This series: What you’ll learn
This is a series on how to prepare for, how to recover from, and how to return stronger from ACL reconstruction surgery, physically and mentally. It covers everything from logistics pre-surgery to physical therapy to back-to-sport, especially focusing on rock climbing.
Directory of Articles
- Part 1: Pre-Surgery and Graft Choice
- Part 2: Surgery and Week 1
- Part 3: Weeks 2-4
- Part 4: Months 2-6
- Part 5: Months 7-18
Bonus Material: Training during recovery
- The Kettlebell Series. They’re about the best rehab exercise for ACL patients and climbers. They mimic loading/falling without impact, allowing you to train 6+ months before you normally would.
- Pinch, sloper, forearm training. Pinch like a vice, hang on slopers like sandpaper on sandpaper. That’s the goal.
- Actually worthwhile training gear and apps
Data Survey: Please Contribute
If you’ve torn your ACL, please fill out the survey below (or click this link) about your graft choice and your recovery path! Remember how little information there was on rock climbing and ACL recovery when you went through surgery? Please take 3 min for 10 questions, no matter where you are in the surgery/recovery process. Any information is valuable to others.
Data Survey – View Results
Summary results from over 100 responses are in the link that appears when you submit the form above, or you can skip to the results at this link (Google Forms doesn’t allow embedding results in 3rd party websites).
Learn what grafts other climbers chose, how long they took to resume running/top roping/lead climbing, their best pieces of advice, and more. Share the experience, share the knowledge!
My Story of 2 surgeries
Surgery #1: I tore my ACL in a fluke bouldering fall (I’m female and was 31). My feet were 5 feet of the ground, but I was tired from the workday and landed at a 45° angle, crunching my knee sideways. I had ACL reconstruction surgery using a cadaver patella bone-tendon-bone graft.
Surgery #2: Nine months after my first surgery, I started bouldering again, took an 8ft perfect fall but heard the dreaded pop. I opted to wait 6 months before having a 2nd surgery. I went on a sport climbing trip sans-ACL for 3 months, then did pre-surgery PT for 3 months. I used my own hamstring graft for my 2nd surgery and have been very happy with it.
I’ve compiled the information in this series in sincere hope that as few people need it as possible. It’s everything I’ve gathered from research, from folks who’ve gone through surgery (some twice like me), and from surgeons, physical therapists, and radiologists.
I’m not in the medical profession and must say that you should consult with your surgeon and PT for your case-specific needs. Everyone’s recovery journey is different, but this provides a ton of information to guide you! If you have questions or more information, please contact me: patchworkandpebbles@gmail.com
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