While driving involves sitting in one spot for an extended period of time, it still requires arm and leg movements. When you sustain a leg or knee injury, it can be painful and difficult to properly use the gas and brake pedals. It’s important to make sure that you have properly healed and recovered your leg’s full function to ensure that you can safely maneuver a car.
Your ACL is an integral part of your knee function. If it becomes damaged, you may need to have a surgical procedure to repair it. After resting for days after the surgery, you may start to get antsy and want to return to your normal activities, like driving. But it can take up to six weeks to be able to drive again after ACL surgery.
Read on to learn about why people undergo ACL surgery as well as what the recovery process looks like to help you return to normal activities, such as driving. You’ll also learn how physical therapy can help.
The basics of ACL surgery
Your anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, is located in your knee and prevents the shinbone from sliding in front of your thighbone. An ACL injury refers to either a sprain or tear of the tissue that usually occurs during sports or fitness activities. An ACL sprain or tear can be caused by suddenly pivoting while your foot is planted on the ground or landing awkwardly after a jump. It can cause severe pain, swelling and reduced range of motion.
An ACL sprain is typically a minor injury that can often heal on its own after a couple of weeks, but an ACL tear can’t. While the symptoms of an ACL tear can be managed with proper treatment, it won’t fully heal without surgery, as the ligament has poor blood supply.
Your doctor may recommend that you have ACL surgery if:
- You’re an athlete who plays a sport with a lot of jumping and pivoting, such as basketball.
- You feel knee instability during everyday physical activities.
- You have damaged the fibrous cartilage in your knee or more than one ligament.
An ACL surgery, known as ACL reconstruction, involves replacing the damaged ligament with ACL graft tissue.
Driving after ACL surgery? What the recovery process looks like
Everyone recovers from surgery differently. The ACL surgery recovery timeline depends on the severity of the injury, such as a partial or complete tear, as well as the type of physical activities that you hope to resume.
You will have to use crutches immediately following the procedure, and it will be approximately two to three weeks until you can walk without them. Physical therapy is recommended relatively quickly to start the rehabilitation process, with sessions usually beginning after one to two weeks following ACL reconstruction.
When it comes to driving after ACL surgery, it’s important to note which knee was repaired. Since you drive with your right leg, it could take four to six weeks to be cleared to drive after ACL reconstruction on your right knee. You have to wait until your reaction time and range of motion have been restored. Driving after a left knee ACL reconstruction has a shorter time frame of two to three weeks before getting back behind the wheel. You shouldn’t be operating a vehicle while taking pain medication.
It may take a while to return to rigorous physical activities after surgery. It can take six to nine months to return to playing sports after ACL reconstruction to reduce the risk of re-injury.
How physical therapy can help your return to driving after ACL surgery
Physical therapy is essential after an ACL surgery. Post-surgical rehabilitation helps to restore your muscle strength and joint mobility that are affected both by the procedure and the inactivity that follows. It can help improve the quality of your knee so that you can return to your everyday activities, including driving.
The goals of physical therapy after ACL surgery include:
- Increasing strength.
- Preventing muscles from atrophy.
- Restoring functionality.
- Reducing pain.
- Improving balance.
- Promoting the healing process.
Recovering from ACL surgery with physical therapy will likely be a combination of targeted exercises and manual therapy. Your physical therapist will walk you through strengthening exercises as well as stretches that will increase your knee’s flexibility and range of motion. They can also provide balance training to restore your coordination after prolonged periods of rest.
There are several manual therapy techniques that your physical therapist may utilize on your knee, such as soft tissue mobilization and joint mobilization, to alleviate pain and increase your mobility.
Alliance PTP can connect you with the PT practice you need following ACL surgery
Have you been recommended for physical therapy after ACL surgery? You’ll find plenty of options to choose from among the Alliance Physical Therapy Partners practices nationwide.
Our team can quickly put you in touch with one of our partner clinics near you, and their friendly and knowledgeable local staff can help you find postoperative care to enhance your recovery and get you driving again.
Don’t have the time to see a physical therapist in person? Not a problem. Alliance PTP and its partners can also see you virtually in nearly every state.
Still have questions about what we and our partners can do for you? We’re ready to answer them and help you find the physical therapy you need.
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