6Jun/112
How long should I wait after ACL reconstruction surgery before I can start training to join the US Navy?
Im 18 years old and just graduated. I tore my ACL in my senior year of rugby and i just got surgery 6 days ago. I was planning in enlisting into the US Navy right after graduation but due to the injury, i am not able to enlist until 6 months from now. I would like to know how long I should wait before I start physically training and what exercises I can do while Im not able to run.
June 6th, 2011 - 01:03
That will depend on your particular situation. You need to go to physical therapy for rehab and your pt should be able to tell you then.
You may need to learn to do things like pain relief, scar massage (to tear down the adhesions so everything is mobile), knee cap stretching to keep the knee cap moving loosely, lots of stretches because ACL recon cut thru things, meaning scar tissue is forming now.
Check out the AWESOME Bob’s ACL Board at http://factotem.org/cgi-bin/kneebbs.pl for detailed info from a lot of folks who have been thru ACL recon and rehab.
It’s been awhile since my acl recon, but I had to do abductor and adductor exercises, and exercises for quads, I forget the name (put it right out of my mind) of the machine-de-Sade I got strapped into, upside down, to strengthen my bum leg.
If you are relatively fit, rehab can start soon, almost as soon as you are up and about, but go see your physical therapist, to do it right, and avoid more damage to your knee.
And you are not going to want to run for a while– but there are tons of gym exercises you can do instead. Ahh… ellipticals, recumbent bikes, and stairmasters.
Good luck!
June 6th, 2011 - 01:03
It would be best if you wait a year. Then when you get the full clearance form your doctor, take that to the recruiter. Be very careful to keep copies of everything that you give them. If you don’t you will get screwed. You will need to get a waiver for you knee before you are accepted. This way if anything happens to your knee in the military, you can not get charged with fraud. And they will Give You FRAUD, as well as never allow you to go into the military in any branch, if you don’t have that waiver. Boot camp is not forgiving and Great Lakes Naval Base is strict about it.
Recruiters are not allowed to take you without that paperwork. If they don’t put that paperwork in your file you can still get fraud because of their screw up. They get a slap on the wrist. you get your whole life screwed up.
My brother had ACL surgery and it took about 9 months to get the full strength back in his knee.
In the meantime. Do all of your physical therapy for your knee, work on strength, and even when you get released from therapy, continue the exercises. They will help you. You can still work on the knee. After you are released fro PT, ( about 9 months later) you will need to start to run each day to build up the rest of your body strength and endurance before you go to boot camp. They run a lot.