How I Squat With A Fully Torn ACL Pain Free Without Surgery

The ACL Tear Nightmare

For me, the gym wasn’t just about lifting weights.It was my escape.Whenever life got stressful — school, relationships, whatever.I knew I had one thing that made me feel alive:> Training.
> Pushing myself
> Getting stronger.It made me feel in control when everything else felt chaotic.And when you have that one thing you can always rely on...You think it’ll always be there.Until it’s not.April 14^th 2024:A few days after finishing Ramadan, I
stepped into the ring to spar. (I was a kickboxer)I hadn’t sparred in months and was still
feeling a little drained from the water fasts.But mentally? I felt good. Hungry. Focused.
I wanted to prove to myself that I still had it.I was dreaming of getting my first fight and earning the respect of my peers.The spar was going smooth — light on
my feet, feeling sharp — until...SNAP.My knee gave out.The sharpest pain I’ve ever felt shot through my body.I laughed it off at first.
(this is me texting my strength coach after the spar lol)

I told myself, "It’s probably nothing. I’ll sleep it off."I didn't sleep a second that night.Woke up to a knee that was swollen like a basketball.Throbbing. Burning. I couldn’t even bend it.Naturally, as an athlete, I only
knew of one place to turn to:That morning, I immediately called
a cab to my physiotherapy clinic.I thought, “They’ll fix me.”Because when you’re an athlete, you believe in the system.You believe that the “experts” know exactly what to do.You trust them with your body — your future — without question.But this time...That trust almost cost me everything

Physiotherapy:
Right Idea, Wrong Approach.

At first, my physio couldn’t even tell what my injury was — my knee was so swollen I couldn’t bend it more than 10°.He told me to just focus on knee mobility.
(Good advice — it made sense)So I grinded: flexion, extension, cycling, whatever it took.11 days later, I got 90% of my mobility back
— practically unheard of for an ACL tear.Finally... some progress.I thought I was ready to walk again.Ready to get my life back.But then?He told me not to walk unless necessary.Restricted me to 3 basic leg exercises.Nothing else...But I trusted him. He was the expert.3 Months Later...Still limping everywhere.Still stuck doing the same rehab drills.I tried other treatments: Massage kind
of helped. Athletic Therapy did nothing.$5,100 wasted on healthcare professionals.
(the receipt was too long to show the full thing below lol)

I gained over 20 pounds.Mobility not getting any better.Couldn’t work my job as a trainer.Bank account bleeding.Every day felt the same.Same pain. Same frustration. No real progress.And my friends?They still hit me up to hang out.They'd make plans I couldn't join by inviting me to
swim or to go to a trampoline park.Having to remind them constantly that
I can't join because I'm injured.At first, I laughed it off.But after months of being left behind...I started realizing something:I was isolated. Invisible. Forgotten.Ima be honest... those were dark days.I wanted to give up so bad, but thankfully God had
a better plan for my life...

The Missing Piece They
Never Told Me

3 months into rehab...At my latest physio appointment,
he assessed my walkingHe gave me a score of 3/10.I was devastated.Three months of following orders.Three months of doing every exercise they told me.Three months of showing up, paying up, and trusting the system.And I was still limping around like a cripple.

Out of pure frustration, I decided to walk home — against my physio’s orders.

What would normally take a healthy person 30 minutes,
took me 2 brutal hours.Every step felt like my knee was going to snap.I had to stop every few minutes just to catch my breath.People stared. Cars slowed down to look at me.It was brutal.

But somehow... It felt right.

The next day, I walked home againAnd the next day.And the next.8 days later, I was walking
to the gym in under an hourI was visiting my physio for another assessment.But this time, things were different.He watched me walk, scribbled some notes, and looked up, stunned:

9.9/10 score.

He couldn’t believe it.“What changed?” he asked.Simple.

I stopped listening to him.

At first, I didn’t know what to think.
(surely ignoring a healthcare professional
isn't the smart thing to do right?)I sat on it for a few days.And one of these days, I ran
into an old friend who was also a trainer.I told him the whole story.How hopeless things looked until recently.How doing everything "right" was getting me nowhere.He listened.Then he went on a rant I’ll never forget:

"Physios treat the symptoms, not the problem."

He told me how he wasn't able to do any
pressing exercises because of elbow pain.How physios told him to avoid pressing and instead work on relieving the pain.The pain eventually faded...But he still couldn’t press.

And to them — that was a win.
To him — it was failure.

So he took matters into his own hands.Instead of avoiding pressing, he slowly built himself up.Bit by bit.Progression after progression.5 months later, he was back to normal.No pain. Full strength.I didn't know what to say, so he wrote
me a simple 5 exercise program to try:1. Quad strength exercise
2. Quad isometric exercise
3. Dynamic balance exercise
4. Hamstring isometric/strength exercise
5. Calf strength exerciseIt was night and day.I was straightening my leg pain-free.Doing basic leg exercises again.Feeling stronger than I had in the last 3 months combined!!It was night and day.

One conversation. One strategy.

And everything changed.For the first time since my injury,
I wasn't helpless.I wasn’t waiting for someone else to “fix me.”I realized:No one was coming to save me.

It was safe to say, I knew exactly what I had to do next.