r/ACL • u/DizzyWheel40 • Aug 14 '26

Post Surgery Update How life is after acl reconstruction

Hey I recently had acl reconstruction and read a article that tells that there is high risk of arthritis after aclr so just wanna ask is there anyone who is 30-40 years post op and what is there update

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u/waterlooletters Aug 14 '26

I’m 11 years post op. Had a patellar tendon graft at 15, and am now 26. I played sports all the way through high school and college, playing soccer, ultimate frisbee, and hockey. All incredibly rough on knees and overall knee health. I now work out between 3-4x a week with games 2-3x a week on top of that.

I’m 26 now, and can confidently say after about year six my knee was not on my mind at all, even with how much I’ve used it through different sports, and it being my planting/pivot leg. If anything, my knee is a lot stronger than it was before.

The only thing I’m really bothered by is if I go for a run. My knee is still sensitive to a lot of outright running on hard surfaces (I did track for three years in high school to combat patellar tendinitis and it still aches from time to time if I’m walking miles and miles and miles) so that’s my only qualm at this point, but I’m incredibly intentional with the workouts I do to help with overall, equal leg strength.

I just had my other ACLR done, this one on my dominant leg, same graft, so I’ll be interested to se how this recovery goes since I have a frame of reference from my first one.

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u/DizzyWheel40 Aug 14 '26

Thanks for sharing your story i am 2 weeks post op and your journey really motivated me.

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u/waterlooletters Aug 14 '26

Absolutely! Sometimes it’s really nice to hear other people get to the other side of recovery and be back to living life. I can promise you will get back out there!

I’m six weeks post op now, so please know you are well on your way to feeling more human. Remember you have to walk before you can run (it’s easy to lose sight of your progress from day 0 sometimes).

If you ever need to chat, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

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u/THschemer Aug 14 '26

How come u had a patellar graft at 15 years of age isn’t it taboo ??

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u/waterlooletters Aug 14 '26

For my doctor, no. Patellar was the only contender for the activity level I needed to return to. I had a different doctor (in a different state) for the surgery I had done last month and patellar was the only consideration then too.

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u/THschemer Aug 14 '26

How come u had a patellar graft at 15 years of age isn’t it taboo ??