Personal Stories
Although the time after ACL and before ACL surgery can be a restless period, it offers an opportunity to prepare both physically and mentally for the surgery ahead.
Barbara, age 54
The surgeon told me that I would lose a tremendous amount of muscle mass from surgery. There would be atrophy from the lack of use, combined with the fact that immediately after surgery the nerves associated with those muscles would literally shut down for a while.
Before the surgery, I went to physical therapy regularly. I did my exercises no matter where I was. On coffee breaks, I’d go outside and do them in the back of the loading docks of my office building. Had I known how much muscle mass I was going to lose, I would have done twice as much.