Physical therapy after acl surgery?

How long after and how often will i have to go to physical therapy after an acl surgery? I don't need an exact answer just an estimate from someone who actually knows. thanx

2 to 5 times aweek and doing exercises on ur own for however many times ur knee dr and PT tells u to do them, for about 6 months and then continue ur home exercises for the next 6 or so months.
Crutch-assisted walking: Humble yourself and use crutches to assist you in walking--go on them and off them as needed. You will get better faster and more comfortably if you use one or two crutches to get you to walk right throughout the day. For instance, wean off them at home when you feel stable and take one or two with you when you leave. Keep them in the car if you want to, but at least you have them if you need them.

Loosen up: Get up a few minutes early in the morning and do some exercises to get loosened up for the day. Try to avoid the "stiff cup of coffee and a couple of hours" routine. After your shower when you are 'warmed-up', do some of the prescribed exercises to get you walking, sitting, and standing correctly first thing.

Pain vs. Stiffness: It is important to recognize the difference between pain and general stiffness. Regardless of one's individual 'pain tolerance', and unless you are instructed otherwise, anything that causes pain in the knee should be modified or stopped.

Next Day Rule: Generally speaking, when it comes to increasing activities, follow the "next day rule". Any increase in activity or new exercise will probably cause the knee to swell that evening or even get a little stiff. That's normal. Go home, get it up and ice it and it should be better by the next morning. Any swelling or increased soreness that lasts through the next day was too much.

Days-as-rehab: Look at those more challenging day-to-day activities as rehab and not as obstacles (i.e. going up and down stairs, walking on uneven ground or hills). In other words, use your 'days-as-rehab'. The more rehab-type of exercises that you do regularly throughout the day, then the less you need to do at individual sessions. And the more you use these 'obstacles' as rehab, the more stable you get overall.

Listen to your knee: Most new activities will probably cause the knee to be a little stiff or sore as you first start out. That is normal, keep going. If it goes away, great. If it does not, or if tightness and soreness comes back--back off. But try it again within the next day or two.

Loosey-goosey: Keep your leg and body stretched regularly. You will be so much happier.

Lean and strong: Keep your abdominal muscles strong. Your body will be so much happier.

Strength and consistency: What you used to do for activities, hobbies or sports before your surgery was enough to keep you active and strong. Now you are going to have to do regular exercises in order to be able to participate in them comfortably at all. Regardless of whether its being able to do day-to-day activities or even to be skiing the steepest chutes in Chamonix, consider yourself 'in training' post-op for up to a year.

Be smart: It is better to be a day late than a minute early doing anything new. If you are not sure if your knee is ready, ask. If you're going to try it anyway, go slow and warm-up to it.

Sport-specific training: Train into your weaknesses. When beginning activities - especially sports - if you discover that you feel weak in a particular area or during a particular move, do it over and over. Concentrate on your mechanics and body position. Get strong doing it in a controlled situation when you can focus it.

6 weeks, but it can vary. Depends on your age too. If you are an athlete, will take longer to get back to a sport. Going back to work? Depends on your work intensity.

General rule is 4 weeks after the surgery to start physical therapy assuming everything heals normally. Your doctor should schedule a physical therapy plan for you. Take my brother for example, he was asked to do about 1 hr of bicycle riding machine every day after his knee surgery.

Depends on your rate of recovery and the Physical therapist. Could be on the 1st visit they show you some exercises to do and tell you how often, give you some big rubber bands and won't see you again till a month later. Or they could have you going to see them twice a week for a month.

Generally, PT should start within 1-2 weeks after the surgery. It is 2-3x/wk for 1-3 months -- sometimes longer if you are a competitive athlete returning to your sport.

PT can also be beneficial before ACL surgery to regain range of motion in your knee and can assist with rehab after the surgery.

It depends on the type of graft used and the preference of the surgeon...and of course, how much your insurance will pay for. The most typical answer is 3 times a week for the first 4-8 weeks. (Most do start within a week of the sugery, but some more conservative programs will delay for 2-4 weeks). After that initial period of immobilization and stretching, most people can back off to 1-2 times a week. Protocols for those who must return to high level activity usually last up to 4-6 months. In all, total number of visits usually ranges between 30-60 visits.