Knee instability after ACL surgery

✅ Clinical Case:

Knee instability after ACL surgery

Patient: Male, 25 years old, amateur football player in 3rd division

History:

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction 2 years ago using hamstring graft (semitendinosus and semimembranosus). Rehabilitation included insurance-covered therapy, private physiotherapy, and personal training.

🤕 Persistent symptoms

• Sensation of instability and overload after training or matches

• Episodes of swelling, joint warmth, and mild numbness in the operated knee

• Recovery after 2–3 days of rest, but persistent feeling that the knee is “not completely right”

🔎 Clinical and neuromuscular evaluation

• Orthopedic knee stability tests: negative (knee stable)

• Graft harvest site (hamstrings) with reduced sensitivity and local discomfort

• Applied kinesiology test: marked weakness in hamstring muscles on the operated side, although general strength appeared normal

💡 Specific treatment

• High-power laser therapy (15W) applied to the graft scar during 4 sessions

• Result: full recovery of adaptive muscle strength in the affected muscle group

⚽️ Functional outcome

• Patient returned to regular training and competition

• No pain, no overload, and no subjective instability after exertion

🧠 Conclusion

In ACL surgery cases, persistent symptoms may not be related to the joint itself but rather to scars affecting muscle function. Advanced neuromuscular assessment and treatments such as high-power laser therapy can make a decisive difference in the complete recovery of athletes.

Is your knee still unstable after surgery or an injury?

If your MRI is normal but your knee does not respond under load, the cause may lie in muscle function. At my practice in Barcelona I assess this with applied kinesiology and the Adaptive Force test.

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Read also: Applied Kinesiology and Adaptive Force