I passed my 8 week mark on Tuesday and am cruising to 2 months post-op this weekend, on June 14. On Monday I went to PT and pretty much did my whole routine without any pointers, new exercises or even manipulation/ stretching by Drew, my therapist. Even though I did some treadmill time and feel my strides are becoming more even, I was disappointed at the lack of personal attention and was glad that I’d gone down to 2 visits / week. However in yesterday’s PT, Drew decided to mix it up for me, and it felt good to try new challenges, even if it left me whipped afterwards!
First, we skipped the 10 minute warm-up on the bike, since initially this was used to help get back range of motion and in later weeks, loosen up the knee w/o putting too much weight on it. Instead, I did 8 minutes on the Elliptical (Drew said to be sure I was a little tired and breaking a sweat when done), and after some calf and hamstring stretches, it was over to the treadmill. There I did 15 mins of alternating between speed walking and a run. I am gaining lots of confidence here and am sure I could have run longer, but didn’t know what else was in store for me.
The most entertaining, by far, was using the Bosu Ball, which is basically an inflated exercise ball, sliced in half with a hard plastic board across the flat. I had to stand on the flat part, meaning the half-sphere was towards the ground, and I had to balance on it, or risk falling off! I have never used a Bosu Ball, so I was very cautious. At first I thought the goal was simply to stand and balance, but then we added squats, which would mean having to distribute my weight evenly across both legs. I looked kind of like THIS, but kept my hands out in front of me for more balance. My surgical leg was a little shaky, and this was intensified by the Bosu Ball, making it even more difficult!
30 squats later (and, a careful dismount of this potentially dangerous piece of equipment), my surgical leg was ready for solid ground again!
I thought I’d be sorer today because I felt like we really pushed it (and, mixed it up, finally!) but perhaps the soreness will be another day behind. Or, maybe I’m further along than I thought, and ready for some more challenging tasks!
Other items of note:
- With the exception of an anti-inflammatory now and again, I haven’t had to pop pills for pain much since about mid-May (1 month post-op)
- The skin to the outer side of my vertical incision is still a giant numb spot, maybe 2/3 the size of my palm
- While I’m still able to ‘forget’ about my knee sometimes, I have noticed an aching feeling that comes about sometimes just when sitting
- More often I am able to get in and out of my car by pivoting on my L leg, instead of getting in or out of the car with both feet on the ground first
- I take the stairs up and down to my 2nd floor desk whenever I can, and going up remains pretty even while going down still requires some strengthening to even it out
- I can walk w/o limping, but if I’ve done a lot of activity or walking in any given day, my limp creeps back to a quite obvious favoring by days end
- I touched my butt with my heel! While standing I was able to grab my ankle and (with my foot slightly pointed/ while wearing tennies) was able to bend my knee so far as to feel my shoe hit my butt! (I even showed an assistant at PT just so someone else could share my glory!)
What’s wrong with getting excited about the little things? :)
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