If you’re having trouble rehabilitating your knee following Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Surgery, online physical therapy in Queens, New York can help you. At Virtual PT NYC, we offer a variety of treatment options and rehabilitation processes that are aimed at healing your specific condition and will help you return to your daily lifestyle.

Usually, physical therapy following ACL surgery is divided into four phases, each designed to rehabilitate your knee while keeping in mind the limitations that it may have immediately after being operated on. Each phase progresses as your knee becomes stronger, and helps you to maintain that strength long term.

Phase 1: Healing the Knee

The first phase is designed to promote healing and repair within the knee, as it has just undergone the trauma of surgery. Even though surgery is beneficial long term, it caused the body to undergo a damaging process that must be kept in mind during treatment. 

Your individual process will differ according to the treatment option that your surgeon chose for you. An ACL patient may have received:

• Crutches
• A full-length knee brace
• Both

As most patients will at least be required to use crutches, the first phase involves learning how to walk with crutches, as well as navigate slopes and stairways. Your online physical therapy in Queens will also involve swelling control techniques, such as when and how to use ice, as well as instructional gentle exercises to help you regain a range of motion in the knee. 

Phase 1 Outcomes:

At the end of Phase 1, you will see progress in….

• Surgical Wound Healing
• Walking and Stair Climbing
• Increased Range of Motion in the Knee
• Improved Use of Quadriceps
• Decreased Swelling

Phase 2: Walking without Crutches

This phase is designed to progress past the initial healing phase, and move toward using your knee more normally, without crutches. Sometimes, the surgeon has removed the brace at this point, but that is dependent on your individual situation and your surgeon’s discretion. 

Your online physical therapy in Queens, NY will involve a series of processes in order to help you walk without crutches. These include:

• Strengthening your hips through targeted exercises, to graduate from using two crutches to using one, and eventually to walking without crutches
• Improving the use of your quadriceps and hamstrings through targeted exercises
• Increasing the range of motion in the ankle, knee, and hip joints. These exercises are designed to increase your proprioception (your ability to sense your orientation and move without thought)
• Leg Raise exercises, sometimes with light weights

Phase 2 Outcomes:

• Walking without crutches entirely
• Increased ability to bend the knee
• Increased rotation in the joints of the leg (hip, knee, and ankle)

Phase 3: Increasing Your Strength

At Virtual PT NYC, online physical therapy in Queens, NY, we will guide you through a series of exercises designed to help strengthen your leg and knee, while keeping in mind its delicate post-surgical state.

These strengthening exercises include:

• Balance practice (one-leg standing for gradually increasing intervals of time)
• Squats and lunges 
• Straight leg raises
• Hip strengthening stretches 
• Plyometrics (exerting maximum force in short periods of time)
• Lateral and vertical stepping
• Core stabilization
• If possible, using an elliptical or stair climber to increase endurance

Phase 3 Outcomes:

• Increased strength in the leg
• No more shakiness, wobbling, soreness
• Progress from walking to light jogging

Phase 4: Getting Closer to Normalcy

This phase usually begins at Week 8 post-surgery and can continue until Week 12 or for up to six months post-op, depending on your individual situation and progress. 

Phase 4 is highly individualized based on your specific needs. The exercises and rehabilitation methods used are dependent on how well you have succeeded in the previous three phases, as well as the progress of your surgical wound’s healing. 

Usually, individuals in this phase at online physical therapy in Queens, NY work with our physical therapists to….

• Increase the established exercise regimen’s intensity and frequency
• Perform stability testing (usually single-leg hopping) to determine your ability to return to normal physical activity or sports
• Perform frequent evaluations to determine how to change and progress the treatment plan as you heal and strengthen

Phase 4 Outcomes:

• Return to normal physical activity
• Return to sports or high-intensity athletics
• Return to labor-intensive work
• Regain the feeling of normalcy and efficiency in knee and leg overall

If you’ve recently undergone ACL surgery, it is important to seek physical therapy right away in order to receive the proper rehabilitation methods and ensure that your surgery was as effective as possible. 

Contact Virtual PT NYC

Online physical therapy in Queens with Virtual PT NYC is a great option for those with limited ability to walk or to drive to a physical therapist’s office, and does not require specialized equipment. Learn more about Virtual PT NYC, and contact us to schedule a consultation and appointment to get you started on the road to ACL surgery recovery today!