When can I return to sports after ACL surgery?
The main question many people have when they are scheduled for ACL surgery is “When can I return to sports after ACL surgery?”
The answer is…
It varies.
It really depends on what sport you are wanting to get back to. How much rehab and physical therapy you . How fast your body heals. And most importantly, how quickly you are mentally ready to return.
Most contact sports and/or sports where there is a lot of starting, stopping, changing direction, or pivoting will take slightly longer than the others.
Typically it will take somewhere around 12 months to get back to sports. Some people can do it quicker and come back around 9 months, but that takes a lot of rehab and PT. It would take more time than most people have to devote to rehab.
One thing that can’t be rushed is the length of time it takes for your new ACL to become strong enough to withstand some of the punishment it will take. For most people, your new ACL will be 85% healed back to normal after about 12 months. That is considered strong enough to get back into sports (usually wearing a knee brace.)
The new ACL won’t be at it’s strongest point until somewhere around 18 months. That just can’t be sped up. It is just the rate it heals at.
You CAN strengthen the quad, hamstring and calf muscles as much as possible and they will help your knee stay stable. Some people do have such freakishly strong leg muscles that they can play with a torn ACL. John Elway played his entire NFL career on a torn ACL… but it is really rare to be able to do that.
Bottom line, it will usually be about 12 months before most people can return fully to sports.
It can be done quicker, but the risk of re-injury is higher when you come back sooner.
2 Comments
My son had ACL surgery in July, he has gone to rehab 3x’s a wk for 8 wks. Its killing him that he cannot play football his last yr of High School. His Dr prescribed him more therapy but his therapist said he has basically done it all. He said he wants to play. Is it too soon if he is running, jumping on the trampoline, etc? When he wears his brace he said it makes him feel more protected. I dont know what to do?
Yes, it is definitely too soon. If he plays right now there is a very high chance he will tear injure it again and maybe do more damage this time.
There is no way to come back from ACL surgery before 6 months. And 6 months is much too soon in the eyes of most doctors.
I know it is really hard to sit and watch when you want to be playing, but there is no doctor anywhere in the world that would clear someone to play after only 2 months.