1 April 2019

Physio Ellie, ACL recovery. 

A Physio’s physio journey…

I’m Ellie and I work at The Wetmore Clinic as a Physiotherapist and Pilates Instructor. Some may already know about my woes I have had with my left knee over the last 6 months but most probably do not.

I am currently on a very long sick leave with my knee following Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Reconstruction Surgery where the hamstring was used to create the ACL graft. Wikipedia of course has a good explanation of this:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anterior_cruciate_ligament_reconstruction

Because of this lengthy period off work I saw it a good opportunity to document my journey through recovery and share some of my physio and pilates ‘nuggets of gold knowledge’ that may help/ be of interest to others.

Here I am Day 1 post-op looking pretty groggy and zonked. The bandaging around my leg was to stay on for 48 hours. I was on crutches mainly to help with the pain and the immobility in my knee. However, I was allowed to weight bear as much as my pain allowed from my first get up and go after surgery.

Prior to my operation I had been doing an exercise programme formed by myself that aimed to get my knee as good as it could be pre-operatively. This was so I would have a more successful outcome post-operatively. I cannot recommend this pre-operative physio enough if you have any upcoming operations planned. It prepares you for what is to come, ensures you have the strength and range of movement to start with and being in pain and immobile is hard work and tiring. 

My next post will be a short video of my week 1 exercise programme. See this and further posts below in our section on articles.

 I hope your find this helpful/an interesting read and if you have any questions/ queries or nuggets of gold knowledge yourself please do not hesitate to get in contact. admin@wetmoreclinic.co.uk or 01584856888.

Ellie