Essential tips for ACL Surgery Recovery – Week One Insights
by Dr. Samuel “Kaipo” Sotelo, PT, DPT, CSCS, Cert. DN
ACL surgery recovery can be a challenge, especially during the first week. It’s a time to prioritize swelling reduction, pain management, and setting the foundation for your journey back to full mobility. As someone who’s been through this process, I want to share the five key areas I focused on that made a big difference.
Get Ahead on Swelling
Swelling and pain control are the foundation of recovery during the first week. While traditional methods like ice packs work, I found that using a circulating ice machine was the gold standard. This tool provides consistent cold therapy around your knee, reducing inflammation more effectively than ice packs. Machines like the Game Ready or Ossur Cold Rush allow you to control the temperature and duration, making it easy to manage swelling. I aimed for 20 minutes on and 40 minutes off throughout the day. With the circulating ice machine, I could rest comfortably without constantly refilling ice. Whenever I wasn’t icing, I kept my leg elevated on pillows to promote fluid drainage. A compression sleeve helped reduce swelling further and provided support for my knee. I also stayed on top of my prescribed medication schedule to manage pain before it escalated.
EXTENSION, EXTENSION, EXTENSION
Achieving full knee extension is crucial in the early stages of recovery—it’s the foundation for walking and overall mobility. I used a pillow under my heel while lying down to encourage my knee to straighten. Gravity does the work here. Activating my quads by pressing the back of my knee into the floor was simple but effective. Gentle stretches were also part of my routine, avoiding pushing too hard and focusing instead on consistent, small efforts every few hours.
Pain Free Mobility
While rest is important, keeping your knee moving in a controlled way helps prevent stiffness and improves circulation. Using a towel or strap, I gently bent my knee within a safe range of motion as advised by my surgeon. Small movements like ankle pumps kept my blood flowing and reduced the risk of clots. Practicing proper crutch use helped me maintain balance and avoid compensatory habits.
Rest with Intention
Rest is a powerful recovery tool. It’s not about doing nothing—it’s about allowing your body to heal. Healing happens while you rest. I used extra pillows to elevate my leg while sleeping. I alternated periods of activity (like exercises) with intentional rest to avoid overdoing it. During this first stage, you will not be able to do as much as you hope, but remember you’ll be able to do more with every day. Give yourself grace using intentional rest.
Keep Your Headspace in the Right Place
Recovery is just as much about mindset as it is about physical effort. Staying positive helped me stay on track. Achieving milestones like reducing swelling or improving knee extension gave me motivation to keep going. Journaling my recovery helped me see how far I’d come, even when progress felt slow. Having friends, family, and colleagues for encouragement made all the difference.
WE ARE HERE FOR YOU!
Recovering from ACL surgery can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to go through it alone. I’ve been in your shoes, and I know how important it is to have the right tools, support, and advice during these early days. I’ve linked my Instagram page so you can see what the journey has been like from my perspective. If you’re navigating your own recovery and have questions, need recommendations, or just want to share your progress, I’d love to be a resource for you. Please reach out! We’re in this together.
You can follow my journey at https://www.instagram.com/dr.kaiposotelo/