Saturday, October 10, 2009

Two Months 10 October 2009

Over the last few weeks my knee has felt more and more normal. I have been building my muscle by riding my bike, climbing stairs and doing my exercises, including balancing on one foot, extending my leg on the ground and then doing the same with a towel under my leg. I have also been doing stretches as much as I can. I have also gone for a 10 minute run and that didn’t cause any pain.

The only thing that doesn’t feel normal is that things still feel a little stiff inside my knee. I feel a bit of pulling the middle of my knee when I fully extend my leg and then go to bend it. I don’t feel the pulling then I bend it normally, only the first bend after a full extension, or lock of the knee.

The physio said there was no swelling left in my knee and that it is looking good, even for a LARS treatment. She said if I keep up what I am doing things will feel 100% normal in about 2 months. She suggested I do leg squats at the gym and continue riding my bike. As long as I don’t get any pains or swelling I can keep pushing harder. My goal over the next month is to get my quad to a similar size to the right leg.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Six Weeks 21 September 2009

I saw the physio on Tuesday last week and he told me I was ready to start biking 40 min / day and running for short periods as well. The only problem is I have been too busy with work to go for a ride until Saturday. When I finally did go for a ride it went well, at least until I was riding up a steep skinny laneway that had block-outs at the end, the ones were you have to make two very sharp turns to get through on a bike. I was in too high of a gear and didn’t have enough momentum to get up the hill and started to fall. I put my left foot down hopping along and then decided I didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on my knee so I just let myself fall over. The only problem was that I landed right on my phone which was in my back pocket. I dented the phone and had a huge bruise on my ass for the next few days. The phone didn’t break though!

Otherwise, the leg feels great! It is starting to really feel normal, now I just need to build my thigh muscles back up again so I can regain my confidence.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Five Weeks 14 September 2009

The last week has really done wonders for the knee. I am now able to bend my knee to a full 180 degrees. I am also able to lift my heel off the floor about 1 inch when locking my knee to the floor while sitting on the ground.

The knee doesn’t hurt much and I am able to go down stairs normally. I can even skip stairs now like I always used to do before the injury. I feel like I am ready to get back into training for sport again.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Four Weeks 7 Sep 2009

At this stage my knee is noticeably less swollen. Over the last week I wasn’t wearing the tubi-grip and I spent a lot of time at my desk and on my feet during work. I noticed at the end of those days that my leg was retaining fluid below the knee so where my sock was there was a noticeable dip. Therefore, over the last few days I started wearing the tubigrip again and that went away.

My knee is feeling much more normal at this stage even though I can’t fully lock it yet. I am able to bend to 175 degrees, only 5 more degrees to go for a full bend! It no longer feels odd to lift my foot up backwards while standing so in the unfortunate event of stepping in dog poo I shouldn’t have any trouble checking my shoe... I started climbing stairs to my apartment during the week and that doesn’t seem to cause any pain.

Over the last week I noticed pulling in my knee when I had my knee fully locked (at least as far as I can go at this stage) and then I tried to bend it. Almost like the ACL was getting stretched. It wouldn’t happen if I didn’t fully extend my leg and it didn’t happen every time I did. However, over the last few days that feeling has happened less and less.

The physio wants me to continue with my exercises for another week before I get into the biking.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Three Weeks 31 Aug 2009

At three weeks my knee was feeling pretty good but still a little swollen. I stopped wearing the Tubigrip despite the swelling.

I can bend my knee to 170 degrees.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Day 20 - 30 August 2009

I was worried about how my knee would fare today because I ended up working all night, spending about half the night on my feet. I was surprised to find that as the night went on my knee didn't feel swollen nor did it hurt. I actually found the more I was on my feet the better and more normal it felt. I was completely exhausted when i got home and I only got about 4 hours sleep. I was sure my knee would be swollen in the morning but it wasn't. I walked around heaps during the day and it felt fine.

I also noticed that I am getting closer again to being able to lift my heel off the floor during the quad exercise. I can bend the knee to about 165 degrees. I do still have trouble lifting my foot up backwards towards my back while standing, but I guess that will come in time.

Day 18 - 28 August 2009

Today I was able to bend my knee to about 160 degrees. At this stage I don't feel like my leg sweels up any extra from standing, even if I don't have the tubigrip on, but I am still wearing it whenever I leave the house.

I noticed today that when I do the quad exercise that pushes the back of my knee to the floor, I am starting to feel like I am close to being able to lift my heel off the ground. I am not there yet but I am getting closer...


Thursday, August 27, 2009

Day 16 - 26 August 2009

I can walk and stand without the swelling increasing in my knee or thigh or shin. I had no problem at work all day, although I still put the leg up on the desk when I was sitting. Sitting with the leg bent for a long time is still uncomfortable. I am starting to have a little bit of pain under the knee cap near the bottom when I walk, but only sometimes.

I went to my new physio and got new exercises that will help me strengthen the quad again. He told me that the knee pain is because my quad is weak and my knee cap is being pulled too far in one direction by other muscles. He said my new exercises will correct that. I told the physio I wanted to get onto the bike (at least the exercise bike) as soon as possible. My secret personal goal is in two weeks from today.

I am starting to walk a bit faster now but I still have a little limp at normal or fast pace. I can walk slowly without a limp and I am trying to take my time as much as possible.

I am able to bend my knee to 150 degrees. I have been icing about 4 times a day, morning, lunch and after work and before bed.

Two Weeks - 24 August 2009

Today I was going back to work full time. When I woke up it was the first day when standing didn’t obviously increase the swelling when I was wearing the tubigrip. It felt great to be able to walk around!

I had my follow up appointment with the surgeon and he took the bandages off. He said the knee looked great and told me to ditch the crutches. He said I should keep wearing the tubigrip to reduce swelling and to ice 3 -4 times a day. He referred me to a physio near my house.
Walking around was tiring but my knee swelling didn’t increase. I started working on going down the stairs as that was the hardest part, going up was easy! It is really nice to have the bandages off as my knee felt much more normal. As for the scars, things were healing well and the doctor said I can get the wounds wet.

I was able to bend my knee to about 140 degrees.

Day 13 - 23 August 2009

My knee felt pretty good but I still spent most of the day with the leg elevated.

Still bending knee to 130 degrees

Day 12 - 21 August 2009

My knee had less swelling again and felt pretty good. I spent most of the day on the couch but went to a friend’s party that night. I was able to stand up for about 10 minutes at a time but then I would retreat to the couch and ice. I figured it would be worth it even if the knee was more swollen the next day as I needed to get out of the house!

Day 11 - 21 Aug 2009

Swelling is down noticeably today. The bruising is still strong on my upper thigh but it felt great to not have shin pain. If I stood for a few minutes I could still feel my knee get swollen so I tried to elevate and ice the knee as much as possible.

I went to work for a half day and felt pretty good. I was able to get my knee to 130 degrees.

Day 10 - 20 Aug 2009

I was feeling much better today when I woke up. The shin pain was gone which felt great. I still had quite a bit of bruising on my outer thigh above the surgery area.

I went back to work for a half day and felt great. I was able to easily get around on the crutches. I could bend my knee to 120 degrees.

Day 9 - 19 Aug 2009

The shin pain is noticeably less than yesterday. I am able to bend the knee to 120 degrees again but because my knee was a bit more swollen from going to work yesterday I spent the entire day on the couch. I made sure to spend a heap of time icing.

Day 8 - 18 Aug 2009

Today I felt pretty good and my knee felt better and less swollen and the shin pain was started to go away. I decided to go to work for a half day.

At work I kept my knee up on the desk as much as possible. I did get pretty tired after being at the office for a few hours. I get up and walk around a lot more than I realise when i am at work. At the end of the day my leg was a bit more swollen from all the moving around. I decided I better not go to work tomorrow.

I seemed to have taken a step backwards and could only bend my knee to about 110 degrees.

One Week - 17 Aug 2009

The surgeon called and wanted me to come in so they could see how bad my infection was. I still had massive shin pain so I dosed up on ibuprofen before I went to see him.

When you get the hamstring graft they tell you not to drive to 6 weeks. They didn’t tell me when I could or couldn’t drive but I didn’t think I would be driving yet. However, it seemed easier to drive then to take the train / tram all the way to his office across town. I have a manual so I got into the car and tried out the clutch to see if it hurt. I didn’t have any pain so I was happy to be a bit more mobile again and off I went.

The doctor looked at my leg and said I didn’t have any infection. It was normal bruising and it happens all the time when people think they have any infection and the GP gives them antibiotics. I forgot to mention to him that I had a fever as well that calmed when the antibiotics kicked in but I guess the jury is still out as to whether I had an infection or not... If I did I caught it early, if I didn’t, oh well...

After the doctor I went to the store and walked around a bit. It was a bad move because my knee got very tired, hot and swollen. It was worth it though because I was so sick of the couch.
The rest of the day I rested up and i was able to get my knee to about 120 degrees. The quad tensions were getting easier as well, but I still can’t lift my heel off the ground when I do the stretch.

Day 6 - 16 Aug 2009

The shin pain was almost unbearable whenever I stood up so I spent all day on the couch. I pretty much feared having to get up because of the throbbing. I also had a really hard time getting comfortable because I was really sick of sitting on the couch. However, the uncomfortableness was better than the stand up shin pain!

I could still only get my knee to 110 degrees.

Day 5 - 15 Aug 2009

It is Saturday and I decided that bacon and eggs were in order so my girlfriend and I went out for breakfast. My leg felt pretty good but it was hard to get comfortable.

I started taking ibuprofen for the shin pain, which was still throbbing. It seemed to calm the pain quite a bit but I still felt like I needed to keep the leg up as much as possible.
After that I spent most of the day on the couch. I was still able to get my knee to about 110 degrees.

We went to a friend’s for dinner and that did not go well. That entire time sitting without ice made my knee very hot and swollen. I even started to bleed a little from the wounds so we had to cut the night short. I think it was my knees way of saying, slow the F down, you just had surgery dude!

Day 4 - 14 Aug 2009

Today I started to get a lot of pain in my shin where they drilled through the bone and attached the LARS with a titanium screw. It felt like I had an infection and was starting to throb, especially when I stood up. It was also very red right around the swollen bump.

I pretty much was limited to the couch because of the shin pain. I kept doing exercises religiously and found I could bend my knee to about 110 degrees.

I was worried about the shin and had infection in my mind. I called the surgeon who was out of town but the nurse told me to see a GP. The GP told me I did in fact have an infection and gave me antibiotics. They also took the dressings off and re covered the wound for me.

It didn’t hurt to stand or walk except for the throbbing in my shin. Also, when I stood for a while I could feel my whole knee getting more swollen. I would use my crutches if I went outside but around the house I didn’t use them as I could walk OK without.

Day 3 - 13 Aug 2009

I spent the majority of today on the couch. I did venture out to the store. I first iced my knee right up and then put my tubigrip on (a compression stocking that I was told to wear until the swelling was completely gone). I noticed that my knee got very swollen after being up for a while.

When I went out I had my ice pack strapped on my knee with the strap they gave me at the hospital. It is just an ice pack but it looks like some sort of bionic knee or something and pretty much everyone I limped past on my crutches had their eyes stuck on my knee. Even people I knew were intrigued and then very disappointed when I revealed that it was just ice...

I was able to bend my knee to 90 degrees. The quad flexing was still pretty hard though...

Day 2 - 12 Aug 2009

I had a bit more pain today when I woke up. I was stiff and couldn’t get comfortable. I started doing my exercises first thing in the morning and noticed I could bend my leg to about 70 degrees. It was hard to flex my quads but I was able to do it by twitching the muscles on and off and then once I got it going I could hold it.

I spent the entire day on the couch to make sure I rested up properly as I didn’t want to over-do it. I learned one important thing on Day 2, daytime TV SUCKS!

Day 1 - 11 Aug 2009

In the morning the nurse took my brace off and also changed the dressings on my leg. Short after the physio came around and told me to ice my knee non-stop and put on a compression bandage on my knee. She also gave me my exercises, quad flexing, hamstring stretch & knee bending. I tried the bending and it felt so good to do after a night of being braced! She showed me how to use the crutches and told me to put as much weight as comfortable on my leg, the more the better.

When I left the hospital I noticed that putting weight on my knee didn’t hurt at all. I could bend the knee when I walked but only about ½ or what I normally would. I was using the crutches for support but I was putting at least 75% weight on the leg. I made my way home and tried to stay on the couch.

I iced the leg most of the day but I felt pretty good. It didn’t hurt to stand up so I cooked some dinner and did some chores around the house.

Day of the Surgery - 10 Aug 2009

So I was due into the hospital at noon for a surgery sometime from 130. I was told I was first on the list of three so to chill out until the doctor came in for a chat. I was told to fast from 730am so I had breakfast at 7 and didn’t eat anything else. However, I didn’t realise that fasting also included water and I had the well thought out idea to have two glasses of water at 10am so I wouldn’t be thirsty all day and I would really need to pee just before I went into surgery. That all went to plan but the anaesthetists was worried about the water still being in my stomach (it was definitely in my bladder) so I got bumped to second, so I just watched videos to pass the time.

Once I was up they wheeled me down to the waiting bay in my bed and the assistant surgeon came for a chat. After about 30 minutes into the operating room we went. I was only in there about 1 minute and they had an IV in my arm. After another minute they turned the anaesthetic on and I felt my arm get cold, 2 seconds later I tasted it in my mouth, 2 more seconds my head got tingly and that was it, I have a 2 minute and 5 second memory of the operating room...

I went in at 330 and when I woke up the first thing I did was look at the clock, 5 on the dot. I then was greeted by a very friendly nurse who helped my recover from the anaesthetic. I was speaking very loudly about the anaesthetic until I heard the nurse of another recovering patient say “sometimes when people wake up they yell and carry on”. I knew she was talking about me so I did manage to pipe down. I finally thought to look at my knee. It was in a black brace with an ice pack attached underneath but sticking out the top.

I didn’t really have any pain in my leg as I am sure I was drugged up on pain killers. I eventually went back to my room around 545.

The goal for the night was to stay comfortable in the bed. My knee didn’t seem to hurt for any reason except I was uncomfortable because the brace didn’t allow me to bend it. I felt like all my pain would go away if I could bend my knee, even just once! I didn’t sleep very well and woke up a lot. I got up to use the toilet twice and both times slightly lost my balance and naughtily put small amount of weight on my left leg, but it didn’t cause any pain to my surprise.

Pre Surgery Decision (May - August 2009)

So I am sad to say that I tore my ACL during a mixed netball game. I jumped up for the ball and got bumped in the air. I came down on my left leg while twisting clockwise. All the people around my heard a pop and I went straight down. It was by far the most excruciating pain I can remember.

It took about two weeks of waiting for an MRI appointment before I found out I had in fact torn my ACL. My initial injury was on 6 May 2009 and I first saw the orthopaedic surgeon on 2 June. He told me how the surgery worked with the hamstring graft and we booked in a date. I had a vacation planned for the whole month of July and I decided to have the surgery when I returned instead of trying to recover while overseas.

While on vacation I started thinking how it didn't make sense to me to injure my hamstring to fix my knee. I assumed there must be some sort of technology these days that can fix the ACL without having to use the hamstring graft. It just made sense that a recovery would be much easier that way. So, when I returned I called my surgeon and asked him about other options. He mentioned the LARS ligament. He told me about the history of the older generation artificial ligaments and said he prefers the hamstring method because it is tested. So far so good with the LARS but he doesn’t know what is going to happen in 10 years. However, he said he does them often, especially for people who need to get back to work quickly. He did say he doesn't agree with people using this method to jump back into sport quickly because he believes the knee still needs time to recover. He told me to do the research and tell him in a week if I wanted the LARS.

After doing a lot of research, it was clear to me that I wanted the LARS. I figured that getting back quicker would mean less muscle loss and prevent me from being too cautious in the future (lots of people even 5 years on that I know who have had the hamstring graft say they still think about their knee when they jump down stairs). I didn't mind the unknown because people have been getting this for about 5 years now and if something goes wrong I should get a few years warning for the smart minds to find a solution.

So, LARS it is and my surgery is booked for 10 August 2009.