Week 3: More Lost Time
Yet again I wished I wrote something earlier because I'm finding that I'm already forgetting little details.
2 weeks after surgery, I had my first post-op appointment with my doctor/surgeon. Overall he was really happy with my surgery and recovery. My swelling is relatively low and I had decent flexion. I was also saw some pictures from inside my knee. My bones were smooth, meniscus in pristine condition and my new ACL looked like discolored beef jerky (good sez doc). An assistant then removed my sutures which was a pain free process aside from the assistant accidentally tugging one suture.
I'm now allowed to sit upright instead of laying down all day. My back and neck are thankful for this change.
At my first PT session, my flexion was 98 degrees without "warming up" (my good knee = 155 degrees, heel to butt). When my knee is relatively straight, the fluids in my knee become more viscous, but as I warm up by bending my knee several times, the fluids become less viscous allowing me to achieve greater flexion (from what I understand). For the next PT session, I'll arrive early so I can warm up because I think I can almost reach 135 degrees (aka the medical definition of a normal function knee). My extension was a 2 and with pressure, I can achieve zero with no pain. The PT says that I should be at zero with no problems very soon.
My lower leg is suffering from minor edema, but as long as I massage it twice a day and do some "ankle pumps", it should be gone by the next PT session.
With my PT nearby, I walked around for the first time without my brace. This was a very scary moment for me. Luckily, my knee didn't buckle at all, but unsurprisingly my gait was screwed up. My bad leg is very reluctant to bend when stepping forward. My brace had been locked at 30 degrees flexion which contributed to the bending problem. The brace was opened up to 60 degrees and hopefully my gait will improve and the brace will probably be opened up to 90 degrees if I don't experience any more problems.
At one point, my weight had dipped down to 169 (with massive brace on) and currently I'm at 172. Considering I was 173 pre-surgery and my left leg has become soft as a marshmallow, it probably means I got fatter. Real swell.
2 weeks after surgery, I had my first post-op appointment with my doctor/surgeon. Overall he was really happy with my surgery and recovery. My swelling is relatively low and I had decent flexion. I was also saw some pictures from inside my knee. My bones were smooth, meniscus in pristine condition and my new ACL looked like discolored beef jerky (good sez doc). An assistant then removed my sutures which was a pain free process aside from the assistant accidentally tugging one suture.
I'm now allowed to sit upright instead of laying down all day. My back and neck are thankful for this change.
At my first PT session, my flexion was 98 degrees without "warming up" (my good knee = 155 degrees, heel to butt). When my knee is relatively straight, the fluids in my knee become more viscous, but as I warm up by bending my knee several times, the fluids become less viscous allowing me to achieve greater flexion (from what I understand). For the next PT session, I'll arrive early so I can warm up because I think I can almost reach 135 degrees (aka the medical definition of a normal function knee). My extension was a 2 and with pressure, I can achieve zero with no pain. The PT says that I should be at zero with no problems very soon.
My lower leg is suffering from minor edema, but as long as I massage it twice a day and do some "ankle pumps", it should be gone by the next PT session.
With my PT nearby, I walked around for the first time without my brace. This was a very scary moment for me. Luckily, my knee didn't buckle at all, but unsurprisingly my gait was screwed up. My bad leg is very reluctant to bend when stepping forward. My brace had been locked at 30 degrees flexion which contributed to the bending problem. The brace was opened up to 60 degrees and hopefully my gait will improve and the brace will probably be opened up to 90 degrees if I don't experience any more problems.
At one point, my weight had dipped down to 169 (with massive brace on) and currently I'm at 172. Considering I was 173 pre-surgery and my left leg has become soft as a marshmallow, it probably means I got fatter. Real swell.
posted by Edward at
8/30/2009 04:45:00 AM
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