Four Months 10 December 2009

Over the last month the clicking in my knee continued but it got a bit easier to lock the knee fully. By the end of the month I was able to do the locking in a continuous motion but the popping occurred. I went for a 2km run in the real world (not on the treadmill) this month and it was OK. I find it much easier to run on the treadmill as there is less change in level of where your foot lands.

I saw the knee surgeon for my 4 monthly check-up. He said that the popping is normal and it is most likely scar tissue getting in the way. He said over time that should go away but it is possible that it won’t . However, he said as long as there is no pain related to the popping then there is no issue. As for the other pain when putting a change of direction pressure on my knee as I mentioned last month, the doctor said that was likely still bruising healing, maybe from the original injury. He said that would go away over the next few months.

The surgeon told me to go see the physio to get some agility training started.

Three Months 10 Novemberr 2009

Over the last month my knee has been feeling pretty good. The pulling inside my knee has gone away just near the end of the month. However, something different started happening, when extending / locking my knee fully I get to a point where it can’t go any further. Then, it pops and I can go further with the locking. Once I bend my knee it is like it resets and the same thing happens again. It doesn’t hurt when it pops, it just feels odd.

I don’t really have any pain in my knee except occasionally when I change directions quickly or put a twisting motion on the knee. Then I feel a sharp pain in there that doesn’t really hurt bad but I can still feel it.

My quads are starting to gain strength and I am feeling much more confident. Going for lots of runs but wishing I would have the time to work out more frequently but work has been blocking that.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.