my knee at 2 weeks post-op
During my last PT session (this past Tuesday), my knee was able to bend as far as 104 degrees (from 88 degrees at the session before). But that’s not the best part! I was so happy when Anne (my therapist) told me I could take off the ugly terminator brace … for good! Yay! She also made me practice walking with one crutch. It was strange and scary at first to trust the bad leg, but eventually (after a day or so), I got used to it. Now I slowly glide around the house putting weight on my bad leg and using one crutch at a time. This means I can carry my own cup of coffee to the table now and even clean up after myself somewhat instead of being a royal pain in the butt to my best friend! She’s been extra patient and so helpful, but I think I’ve been wearing her down. Poor girl!
Also had my first post-op appointment with my doctor last Tuesday. Dr. Ben (again, a man of few words) breezed in to the exam room and spent a total of 5 minutes with me, showing me pictures of the inside of my knee and telling me that I’m recovering well and on schedule. However, he had no idea where those 2 burn marks on my leg came from. It’s a mystery to everyone! Anne thought they might have been my allergic reaction to some sort of tapes used in the OR. Go figure!
Getting ready for next PT session today at 1:00 pm. Will keep ya’ll posted!
PS – I was able to go full cycle on the bike (backward first then forward) last Tuesday … though very slowly! Still … another step forward. 
Posted by Katherine on August 13, 2009 at 11:13 am
3 weeks post surgery today. Yesterday was a milestone for me. I was able to ‘lock’ my knee in full extension. I have been unable to do this since shortly after the injury. This was because my torn ACL formed a ‘cyclops’. A blob at the base of the front of my knee that kept me just a few degrees off from full extension, and made it impossible to lock my knee. So, I lost that muscle tone and extension prior to surgery. I got it back yesterday. Yay! It is SUCH a good feeling. I am pretty much pain free and have been off pain meds totally (even aleve and aspirin) since the weekend. Megan, my physical therapist, told me not to come back for TWO weeks. To just continue with the exercises I am doing now. (Step ups on a 4 inch step; heel touches off a two inch step; Quarter squats; and we added resistance bands to the straight leg raises and to the backward leg kicks.) Megan said she was worried about me. She’s afraid I was going to do too much too soon and hurt my graft. I told her I caught myself mentally starting to do stuff that I shouldn’t do – and then didn’t do it. We had a storm and I wanted to get the leaves and stuff out of my gutters. I pulled out the ladder and was getting ready to climb when I remembered my knee.
I also ordered a custom brace two weeks before surgery, and I haven’t been able to wear it due to swelling. I took it back yesterday and told them that I’d had 7 braces of varying sort for my first knee, and none of them ‘didn’t fit’ due to swelling. So, they remeasured me and found they made a mistake. They are getting me a new custom brace and it is supposed to be done ASAP. I want that brace! I need to traipse around my yard and garden and not twist my knee. Also, as I start doing some sports again – I will need the brace. I even wear my old brace from 1990 for things like playing volleyball and bowling. Something about bowling (which I do very rarely) really twinges my knees.
To try to catch up with gardening, I have been wearing my old left leg brace on my right leg. Not very comfortable.
Next week, I hope to be able to start longe lining my horse. She’s totally into not doing any work these days. At first, she seemed confused about not doing any work. Now, I think she’s taken a liking to the pasture ornament lifestyle. I really don’t look forward to riding her any time soon. Which is good, because I WON’T be riding anytime soon.
Sarah, the discomfort I was experiencing in my knee, which I rated a 3 out of a scale of 1 to 10, in my second week of PT; I am now listing as 0.5! I still get some wierd bone pain that is pretty bad from time to time, but goes away in a minute or two and I forget about it.
Good luck and happy healing!
Posted by Diana Lee on August 14, 2009 at 10:24 am
Hi Sarah!
Yay for being able to shed the brace! When I had my two-week post op with my OS and he told me the brace was optional OR I could wear it and bend at a 90 degree setting, I was ecstatic! Of course I didn’t wear the thing after that.
This past week was a rough one. The PT worked me HARD. I didn’t mind because I love working out, but afterward I felt like there was something pinching or pulling on the outside of my knee and radiating pain down my leg. So I’ve been very cautious with it the whole week and only doing stationary bike, calf raises, mini-squats, and stretching. Much better today (Friday–PT was Monday) and it’s a day off so I can concentrate on RICE and PT at home.
I’d seen a graph at my OS website that showed a dip in progress at about this time, then a slooww upward progression in healing.
Oh, love the knee pic. Looks oh-so-familiar!
Hang in there girl! It’s only gonna get better.
Diana
Posted by Sarahdippity on August 14, 2009 at 11:06 am
Hi Katherine!
How awesome you’ve conquered the cyclops! Actually, I didn’t know what that was until after I read your comment. I know what you mean about “such a good feeling”! I felt that way after I went full circle on the bike yesterday!
Can’t believe you’re only 3 weeks post-op and already you get 2 weeks off of PT! You must be doing remarkably well compared to the rest of us! I haven’t done any steps, squats, resistance bands yet.
As to brace, I was able to get rid of my hunky brace this week, and I’m only wearing a soft brace bought at a drug store when I go outside now (if I remember). The therapist didn’t tell me to, but I just do it for comfort and security.
Was your custom brace something the doc/therapist recommended? Is it a hard brace?
Have you started VB again also? I remember you mentioned VB! That’s one of my goals!
Please keep me posted of how you’re doing Katherine! I love hearing about it! It’s awesome that you’re off all med by week 3! I’m still on Motrin 3x a day, but I’ve ditched the Percocet early last week. It was giving me nightmares!
Keep calm and carry on my dear! You’re doing great!
Sarah
Posted by Sarahdippity on August 14, 2009 at 11:11 am
Hi Diana!
Oh boy! Your description of the recent PT sessions … thanks for the warning! What did the PT make you do? Was it with weights, steps, squats?! I’m still doing the 8 exercises they’ve given me since the first session twice a day when I’m home.
I’m going to re-read old comments to refresh my bad memory and see which week you are now on your recovery process! Please keep us all posted on how you’re doing! Makes my day to get comments from my virtual friends who are going through the same thing I am!
Have a great weekend! And like Katherine perfectly put it … “happy healing!”
Sarah
Posted by Diana Lee on August 14, 2009 at 11:34 am
Hi Sarah!
I’m at 6 weeks 3 days post op. yay!
Happy healing is the perfect way to look at it. Happy to be healing!! Each day, baby steps, better and better.
Each week the PT has been giving progressively harder exercises. I’m glad because I love working out.
I work my way through the knee pain for each exercise because I know it’s helping get me stronger. But, whoo-ee! Muscles weren’t too sore, but knee was!
Maybe I overdid because the PT and I were chatting about the University I work at (and she graduated from) during the whole thing and I wasn’t necessarily keeping count…
OR I did step off the wobble board onto my affected knee leg when I was supposed to be balancing and catching the volleyball the PT was tossing to me. The other exercises have been stationary bike, leg presses (two leg and one leg), calf presses, the BIG rubber band walking forward and side-to-side, wall slides, mini-squats, modified one legged dead lifts (with a 2 pound weight), chair scoots (sitting on a low stool with wheels and “walking” yourself forward with your legs one after the other), going up and down stairs (down is hard), double stair step ups, modified lunges, light hamstring curls, and one-legged bridges. There might be a couple more that I can’t remember right now. And not all are done during the same session but I mix them in at home.
I’m going to let my PT know how my knee/leg felt after last week and see what she says. Maybe it’s normal to have some of that weird pinching, radiating pain. I just want to be on the safe side and not do ANYthing to delay the healing or mess it up.
On a side note… the bills are starting to come in and I’m thankful to have insurance. We’re figuring the total cost (including ambulance and emergency room at time of injury) is going to run $25,000-$30,000. Whew!
Have a super weekend, too! Take care.
Diana
Posted by Sarahdippity on August 14, 2009 at 11:44 am
Diana – Holy cow! I’m still reeling (wheeling?) from the numbers you just shared!!
And the 6-week PT repertoire is something else! I feel like a freshman in college and you’re a graduating senior!
Yes, I think you should tell your PT about the pain so they can tailor the exercises appropriately. I’m not a good pain bearer, so I complain a lot about every little jolt! And I did feel some when Jennifer was bending my leg before measuring it last Tuesday!
Thanks for reminding me where you are in the recovery process!
Sarah
Posted by kbcjax on August 12, 2010 at 8:19 am
My first blog every, imagine that? I am on day 14 post operative of a acl allograph of my knee. I have PT three times weekly and on the other days repeat what I ve done during these sessions at home religously. I have a 93 degree flexsion and full extension. Remember, a full extension of your knee is imperative to full recovery. My knee is still inflammed (fluid around knee), but it is tolerable and moving your knee and pumping your foot and simply put working on your range of motion (ROM) is also vital to recovery and will minimize the chance of developing scar tissue. Scar tissue is not your friend when it comes to this type of surgery, since it can hinder ROM and result in impeding your full recovery. I had a brace (fixed, hard, lightweight) made to prevent accidental fall that can result in hyperextending my knee, which is the number one issue you must avoid until you are healed. In other words, if you just walking around in a controlled environment, such as your home than walking without a brace should be fine, but if you are out and about and active a brace would be wise ESPECIALLY if you are using a crutches or crutches! I only needed meds for the first couple of days post op and I contribute my progress on presurgery physical therapy. The surgeon said: “Strong in, strong out.” Meaning, if you are going into surgery with a srong leg, then you wlll exponentially increase a good outcome. I challenge each of you to trust everyone caring for you, but listen to you body and communicate your experiences during this recuperation process. Remember, everyone is different and what works for some, doesn not necessary it works for everyone, right? I got an allograph acl and I never really thougth about it as being a donor organ, but it is. I got a card after surgery that explained that this acl was a “gift” from a donor (cadaver) and it suggested that I write a thank you not to the family of the donor. It did’t really occur to me that this was a gift and from a cadaver until I actually read the card. Just something to think about. Be of good cheer and be thankful we live in a time of modern medicine. I encourage each of you to work hard on your therapy session and continue them at home is vital. Once you are off crutches, your healing process and quality fo life will grow exponentially. Just getting to that point is difficult, but yet is your goal. Take care and God bless.
Posted by Heather on May 27, 2011 at 1:39 am
Hey- kbcjax- my name’s heather and I’m in my third week post op from ACL allograft. I’ve ditched crutches before my doctor said I could. Though, I live in Asia and I have a feeling they’re overly cautious ( I spent my first two weeks in hospital and they were surprised I wanted to leave early).
I’m also having a hard time walking ‘normally’ because I’m so cautious (with brace)- same problems on your end?
Posted by Sarah on May 27, 2011 at 10:29 am
Hi KBCJAX,
Thanks for sharing your experience. Somehow I didn’t see this comment until today, almost a year later. Hope you’re recovering nicely. The “strong in strong out” advice is so true.
Sarah
Posted by Sarah Le on May 27, 2011 at 10:33 am
Hi Heather,
I remember being very cautious also post-surgery. I think it’s a normal reaction. I still “baby” my “bad” knee today fearing I’ll hurt it again. Perhaps we baby it too much?
Sarah