How long exactly does it take to regain muscle mass after ACL surgery? It may take up to 1 year after your ACL surgery to regain your muscle mass! This sounds like a very long time, but there are some very important reasons why this is the case. Muscle loss, also called muscle atrophy, is normal after ACL surgery. Read this blog for more information about muscle loss after ACL surgery.
Listen to Andrew Veley, a physiotherapist, talk about the reasons why it can take up to a year to regain your muscles after ACL surgery in the video below.
Want to find a way to quantify your muscle loss? Or better understand the difference between your surgical ACL leg and your non-surgical leg? Read this blog about how to measure the difference between your two legs by simply measuring your thigh circumference. If you need a video explanation of what thigh circumference measurements are and how they can be used to track your progress, watch this short video.
Here is Andrew’s full blog on muscle loss after ACL surgery.
Read all 6 Andrew’s blogs here!
If you are recovering from an ACL injury or ACL surgery, download our Curovate physiotherapy app from the links below. Curovate offers daily video-guided exercises, the ability to measure knee range of motion, in-app chat with a physiotherapist to answer your questions, and educational blogs and webinars.
If you need more tailored help during your ACL recovery, check out our Virtual Physiotherapy page to book your 1-on-1 video session with a physiotherapist.
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2. Erskine RM, Fletcher G, Folland JP. The contribution of muscle hypertrophy to strength changes after resistance training. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2014;114(6):1239-1249. doi:10.1007/s00421-014-2855-4
3. Suchomel TJ, Nimphius S, Stone MH. The importance of muscle strength in athletic performance. Sports Med. 2016;46(10):1419-1449. doi:10.1007/s40279-016-0486-0
4. DeFreitas JM, Beck TW, Stock MS, Dillon MA, Kasishke PR. An investigation of the time course of training-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2011;111(11):2785-2790. doi:10.1007/s00421-011-1905-4
5. Thomas AC, Wojtys EM, Brandon C, Palmieri-Smith RM. Muscle atrophy contributes to quadriceps weakness after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. J Sci Med Sports. 2016;19(1):7-11. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2014.12.009
6. Bryant AL, Kelly J, Hohmann E. Neuromuscular adaptations and correlates of knee functionality after ACL reconstruction. J Orthop Res. 2008;26(1):126-135. doi:10.1002/jor.20472
7. Lepley LK, Davi SM, Burland JP, Lepley AS. Muscle atrophy after ACL injury: implications for clinical practice. Sports Health. 2020;12(6):579-586. doi:10.1177/1941738120944256
8. Fowler Kennedy. Physiotherapy according to the ACL reconstruction protocol. 2015. http://fowlerkennedy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/PHYSIOTHERAPY-FOLLOWING-ACL-RECONSTRUCTION-PROTOCOL-November-2015.pdf. Accessed July 18, 2021.
9. van Melick N, van Cingel REH, Brooijmans F, et al. Evidence-based clinical practice update: practice guidelines for anterior cruciate ligament rehabilitation, based on a systematic review and multidisciplinary consensus. Br J Sports Med. 2016;50(24):1506-1515. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2015-095898
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