ACL Tear - Training Before Surgery?

Hey everyone. I was bouldering this past Monday, took a nasty fall, and my knee buckled. I am still waiting for the report from the MRI, but the images look like a torn ACL. I cannot bear any weight on it due to lack of range of motion and instability, but the good news is I am currently not in any pain. I know that I will not be climbing anytime soon, but I was wondering if it is alright to workout the upper body (hangboard) in the meantime since I'm not in pain? Would it be better to wait till after surgery? Would having the body need to build muscle hinder the recovery of the knee? Would it be better to just do strengthening exercises on my bum leg to prepare for surgery and rest? Obviously I will be consulting my doctor, but I just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with this. Thanks!

Prehab is a good thing, but only after the initial swelling from the trauma has abated. If your doc wants to cut before this has happened, get a new doc.

Sorry to hear. I've been there 3X and I know the drill.

My advice:

Wait until the swelling is down, follow the RICE protocol and in the mean time get everything aligned to get a "Functional ACL Brace". You will need a prescription from an orthopedic doctor and insurance approval (they are about $1000 without insurance). Wear it every time you exercise. I have been able to climb lower grades using my ACL brace (with a torn ACL) but only after I did some rigorous upper body training. For Pete's sake don't even try to boulder.

In my experience, you recover faster the more muscle you build pre-op... at first your hamstrings and quads atrophy a lot so you will need those hips to stabilize for walking. My pre-op regime included strengthening hips, quads, and hamstrings. While you are still swollen and waiting on results you can start on hip strengthening using straight leg raises (I used ankle weights). It's important that you do this using your knees in a locked position, meaning set your quads tight, don't bend the knee. You can do it in four orientations, laying on your back, your belly, and both sides always lifting the leg up. After the swelling is down, start on isometric exercises: squats, step ups, lunges, dead lifts, etc.

I also did a lot of hang-board training but approach this carefully because landing from a fall can be disastrous. I would do pull ups, dead hangs, and campus a little. Rest. Repeat 3X.

Hope you recover quickly. It's typically 9-12 months after surgery before you can return to sport wearing a brace.

Best of luck with your surgery! Complete tears are awful. Some helpful info on dealing with ACL injuries:

ACL Injury Treatment Info