Return to Jiu-Jitsu after ACL reconstruction surgery

[ps1]

Honestly, he came back way more skilled than when he left. We attributed it to the amount of time he just spent drilling the moves and really getting down the muscle memory.

[Nidan Melbourne]

Honestly, he came back way more skilled than when he left. We attributed it to the amount of time he just spent drilling the moves and really getting down the muscle memory.

don't forget it comes down to thinking about it as well and all the ways you could potentially apply it as well

[tamaro]

It's been 10 months since the surgery. Wanted to leave my experiences.

Overall, I'm very happy with the recovery. It was hard and painful but I can practice martial arts again without many of the previous concerns.

I continued to practice Karate and Taekwondo and did some semi-free sparring sessions.

In Jiu Jitsu I stopped for a while. I'm waiting to make 1 full year before testing my knee in drills that may require additional pressure or full contact impact. I did try jiujitsu at month 6 and 7, but stopped due to feeling a pain on the area where the screw was placed.

At this point I still have some though psychological barriers in executing spinning kicks. I can do basic turning kicks and stuff, but 180º + rotations give me the shivers. I feel like my body is expecting an injury at any point!

I still have some pain, but it's not related to the ACL. Due to the fact that I was injured for 2 years before surgery, there was additional wear on the patella, so that causes me pain. I'm now taking medication, and feeling better.

Still, stuff like sprinting, jumping is out of the question.

Flexibility was back to normal after month 7.

Had a routine meeting with the doctor last month and he basically told me I'd be wise to give up on martial arts. I'll continue and risk it of course.

I had a friend who did an almost full recovery and went into competition of Taekwondo again. I guess the problems I'm facing are mainly due to the fact I had to wait for such a long period for medical assistance.

Still, happy to be able to enjoy martial arts again at... perhaps 65-70% of what it used to be.

[ps1]

Thanks for the update!

Good luck in the continued recovery. It's hard to get past the psychological barriers. I've never had to do it, so I can't really give authentic advice. I have several friends that have said similar things, however. It took a while to truly trust the knees again.

[sensei8]

Thanks for the update!

Good luck in the continued recovery. It's hard to get past the psychological barriers. I've never had to do it, so I can't really give authentic advice. I have several friends that have said similar things, however. It took a while to truly trust the knees again.

Ditto!!

[kinetickick]

I know many submission artists, even middle aged ones, who have successfully returned after surgery. Be patient. Take it slow.