What to except after ACL tear/ repair?

I tore my ACL and meniscus last June, and the Doc gave me the ok to ride last Friday. Now i'm just waiting for my CTi brace to come in. What should I except my first time back? What was it like for you guys getting back after your surgeries? Anything you guys did to make it easier to get back to normal shredding?

I have a buddy who just got cleared and got his cti brace...spent a week just riding normal then started busting out his inverts lol. This is his 2nd acl tear (one on each knee) so I think he had the whole rehab thing down.

Good luck but my suggestion would be to go easy and if U think ur ready wait another week or two.

I did alot of the p90x plyometrics. Just ease back into it. I did mine in the summer of 10 and rode summer 11 pretty easy. Im finally getting my confidence back this year to take my stuff bigger. also plus 1 for the CTi custom. I love mine. It depends on the person really. At this point its all in your head. Good luck

I've blown out both knees now and I can't agree more; it's all in your head. I still don't charge the wake like I used to. My first ride was a little squirrely but fine. The only thing I really notice now is my knees are very sore the next days if I go hard and ride all day long. I am 33 now, so I'm sure that's the biggest factor against me.

work out a lot, stretch even more!! Get a cti brace and you should be good to go! Been 2+ years since my surgery and my knee is perfect

*knock on wood*

It will stick in your head for a while, but you'll eventually get back in the swing of things. I'd say take it easy first couple of rides, no matter how much or what kind of rehab you do theres no substitute for getting in "riding" shape. This will take some time as you've been out for so long.

I'm two and a half years out from mine, now my repaired knee feels better than my "good" knee, no soreness at all.

Kind of a threadjack but for the people who feel perfect and the people who don't feel 100% what type of graft did you guys get (Patellar, cadaver, hamstring)?

I'm about 6 weeks post-op using a patellar graft and my confidence right now is dwindling about if and when I'll be able to fully charge the wake

Thanks guys I really appreciate the info! Brian at 6 weeks my knee felt awful as well. Im slowly building m confidence running so good luck to you.

Expect a lot of rehab and boat driving. If you do that, you will be fine.

I had a hamstring graft in 2001. I was riding my board at 4 months, riding a 55ft line at 5, riding the best I ever had by 6 and was slamming double-ups by 7.

There are a lot of factors that will affect your recovery: quality of the surgen, age, rehab, lifestyle probably a lot more than the type of graft. But the biggest difference that I have personally seen is the knee condition prior to the injury. I never had achey, weak or "bad knees" to begin with. After the recovery from surgery, I was essentially back to normal. The people I know who struggle to recover are those with "bad knees". After recovery, they are back to normal--with bad knees...

Jogging and light running to get leg strength back helped alot. Weight training was a big help as well. The fear of pain and re-injury made my rideing timid for about a season. Until I got 90% of my muscule back in my quad my knee was sore and shakey on landings. It took close to a full season to get all 90% of my tricks back. Good luck with it. I started this season off great and no pain! Good luck...

I did rehab for a good 4 months and then kept up my workouts. 8 months after surgery I was doing Insanity before the season started. My knee was sore but I knew the pounding of wakeboarding would be worse then that. Once the season rolled around I was back in and ready to go. I only had to wakeboard with a brace for a few weeks so I just kept it light until I could ride without it. Haven't had a problem since. Oh and that was my second acl tear, my first being 5 years prior on the other leg. As long as you stay active you won't have too much to worry about

I rode at 6 months for the first time -- was very sore and realized I needed to rehab harder. Rode consistently from 6-12 months and built back up. Did lots of spins, grabs and wake-to-wake. Hit double ups too. Rode with brace until 12 months, then ditched it. Really dialed in some aspects of my riding in this time. By the end of that summer, was really riding well and knee felt close to 100%. Next year was even better. Now, I don't event think about it -- knock on wood. I did the patellar and was hurting in first 2 months. Keep rehabbing hard and it will come around. Don't rush it.

I think its important to ease your wake back into riding. When I first got out there after my Doc cleared me to ride I wanted to charge the wake. Not the best idea right out of the gate. Take it easy your first time out and just get comfortable on the board. I'm not saying don't go wake to wake or don't do any tricks; I'm just saying take it some what easy. On my first few times out riding I felt great but after 24 hours I would get soreness in my knee. I'm about 1.5 years post op now and riding better then I ever have. Just stay on your rehab. I hit the gym about 4 days during the week and then wakeboard Saturday and Sunday.

Also, Brian don't get to worked up about your knee right now. 6 weeks out is still a long way from riding or even close to being back to 90-100%. I also did the patellar graft and have been really happy with it. At 6 weeks my knee was still real sore and couldn't get the full range of motion. Now those things are no issue for me. I think the important thing is to keep working out and doing rehab even after the Doc clears you to ride.

I had a patellar graft and was back riding at 6 months. took a few months past that to be back mentally and not worry about it constantly. just keep up the rehab and you'll be fine. 6 Weeks isn't nothing, you have a long way to go.

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I had ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair in September, and started riding at 6 months out from surgery. At first, riding was pretty uncomfortable and somewhat painful at times, so I took it pretty easy for the first month riding wise. I rode slower and rode a shorter line.

Im 7-8 months out from the surgery right now and have been able to ride at 100%. The knee feels pretty good while riding, but it still swells a little after a long set.

The best advice I have is take it easy, and get comfortable at first. Once you start experiencing less painful sets, start pushing it more and more. Most doctors will tell you to only do the tricks your comfortable with for the first year. I disagree. Take your time in learning a solid foundation and learn new tricks smartly.

I wouldn't run for a while it puts alot of stress on your knee. After I was cleared to ride I got a knee brace for on the water and off the water I would try and get to the gym a few times a week to get on the bike and lift weights to strengthen my knee.

I put in 100 days snowboarding this year without the brace but I'm still rockin' it on the water; it's really a mental thing now but it feels right to wear it while wakeboarding. Also, I realized that when I tore my acl I was 160 lbs, pretty chunky for me since I'm 5'7, and since then I have been at a steady 147 or so and stepped up to a 140cm deck, and I think being lighter actually helps in that your knees have less weight to bear. I could be wrong, but I feel like it helped.

i got back into riding really quick i tore the same as you... my doctor did a great job the repair is way stronger than you think i go as big as i can without worrying... flats all day! no knee brace. i feel great! i think its all mental for alot of people