Range of Motion: This is the first week without the CPM and my moral has soared. It feels so good not to be chained to that dreadful machine all day. Now that I'm out of the CPM I have to do range of motion exercises on my own. Here's a video of one of the exercises I do:
Overall, this week has been frustrating for range of motion. I was stuck at 90 degrees all week. My therapist put me in the biodex machine to force my knee to bend past 90 degrees. This machine is good for passively bending knees.
I got to about 95 degrees with difficulty. Once again I've had to adjust my expectations for this surgery. After my scope I got full range of motion back very quickly. I have to keep reminding myself that this surgery was much more invasive and that range of motion is a long process. Scar tissue that formed after the surgery and swelling along with fluid in the joint (effusion) makes range of motion difficult. Once the effusion goes down it will be easier to bend and as far as the scar tissue, I just have to break that up physically by doing the range of motion exercises.
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| Biodex Machine |
I got to about 95 degrees with difficulty. Once again I've had to adjust my expectations for this surgery. After my scope I got full range of motion back very quickly. I have to keep reminding myself that this surgery was much more invasive and that range of motion is a long process. Scar tissue that formed after the surgery and swelling along with fluid in the joint (effusion) makes range of motion difficult. Once the effusion goes down it will be easier to bend and as far as the scar tissue, I just have to break that up physically by doing the range of motion exercises.
Physical Therapy:
My workouts this week were the same as last week:
Monday
Monday
- AM
- 20 minutes on the rowing machine w/one leg (other leg sits on the ab dolly and rolls back and forth)
- 4-way SLRs and quad set contractions with Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) cuff-1x30 reps/3x15 reps w/30 secs rest between sets (no weight)
- PM
- 20 minutes on the arm bike
- Upper body weight lifting
- AM
- 20 minutes rowing
- Leg extension, hamstring curl, and leg press on GOOD leg w/BFR cuff-1x30 reps/3x15 reps w/30 secs rest between sets
- PM
- Pool therapy for gait training-3x laps walking, 3x laps backwards walking, 3x laps side stepping, 3x laps march walking (I do this in neck deep water with flotation device barbells to put minimal weight on my leg)
- AM
- 20 minutes rowing
- 4-way SLRs and quad contraction sets with BFR cuff-1x30 reps/3x15 reps w/30 secs rest between sets
- PM
- 20 minutes on the arm bike
- Core work
- AM
- 20 minutes rowing
- Leg extension, hamstring curl, and leg press on GOOD leg w/BFR cuff-1x30 reps/3x15 reps w/30 secs rest between sets
- PM
- Pool therapy-3x laps walking, 3x laps backwards walking, 3x laps side stepping, 3x laps march walking
- AM
- 20 minutes rowing
- 4-way SLRs and quad contraction sets with BFR cuff-1x30 reps/3x15 reps w/30 secs rest between sets
- PM
- 20 minutes on the arm bike
- Upper body weight lifting
I am doing better with the BFR as well. I do not have any light headedness or dizziness anymore. I just feel intense muscle fatigue and burning while exercising with the cuff which is normal. I am seeing amazing results with this on my good leg. I can't believe how much stronger I am after just a couple sessions. My good leg used to fatigue very quickly while on the crutches but I now feel like I can stand on it all day.
Pain and Swelling: I now have minimal pain with the SLRs. It's mostly just stiffness that works itself out after the first few sets. I'm still doing the scar massage and patellar mobilization. With the scar massage I has some very tender places. The worst is the scope incision on the inside of my knee. I can feel a lump that is most likely scar tissue so I press on this pretty hard to try to break it up. I also feel a lot of pressure in this area when doing range of motion. I had a scope done in conjunction with the open knee surgery. This was to check out the knee and make sure everything was good before the surgeon opened it up. I believe my surgeon used the same incision as last time so that is the reason for the lump of scar tissue. The swelling is the same.
Sleeping: I am sleeping normally now. It still takes me awhile to get comfortable with the brace. I am looking forward to not having to sleep with that soon.
Other Thoughts: Life on crutches sucks. The crutches are starting to wear on me. Everything takes more time: Getting ready in the morning, fixing meals, going to the bathroom. I don't do a lot of my daily rituals that I used to do such as spend time fixing my hair or putting on makeup. You can't carry anything on crutches so I have a little bag with me that I wear on my back to carry things. And when you drop something it is a whole event to pick it up. On a good note, after 7 weeks my triceps and good leg are very strong and I have much more endurance. I feel like I can crutch a fairly far distance without getting fatigued.
Sleeping: I am sleeping normally now. It still takes me awhile to get comfortable with the brace. I am looking forward to not having to sleep with that soon.
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| Picking up a water bottle |
Hey Megan, your cousin Jeanette here. I'm reading your blog and am really getting educated about knee issues. I knew you were going to have some type of surgery: just didn't know how invasive or complex it was going to be. I had to laugh when I read about your arthroscopy and the concern about the swelling. I had my knee scoped 2 years ago for a meniscectomy and "clean out". It took a good 6-9 months for the swelling to go completely away. I realize that I have a few more years and lot more arthritis than you so I'm glad things are going according to plan. I'm looking forward to tracking your progress over the next months. Take care.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeanette, thanks for the comment. Yes, the swelling is surprising. I didn't expect it to stick around for months but I guess that is normal. I also had my knee "cleaned out" after the first scope when my cells were harvested. It did help quite a bit.
DeleteYou're a champ!!! Can't wait to see you back at home, lady! -Dani
ReplyDeleteThanks Dani! I'm looking forward to getting back!
DeleteHi Megan.
DeleteI have no idea if you read the comments anymore, since this journal is about 8 months old. But, this is the best post op diary I've read. I have my ACI tomorrow and am absolutely terrified. This is my third knee surgery and my eighth total surgery. I have chronic abdominal pain (from an appendectomy) and have bee on narcotics for almost six years. I'm only terrified the thought of the pain meds not working (my ankle reconstruction in may of 2015 was very close to being the most painful surgery I've had)!!
Thanks again for the great blogposts be the best I've found.
Hi Jaclyn, thank you for the comment. Yes, I'm still active on this blog though I need to check it more often. How are you doing? The first 6 weeks are the hardest but it gets better. I bet you're doing awesome! Hang in there and I'd been really interested in hearing how your recovery is going.
DeleteMegan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting this out there. I found your blog because I am 7+ weeks post-op and I was curious if I should still have the amount of swelling that I do. The insight you give at each step kinda makes me feel as if there is almost someone right there with me. I'm not used to slowing down so this whole thing is an eye opener. I've cheated and read ahead a little bit but I've bookmarked this site and will continue to refer to it along the way. Thanks, in advance. I hope you are doing well
Mike,
DeleteThanks for reading! Oh yeah I had swelling for months. I was concerned about it too. But it really starts to go away once you get full range of motion back. Even after a year my knee still looks different than the other one.
Good to know. I won't dwell on the swelling, then. Thank you. Did you ever have any issue with muscle spasms or muscle tightness in your calf or behind your knee? I get enough that I end up with pain and it even directly inhibits some of the straightening exercises. I have a prescription for muscle relaxers but being at work and having or means I don't get to take them and my physical therapists is a bit discouraged with my progress. The muscle relaxers work great when I can take them which at this point is pretty much just when I sleep.
DeleteI didn't have any problems with muscle spasms. I had a lot of tightness but I think this was due to being restricted from using my leg for so long. Once I was approved to work towards full range I spent a lot of time stretching. I would typically spend an hour a night stretching during the first 3 months. Mostly I was bored and it gave me something to do while watching tv. I am an avid yoga practicioner so not being able to bend and stretch like I was used to drove me crazy. So I spent a lot of time doing that during my recovery. Still after a year my flexibility is not quite the same on my operated leg as my other leg. I don't think your PT should be discouraged with your progress. 7 weeks is just like a drop in the bucket with this recovery. It took months before I started feeling like I had a normal knee again and for stiffness to go away. Even after a year, I'm still unstable on my leg. Hang in there, I'm sure you're doing great!
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