4 weeks post op

Overall I feel I’m doing good with my rehab.  PT is going good and my knee is definitely feeling more stable and normal.  I’m almost at 0 degrees extension and my flexion is at like 115 degrees (depending on the day).  I’m just having one problem when I go to therapy and start using my knee it feels excellent but when I get home and wake up it feels so stiff and my limp becomes worse.  I’ll set up the exercise bike I got today when I get home from work.  I have 5 days off from work and therapy starting tomorrow.  I’m looking forward to relaxing and spending time with my girlfriend.  I’ll also spend quite a bit of time on my new exercise bike.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Well I’m still walking without the crutches which feels great.  I’m going up stairs with no problem, still not comfortable going down stairs though.  Yesterday at therapy my PT had me do 15 minutes on the bike (I can finally pedal around going backwards), a mile on the treadmill (walking) and really starting bending my knee to get my extension and flexion.  Needless to say my knee was pretty sore last night and today but I know this is a good thing.  Hopefully at PT today he will work me harder than yesterday.  I’ve realized that most of my lack of flexion and extension are mental things.  It feels great to be doing more.  I also ordered an exercise bike and it should arrive today when I get home from therapy.  I would recommend this to anyone who has the surgery.  Riding on an exercise bike is good to strengthen your knees even if you don’t have any problems, and it is even better for rehab.

12-27-2010- Almost 4 weeks post op

Well this past weekend I finally ditched the crutches.  I read online that you should still use crutches if you have a limp put my PT said that wasn’t true.  My extension is probably at like >5 degrees and my flexion is at 90 degrees.  My PT says he doesn’t want me to go past 90 degrees quite yet, which confuses me, I’ve never heard of this.  Anyways I’m very glad to be off the crutches it feels nice to be able to walk around.  My PT says he is probably going to start me walking on the treadmill today, so we will see how that goes.

12-21-2010

Well in two days I will be 3 weeks post-op.  Over the weekend I ditched one of the crutches and did quite a bit of walking around.  Saturday I walked around Walmart with the girlfriend and on Sunday I went Christmas shopping at the mall with the girlfriend.  Walking around with one crutch feels good but I’m hoping by today or tomorrow I will ditch the crutches entirely.  My knee is still pretty swollen but it’s starting to look more normal like the other knee.  Over the weekend I did some stretches, but not as much as I usually do, I was pretty busy.  My extension is almost at 0 degrees.  I’m hoping at PT today I’ll ditch the crutches completely and get to 0 degrees extension.

15 days post op

Went to work today, I'm a cop so I'm on light duty right now sitting at a desk doing basically nothing. I went to PT, my PT said that the swelling could be because I've been working it hard, he said not to worry about that swelling would go away and come back throughout the process. Did all my normal exercises today but the PT added a new one to help with my extension. PT had me sit down and put my leg on a chair in front of me he then put 12 pounds of weight sleeves (kinda like those ankle weights that you wrap around your ankles when running) on my knee and left me for 12 minutes. It was very uncomfortable but afterward I had more extension ill definitely continue this exercise at home. Hopefully walking will come next.

swelling

So I got home tonight and took my brace off and holy crap my knee is almost as swollen as it was right after surgery. There is no pain or anything but I have no idea why it is so swollen. It wasn't like this yesterday. I guess ill just have to ask my pt guy tomorrow when I go. I hope nothing is wrong.

12-16-2010

I'm 2 weeks post surgery.  This week has been much better for me.  The pain is almost totally gone and PT is going better.  I’m starting to put weight on my knee and walking but only with the assistance of crutches.  I read online that most people are off of crutches in 1-2 weeks.  I was really hoping for that but I don’t think it’s going to happen I tried to take a few steps yesterday and my knee didn’t give out but it wasn’t strong enough yet.  I think this is probably because before surgery I didn’t use my left leg at all for 6 weeks.  So all my muscles (hamstring, quads, etc) are very week.  I hope this is why I can’t walk yet.  The crutches are very frustrating I mean the knee brace is too but I want to be able to walk without the assistance of crutches.  I’m also having trouble getting my leg to 0 degrees.  I hope when I achieve the 0 degrees the walking will come next.  Overall it seems like I’m a little behind in the recovery process but who knows………..

The Surgery 12-2-2010 thru 12-11-2010

The day before the surgery my wonderful girlfriend came to my house at night and we both woke up in the morning and she drove me to the hospital (it’s about two hours away).  I got to the hospital went in and the surgery was down.  I woke up with that weird feeling you have after surgery.  I felt good though because of the block and all the pain medication.  My girlfriend drove me home and stayed with me until about 10 pm and then she went home.  I slept decent the first night but the next morning when I woke up I was in really bad pain.  I started therapy the 12-6-2010.  The week of 12-5-10 thru 12-11-2010 was a bad week for me.  I was in constant pain and my knee really ached and itched.  PT was tough.

ACL - Surgery

I figured I'd start a blog to let readers know how I'm doing on my ACL recovery.  A little background first, I first hurt my knee playing football on 10-14-2010.  I jumped up and caught a pass and when I landed I heard a loud pop and couldn't put any weight on my left leg.  Went to the Doc, got an MRI, blah blah.  I found out I had a completely torn ACL (it was in two pieces) and partially torn lateral and medial meniscus.  Surgery was set up for 12-2-2010.  The Doc said he wanted me to try and put weight on my knee before surgery and to get off the crutches.  I tried but couldn't put any weight on my knee if I did it would buckle and I'd fall down.  So I was on crutches for 6 weeks before surgery.  My doc recommended that I get the patellar tendon graft.  I’m 23 years old.  I have had two shoulder surgeries (same shoulder) in high school and tons of pulled muscles, broken bones, etc.