ACL Recovery

This week I made some more progress at physical therapy. We started doing some new exercises:

• Partial Squats: Basically you stand in front of a table (or sturdy chair) with your feet shoulder-width apart, and partially bend both of your knees. Your hands support as much of your weight as needed. The important thing is to go straight down and not bend over.
• Weight Shifts: I have been doing side-to-side weight shifts for a while, however I started doing front to back shifts. For these you put one leg slightly in front of the other, about shoulder width apart, both knees slightly bent. You then just shift your weight from your good leg to the bad leg slowly, as much as feels comfortable. After you finish a set, you switch legs.
• Hip Abductions: For these you just lie on you side and lift your leg up and down slightly, keeping your leg as straight as possible.
• Hip Adduction: For these you place your legs like in this image and lift your leg up and down. These are really hard, probably the hardest of the new set.
• Calf Raises: These are easy at first, but by the end my legs are always shaking. To do them you just stand in front of the table like for the partial squats, and go up on the balls of your feet then come back down. Do this over and over again. It is mainly to work out your calf muscles.

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These exercises are much more intense then the earlier set. The other thing that I’ve been working on is walking with just one crutch. The physical therapist suggested that I try doing this at home. It is tiring to do, but it is really nice to have a free hand when you are walking.

Filed under: ACL Recovery