Last week I tore my ACL, lateral meniscus, and chipped some bone off my patella and I believe the main reason the injury happened, based on some research I’ve done myself, is that my left side had issues with tightness and proper glute function. Leading up to the injury, my left leg was weaker in hip extension exercises, and my left side lower back would always get some major pumps.
So after some reading, I think my issue is
- poor/weak glute function
- tight tfl/it band
- tight QL
I’m pretty sure the QL is also responsible for my left shoulder being elevated and generally feeling weaker and less stable on exercises.
But my actual question is, is it advisable to go ahead and foam roll my IT band with my torn ACL before surgery? Should I avoid any rolling that is close to the knee? Also what should I do for activation and lengthening work? I’m fairly limited with this leg, and cannot do some of the QL stretches I’ve seen demonstrated. I’m really wanting to correct my shoulder imbalance as well so I can at least work upper body while I’m out for a while from the gym.
Any help would be much appreciated.