Hockey Player - 9 months out of injury, nearly 4 months out of ACL surgery

It seems pretty uncommon for ice hockey players to incur an ACL injury but that's my story. I'm at 25 year old woman who is very tough and has always been fit (just for reference and comparison). Not sure if it will interest anyone or prove helpful but I figured it was worth recapping if only for my own understanding of the timeline. Here goes:

• 9 months ago I took a slap shot to the knee (dead on) and immediately collapsed and remember being in the worst pain of my life for about the next 30 seconds - radiating up down my leg from my knee. Once it stopped I was able to limp off the ice and I thought it was ok - i even considered going back out! I could feel the swelling moving around and when I got home I had a good little bump on my kneecap and everything just looked aggravated.

• 2 weeks after my injury - saw a doctor. Got my MRI. Some grade 2 signal in my meniscus but otherwise fine. Doc tells me to do PT if it still hurts but its likely just a contusion to my kneecap.

• 8 weeks of PT later and I was still unable to play hockey. My knee felt super unstable. I remember walking to go across a street but the light changed so i stopped quickly and it felt like my knee kept going - that should have been my clue. After not getting better for over 3+ months I saw a new doctor - OS and knee guy for the women's olympic soccer team. He immediately thought it was the ACL and potentially meniscus after doing a new MRI (the technician ruled it fine but he disagreed as my ACL looked obstructed).

• Had surgery in March '10 (just over 5 months past initial injury) and found there was indeed a partial ACL tear and it was super stretched out. My surgeon's theory is that the shot I got hit with hyperextended my knee.

• It's been just under 4 months now since my surgery and it has definitely been a trying, exhausting and difficult road. Because i spent 5 months on a crap ACL trying to rehab I've had some complications like a super tight IT Band which gets stuck on my knee coming out of extension and is very painful. The foam roller was really helping until an old shoulder injury flared up and now I have to have the doctor check out my shoulder (potential rotator cuff problem). I've also had a very tight calf and some catching and popping in my knee.

• I've had to be on Voltaren (Diclofenac) twice a day for awhile now to reduce inflammation and help me regain my range of motion and I have to say it has helped a ton and sure beats blowing through 8+ advil a day. Because of my complications in rehab I have been told I'm about 2-3 weeks behind a normal schedule which I hate because I am so competitive. It often seems like if its not one thing it's something else and I'm starting to feel like I'm never going to be back skating again. I used to brag that I was an injured hockey player but now when people say I'm a hockey player I just reply "I USED to be."

Being such an athlete and competitive person (I played hockey in college and was playing 3 times a week before I got hurt), its so hard to sit on the sidelines and not have that outlet. These are a couple questions I have:

1. Anyone have good ways to loosen up an IT band that won't require me to put additional pressure on my same side shoulder (like the foam roller does)
2. How long did it take you to get back to a) skating and b) playing with normal contact? I know they say 4-6 months for jogging but I know contact sports is a whole different ballgame. Plus - skating really recruits those small stabilizing mucles in the knee and is very stressful on it.
3. Has anyone else developed or flared up other injuries as a result of compensations made and stress put on your body post-ACL surgery?

I hope I wasn't too long winded or boring - I'd love to hear from other fellow hockey players who have had this surgery.

Thanks! Mary Catherine