I snapped my acl, mcl and cartlige on 2nd of january. Because of the MCL damage I needed a full leg brace for 7-8 weeks before the recon. During this time my leg had a lot of atrophy- which has significantly slowed down my recovery.
I could have opted to build up my muscles before the surgery by waiting, but I wanted to get back to “normal” ability at work as soon as possible.
I was on crutched for one week and used a walking stick for the second week.
My surgeon would be happy for me to ride within about 6-8 months, but I have seen too many grafts fail from prematurely stressing the knee.
I paid CASH for the whole proceedure, plus the amount of time I have had off work means that 12 months is truly a minimum for me.
I know the graft choice is also a big factor, ie patella, lars ligament or hamstring.
I know the patella and the lars get you back quicker than the hamstring, for obvious reasons.
