11 Weeks Post Op

I no longer need the crutches!  It feels great to not have to use a walking aid anymore.

You can see how much smaller my left leg is

                =

Range of Motion:  I made it to about 140 degrees this week.  I
almost have full range of motion. Before having this surgery I was very flexible since yoga is a hobby of mine.  One of the worries I had concerning this surgery was losing flexibility in my knee joint and not being able to do certain yoga poses or only being able to do them on one side.  I'm not sure my knee will ever really be the same but I'm hopeful that I'll be able to regain the type of flexibility I had before.  Once I regain full range of motion, I'm going to start practicing yoga poses to further increase flexibility.

Scar Tissue:  I had two painful areas on my knee due to scar tissue which was causing me pain when  I walk or exercise.  It is starting to feel MUCH better this week.  I feel like I'm breaking it up with the range of motion stretching and massage.

Physical Therapy:
I'm not spending as much time doing range of motion stretching this week since I almost have full range.  But I make sure to at least spend 20 minutes working on knee flexibility after my workout.  Here are my workouts for the week:

Monday

BAPS (biomechanical ankle platform system) board:  I move
side to side on this to work on balance

• 20 mins arm bike
• 25 mins stationary bike at level 5
• Rolling stool for hamstring strength
• Upper body weight lifting
• 20 minutes stretching

Wednesday

• 20 mins arm bike
• 25 mins stationary bike at level 5
• 5x30 reps SLRs (3 lb ankle weight)
• Core work
• 20 minutes stretching

Friday

• 10 mins stationary bike at level 6
• 3x10 reps hamstring curls
• 3x10 reps total gym at 90 degrees flexion (I can only use my good leg to push up)
• 3x15 reps double leg BAPs (for balance)
• 20 minutes stretching

Walking:  By the end of the week I can walk with a normal gait without crutches.  I still walk fairly slow.  And I have to be careful not to pivot or twist on my bad leg.

Pain:  The pain in the evening is better this week.  I feel like my body has adjusted to being back at work and on my feet more.  However, I still have pain that is similar to before I had the surgery.  I feel it every time I walk.  It's not especially painful but I can tell the graft has not hardened to a point to where my knee pain will go away.  The skin around the incision is very tender.  I think this is due to all the stretching.  As I reach full range of motion the incision needs to stretch pretty far to accommodate the increased range of my knee joint.  This has caused irritation and the scar to become raised in some places.

The atrophy in my left leg is much more noticeable when I'm
sitting in a chair.  My knee cap is still hard to identify from
this angle due to swelling.

Stiffness and Swelling:  Although my range has improved a lot over the week I still have stiffness.  I feel the stiffness as I move my knee through it's entire range of motion.  I still have slight swelling which is mostly above the knee.  I can also feel spongy areas when I press around the knee cap.  I can actually feel the fluid moving around in the joint.  Along with the scar tissue this is also causing stiffness.