ACL Recovery supplies and resources
I present to you the ACL recovery and rehab starter pack lol. Here are all the supplies I found useful, and the articles / podcasts I used to learn about ACL biology:
Supplies
Shower incision protection cover. I know what you’re thinking, do I really want to pay $17 for this thing that will become future clutter? I hesitated too. I was like, “Hmm I could just wrap my leg in saran wrap lol”. Well I’m here to tell you this was 100% worth it. In the early weeks after surgery, showering is a huge ordeal and just to reduce some of that effort was worth it
Suction shower grab bar handles. So useful, safe, and comforting when you’re scared AF and weak as kitten in the shower. So worth it. Easy to install.
Shower floor anti-slip texturizer. Easy to apply.
Shower bench. Any will do, we got this one. I used a bench until week 6.
(As you can see, showering is of great concern as a gimpy. Thank god for my husband who installed / set up all these things.)
Freeze sleeve was more convenient than the cooler machine. The cooler machine has heavy tubing that I always felt pulled on my leg, torquing my knee or pulling at my incision sites. FYI, when buying the FreezeSleeve, buy 2 to rotate, and size up!! I needed an XL lol
Amazon smart plugs, to use with Alexa — if you are going to use the cooler machine (which I did for the first couple weeks), its convenient to use it with an Alexa so you can turn it on/off by voice command. Also overnight while you’re sleeping, you set it to turn on every 20 minutes, then off for 40 minutes, etc.
Smaller immobilizing brace. MUCH easier to sleep with than the giant bionic one the doc gives you. For the first 2 weeks, I slept in the giant doctor’s one. After that, I slept in this smaller one. For those who are tempted to sleep without any brace at all — your doc wants you to wear it because (1) its important for leg extension, which is important to prevent a permanent limp, and (2) quadriceps shut down means your leg is very weak, could get tangled in the sheets, and you could accidentally twist/hurt your knee. Try to wear the brace as long as your doc wants you to. I know it sucks.
Nexcare bandages are the best bandages. Remember to get Bacitracin too (instead of Neosporin)
Wedge pillow of course. Get the 12”
Miralax (to combat constipation from taking the opioid pain killers. Specifically Miralax, works better than Colace per my GI doc friend. Can confirm lol. Start it on the first day — you want to get ahead of, not chase constipation lol)
Research articles or protocols
Graft Selection in Contemporary Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8547917/ACL Rehabilitation Progression
Allograft Rehab Timeline
https://www.northwell.edu/sites/northwell.edu/files/2019-05/P.O.P_ACL_Allograft.pdf
ACL Injuries in Female Athletes: The Biology of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Healing After Reconstruction*
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323548397000063*P.S. I had to pay to access this one. I would say its only worth it if you are really interested in the cellular details
Podcasts
Power Athlete: Episode 358 – The ACL episode with Dr. Tim Hewett
https://powerathletehq.com/ep-358-the-acl-episode-with-dr-tim-hewett/
The ACL Athlete Podcast - no episode in particular, just browse
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-acl-athlete-podcast/id1546577054