Dr. Jeff Abrams
Princeton, New Jersey

Postoperative exercises are important and can be accomplished with PT or independently, depending on such things as the patient's commitment, discomfort level, etc.

F. Alan Barber MD, FACS
Plano, Texas

Physical therapy is simply "educated exercise" and has the goal of reducing pain and swelling, increasing strength, and gaining full motion. This exercise will help you rapidly return to your normal activities and to sports. Patients who have patellar tendon autografts need to attend physical therapy to achieve full extension (straightening their legs all the way out) starting as soon as possible (in the first week) after surgery. The sooner therapy is started the easier it is to meet the goals.

Patients with soft tissue grafts (quadriceps tendon) do not require such an intensive therapy program. In fact, they are often started on a self-administered stationary bicycling program beginning about two months after surgery.

Dr. Don Johnson
Ottawa, Canada

Physical therapy is necessary from about 1- 6 weeks post-op. The therapy goal is to reduce the pain and swelling, regain range of motion, and increase the strength of the muscles. Therapy may have to be modified based on the individual progress through the weeks of rehab.

Dr. Hugh West
Salt Lake City, Utah

Physical therapy can be thought of as one of the most important parts of ACL surgery. We work very closely with our physical therapists to make sure that all our patients are doing well and that they are meeting their rehabilitation goals. Most of our patients only require PT once a week during the first month, with fewer and fewer visits as time goes one. However, if someone gets into trouble, we can increase the amount of therapy that they are receiving in order to make sure that they don't get a stiff knee or a weak leg. Everyone has a different experience with PT. However, our rehabilitation protocols are much better now and we rarely run into problems with stiff knees, a condition which can be very hard to treat. As long as you are willing to work hard, you'll find that the therapy after surgery is manageable, and that we try to make it fun.