I'm Only Cheating Myself [9-10 Days Post-Op]

When I chose to have surgery, I knew my 'comeback' would be almost solely dependant on my efforts with physical therapy. I remember telling people that "all I can do once I have surgery is be a perfect little princess in rehab and do everything to a T so that I can return to sports nice and strong." This (along with walking down stairs, bending to 90 degrees and balancing on my surgical leg...) is easier said than done.

At PT today I worked with a different trainer, Michelle, who I had seen before but never met. Turns out I really liked her (mostly because she did the forced bend more slowly and evenly!). In addition to some 'usual' exercises there, I was asked to do handful of the exercises I'd been tasked to do at home. But in PT there was the fact that I was under the watchful eye of a trainer, and in that case I will always be more determined to really push myself.

What I noticed is that yes, I do exercises at home, but I don't do them religiously, and it was showing. One of the biggest comebacks in rehab is getting your quads (thigh muscles) to fire again, and basically return stabilization to the knee by using those muscles. One exercise to do this is to sit with your legs out in front of you and simply flex your quad muscle (which, in turn, forces your leg straight and knee towards the ground). Sounds easy, (and, IS easy in my non-surgical leg) but it's a real struggle on my surgical leg.

Another exercise is laying on your stomach, propping your surgical leg up on the toes (instead of keeping toes pointed) and again, flexing the quad so the leg straightens (instead of at rest, where the leg bends at the knee and rests on the floor). The pictures of the back of my legs, below, shows this.

These exercises are simple in concept, but when Michelle asked me if I was doing them at home, I knew the answer was, "Well, kind of" instead of the "Yes! 3 times a day!" and it reminded me that I really need to keep up my end of the bargain at home so PTherapy doesn't turn into PTorture every other day.

That said, it doesn't mean there hasn't been improvement. My rotations on the stationary bike were a *little* easier today, walking is becoming easier, I can stand longer without my knee feeling like it's going to explode... And exercises such as straight-leg raises while sitting or balancing on my surgical leg are showing definite improvement.

I work with Michelle again on Monday, and I am looking forward to it. Over the weekend I plan to make time for my exercises and push myself as if someone were standing over me, because I want to be able to answer her with a confident "Yes!" if I'm asked again if I'm doing my part at home.

More photos:

8 Days Post-Op

Featured as of my 1-week follow-up: New tape on the incision!

9 Days Post-Op