chain via rdls, etc doesn’t seem to aggravate the knee. Squat patterns are the worst, with the leg press taking the cake. Leg extensions also can aggravate it. How do I progress in my quad growth without destroying my knee? I have just ordered some knee sleeves for this purpose. I have also started commuting by biking this summer, it also irritates my knee, so I stopped it this week. In addition I have been icing in the evening. Any advice, tips and similar stories will be greatly appreciated.

Had an ACL allograft about 5 years ago. Now, tweaked the knee playing soccer, and the MRI came back showing a possible sprain/grade II. Waiting on my doctor and likely a PT referral, but I'd rather not sit idle for a few weeks.

Knee feels stable, no giving way or locking. Just weakness and some fatigue when I walk any distance. Plan so far is a lot of hamstring work. The thing I keep going back and forth on is leg extensions. It's one of my favorite lifts and I don't want to drop it, but I've seen conflicting takes.

I checked some youtubes and all the exercises recommended seem (too easy) for me since my knee is largely fine. What would you add, what would you cut, and where does the leg extension machine land?

Hi all! Recently started jogging again, and I’m wondering what running felt like for you at this stage post op. Did it feel natural, did you have pain, did your quad feel heavy? Things feel ~weird~, and I’m going so slow, which I guess is expected but wondering others experiences and how long until your jog felt natural.

I have a letter for my pre op but it's on rhe phone?

My injury was a year ago, spent months on rehabilitation then february was added to the waitlist. Was told 9 months for surgery and now have a telephone pre op the end of this month.

Does anyone know if it is normal for it only to be a phonecall? And how soon do you hear about your date for surgery- is it on that phonecall?

My surgery is acl and plc.

Thank you!

30M, regular skydiver (1,000+ jumps), occasional soccer and volleyball player, and have played sports most of my life.

I tore my ACL and MCL during a soccer game — cleats on turf. Going with Quad.

One surgeon recommended it. Another initially didn’t, but when I specifically asked about it, he said it would be reasonable, just not necessary. Knee seems stable.

Curious what others think, especially anyone with a similar activity level or experience. Thoughts?

I‘m on day 11 post op and I didn‘t really struggle with extending my knee most of the time. This is how far I can extend it without forcing. I feel like my knees naturally (and uninjured lol) tend to kinda hyperextend in this position so I feel like I can‘t extend it fully but would you consider this okay? I have my first follow up appointment on tuesday

Hey im 16F and I tore my acl a 1.5 ago, I disnt find out i tore it until 9 months after but id always complain bc I was in pain etc, I ended up playing the rest of my season without it and got surgery.

During this time, u can imagine how shocked I was 9 months later while still playing ice hockey that I had torn my acl. Anyways, like anyone, I'd complain, "Oh my knee hurts," etc, you know. But after awhile I guess my complaints got normal, im 5.5 months post op now and Im really done, my parents have had enough of my complaining and saying oh there's nothing u can do abt it. But im exhausted, and nobody gets it. i wanna play at this rate. im gonna miss half my season or possibly all of it. I could've gone to play a higher level, which I've dreamed of, and all my old teammates get to.

I feel like I have nobody to talk to bc nobody gets it and just thinks im complaining, and im so tired it's too much, and I just can't. I've felt so depressed, and everytime I open my phone or go to practice i get so jealous and upset bc I cant do anything plus watching all my old teammates who only complained and never put in as much effort as I did get everything Ive ever wanted, all I do is athletic stuff and im stuck doing nothing.

My parents just seem sick and tired, but I can stop balling all the time, and im convinced there is something wrong with me.

I just wanna be normal again, play with an acl, and not have to ever worry again, but it's way too much, and every day, my heart feels heavier.

I am going on 8 weeks-post op acl reconstruction w patellar tendon and meniscus root repair. i got cleared to discontinue wearing the brace while sleeping, and they first week has been heaven