You can usually start jogging 12 weeks after ACL surgery, but there are some requirements before you start:
- You must have full knee bending and straightening when compared to your non-operated knee
- You must have minimal to no swelling in your knee
- You must be able to walk fast without a limp
- You must have minimal to no knee pain
- You must be able to walk 20 minutes without increasing pain and swelling
- You should be able to do squats and lunges without pain
- You should have started exercises to strengthen your non-operated leg.
The details of how to get to this stage are specified in our ACL mobile app for Apple and Android devices called Curovate that guides you through every day of your recovery! If you are not sure that you have met these requirements speak to your health care provider to make sure you are ready to start jogging.
I start my patients at week 12 with a walking jogging progression 3 times per week.
It looks like this:
- 5 minutes fast walk
- 1 minute jog
- 4 minutes walk
- 1 minute jog
- 4 minutes walk
- 1 minute jog
- 4 minutes walk
- 5 minutes walk slowing down
- For a total of 25 minutes
Typically, I increase the jogging time by 1 minute every week so that by week 13 it looks like this:
- 5 minutes fast walk
- 2 minutes jog
- 3 minutes walk
- 2 minutes jog
- 3 minutes walk
- 2 minutes jog
- 3 minutes walk
- 5 minutes walk slowing down
- For a total of 25 minutes
Continue this progression 3 times per week until you are able to jog 25 minutes continuously. I also consider an individual's goals in their ACL rehabilitation. If they have no desire to jog for 25 minutes, then I modify what they need to do after surgery. However, if an individual wants to play a sport after ACL surgery involving running, then jogging for 25 minutes is a requirement after surgery and before returning to their sport. There are additional things to consider related to returing to sports and our physical therapy app provides 8 months of rehabilitation following an anterior cruciate ligament injury or ACL reconstruction from day 1 to a full return to sports. We have also written a blog specifically about returning to sports after ACL injury or surgery. If you need help returning to jogging or sports, learn more about physical therapy online offered by the author of this blog.
You can get the full 8 month ACL rehabilitation program which includes the walking jogging progression, daily exercise videos, the ability to measure your knee range of motion with just your phone and information about when you are allowed to do various physical activities after ACL injury in our physical therapy app, Curovate. Our app also offers 8 months of rehabilitation following a total knee replacement, total hip replacement, knee osteoarthritis, knee strengthening and hip strengthening from the links below.
Conclusion
Typically, it takes 12 weeks after ACL surgery before you can start jogging. There are some important criteria that you must meet before you start jogging. This blog explains each criterion. This blog also explains what a walk jog progression is and how to start jogging after ACL surgery.
