Physical Therapy: My exercises still consist of 4-way SLRs, quad sets, patellar mobilization, and scar massage. I am able to lift my leg completely on my own and have no issues "getting it started." At the end of the week I am able to complete 5x15 sets of 4-way SLRs with 10 lbs strapped above my knee. The first set is the most painful but as my leg warms up it gets easier.
I also started pool therapy this week. I will be spending an hour in the pool on Tues and Thur to practice walking with a normal gait. The exercises were very basic on the first day. I stood in water up to my neck and held a flotation barbell in each hand underwater to decrease the amount of weight on my legs. Then I walked from one end of the pool to the other. I tried backwards walking and also side steps. I was pretty miserable in the pool and close to tears. My leg was highly unstable and the water was moving it around causing pain. Walking was difficult since I am not bending much yet and extremely weak. Also, I had a lot of mental difficulty putting any weight on my bad leg. It physically hurt but I was more concerned with the thought of damaging the graft since it is still in liquid form at this point. My therapist had to explain at that depth and with the flotation devices I was only putting 20 lbs of my total weight on my leg and it wouldn't hurt anything.
Though my first pool experience was unpleasant I had to laugh a little as I had images of the movie "Cocoon" while I was struggling to do the most basic tasks in the water.
Pain: I don't have much pain when I'm not moving my leg. When I need to get up, it's sore to move around but much better than the previous weeks. I don't need to lift my leg with my hand or have some else move it anymore. When I need to move I flex my quads and move my leg where it needs to go. The constant use of my quads has caused some muscle fatigue but no extra pain. Another issue that has come up is the soreness in my neck and back. I spend a lot of time in bed mostly in the CPM and my body is not used to being in the same position all the time. The only saving grace is I get up and go to PT twice a day. Also my arms and wrists are sore from the crutches. I'm guessing this will go away as I get stronger.
Sleeping: Sleeping has not changed much since last week. I can only sleep on my back or side with my bad leg up. Changing positions is still an event and I have to move very carefully. When I've been sleeping for awhile and then have to change positions my leg has stiffened up and it's more painful. Sometimes my quad muscle contracts when I'm asleep. It's sort of like a spasm. It's quite painful and wakes me up. This happens because my body is still getting used to having my quad fire again. I can't wait until this stops.
Other Thoughts: Overall this week was difficult more mentally than physically. I am a month out of surgery and it's becoming apparent how slow this recovery will be. It is hard to stay positive but I keep reminding myself how far I'm come.
Hurrah! In the end I got a webpage from where I know how to
ReplyDeleteactually take useful facts concerning my study and knowledge.