My second month of recovery following ACL and meniscus surgery was another tough, uncomfortable one. At the time, I felt like I was barely making any progress. Looking back, I was slowly working my way back and chipping away at my recovery. In this post, I am going to detail my month 2 post op recovery and share the exercises I was doing at the time as well. I will only describe new exercises, as I was still doing many of the exercises from my first month as well.
For a full breakdown of my injury and surgery, head to this post.
How I Felt Month 2 Post Op
Month 2 was still pretty difficult for me. Overall, I was still very limited in what I could do, and still experiencing a lot of discomfort. I used anti-inflammatory medication as needed, and was still icing frequently. in general, I was just a little bit discouraged by how slow I felt my progress was and was worried about my recovery.
How My Knee Felt
Just like the first month, my knee was stiff, swollen, and quite painful. It was especially stiff when I woke up in the morning and after doing my exercises, and I was in a constant state of discomfort. I still could not walk any reasonable distance and had to ice it very often. Additionally, I had a lot of issues trying to sleep, and I typically put a pillow between my knees since I sleep on my side. During some exercises in the gym, I would also feel my kneecap shift and had to massage my patellar tendon scar often because it was still quite stiff.
I was still really struggling with a range of motion in both directions. At my two-month follow-up appointment, my surgeon was concerned about my progress. Despite physical therapy twice a week and daily exercises at home, I was really struggling to get range of motion back. They were especially watchful of my extension. At my follow up, they told me that if there was not a significant improvement by the next month that they would consider going in again to scope my knee and remove scar tissue. She recommended I work on ROM for longer periods of time at a lower intensity (i.e prone hangs for longer, etc).
Major Events Month 2 Post Op
- Walked my dog (slowly) for the first time
- Slightly improved my ability to handle stairs, but was still hiking my hip
- Struggling a lot with range of motion
- Two-month follow-up appointment where my surgeon was considering going back into my knee to scope scar tissue. She said that would be the case if there was no significant improvement by the next month.
- ROM 5° extension 120° flexion when cold, 0° extension and 125° flexion after being stretched
2 Months Post Op Exercises
Focus for the second month: Increase range of motion, improve walking mechanics, slowly begin to build back quad and hamstring strength.
(all the exercises listed are new ones I did this month. I added these on to the ones I was doing in month 1)
Watch some of my exercises HERE
ROM
- Ball slides (sit on a Yoga ball and slowly roll forward and backward to bend the knee).
- Tabletop sit back.
Strength
- Step-ups and step-downs
- Glute bridge on a ball
- SL reach out squats
- SL RDL
- Squats
- Walking lunge
- Lateral step downs
- Hamstring curls (ball)
- Rear-elevated split squat
- Reverse plank
- Side leg raises
ACL Surgery FAQs- 2 Months Post Op
When could you walk?
I could walk without crutches at 3.5 weeks. For more information, check out this post.
Could you walk normally/without a limp at 2 months?
No. I still had a pretty bad limp 2 months post-op.
Did you have the full range of motion?
No. I still am very far from full extension (for me hyperextension), which is a contributing factor to my limp. I have to work on ROM multiple times every day and really struggled with it for months.
Was your knee stiff or swollen?
Yes. 2 months after surgery my knee was still very stiff and pretty swollen. It would get more swollen the more I was on it and after doing my recovery exercises. I had to ice and elevate many times a day.
Did you have trouble sleeping?
Yes. Even 2 months after surgery sleeping was a real struggle. It was hard to get comfortable, and my knee would ache at night. I slept with a pillow between my knees and iced my knee right before bed and right after waking up to manage the pain.
My Entire ACL & Meniscus Surgery Journey
Month 1
Month 2
Month 3
Month 4
Month 5
Month 6
Month 7
Month 8
Month 9
Month 10
Month 11
Month 12