This is the most important aspect of your recovery. The surgery may not be successful if the therapy is not completed. It is essential to stay motivated. Initially, your therapist will focus on gentle flexion and extension exercises. The exercises will focus on strengthening the quadriceps and hamstring muscles.
Most physicians employ a vigorous therapy program that emphasizes early return to weight bearing.
You should expect to be on crutches only about ten days to two weeks. This early ambulation helps to prevent the muscles atrophying from disuse. It is important to remember that the new ligament graft is still weak at this point in time. The bone needs time to heal around the attachment sites. The ligament itself will be at its weakest six weeks after surgery, after which point it begins to remodel and strengthen based on the stresses that are being placed on it in its new role as a ligament.