Desert Pig
Registered
I had a full ACL replacement on my left knee, and I would like to know how long I should expect to be out of SCUBA? Anyone?
ACL Knee Surgery
- Thread starter Desert Pig
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You should be asking your doctor this question. I'm not an expert on ortho surgery, but infection wise, you only have to wait until the incision site is heeled. This is usually 10 days to 2 weeks, but have the doc look at it to clear you. As for the internal part of the surgery, I don't think pressure changes will effect it. So all you have to do is keep up with your physical therapy. Once your knee is strong enough in that regard, you should be okay to dive. In other words, once you can walk with a tank on your back and do fin kicks, everything else should be cleared. But like I said, ask your surgeon.
CameronMartz
Fitness Instructor
This is also dependent upon how much meniscus repair you needed, if any. The meniscus repair is often the limiting factor on ACL repair recovery. The sooner they allow you to weight bear, the quicker your recovery, but you absolutely do not want to push it.
When you are cleared by your surgeon and PT for finning, start out in a pool, not a dive. You will need to test the capabilities of your knee in a scenario that allows you to stop the minute you feel like you're overdoing it. A dive won't let you do that, but you can always just take your fins off and hop out of the pool.
This is not just for safety reasons, but it is to make sure you are not tempted to fin more than you should and reinjure your knee. Remember, kicks of all types put a lot of load on the ACL, and adding a fin to your foot greatly increases the leverage.
Cameron
When you are cleared by your surgeon and PT for finning, start out in a pool, not a dive. You will need to test the capabilities of your knee in a scenario that allows you to stop the minute you feel like you're overdoing it. A dive won't let you do that, but you can always just take your fins off and hop out of the pool.
This is not just for safety reasons, but it is to make sure you are not tempted to fin more than you should and reinjure your knee. Remember, kicks of all types put a lot of load on the ACL, and adding a fin to your foot greatly increases the leverage.
Cameron
I had one done in 2001, I was out of the water 6 weeks.
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