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@DFP
Theres a limited amount that physio's can do for you with ligament tears in your knee. If you keep using it, sensibly increasing what activities you do. After around a year you'll probably become comfortable without that acl in your knee. The physio can only offer you suggestions on how to challenge your body to adapt to cope. The popular exercises seem to be very light stuff like leg extensions with ankle weights/bands and eventually by the time you are mostly recovered. Hopping about on one leg.
I found it all to be of limited value. Time + gradual increase in demands will help you get used to your injury (acl dont grow back!) some things might accellerate the process, but none of the things physio's suggested did it for me.
I had an acl & meniscus tear in march 2009, got MRI scan in june 2009. In between that time my leg was fucked, was swollen and immobile but as I had no help I went around beginning activities when I was able beginning with cycling. It was months before walking became tolerable. I started to do strength exercises and made huge progress by the time I got the scan & results. When they told me they found nothing wrong!
But my knee had blatantly made a gunshot sound when the injury occured, I still had knee pain and loud clicking. I got referred to various physio's all of whom suggested exercises far more basic to what I was doing. They had no information to offer me about what had gone wrong. Was very frustrating so I just got on with my own thing, knowing that something was torn. I got heavily into lifting weights, which strengthened my leg and helped to rehab the knee.
By the end of 2010, I got to the stage where the knee barely caused me any problems. Can walk fine. But if I run I get some knee pain and spasming/tendonitis in my hamstring. But other than that I can cope just fine and im happy to leave it.
I finally got a 2nd opinion again around nov 2010 and a much better doc, told me I had a torn ACL & Meniscii. He offerred to arrange acl reconstruction with hamstring graft, but I declined. As I am heavily into weightlifting now, and I need a strong relaible hamstring. I can cope with not being able to run.