First PT, Walking W/O Crutches, Firing the Quad [2-3 Days Post-Op]

I spent the first day after surgery at home resting, icing/compressing using the thermocomp machine while trying to keep my leg elevated. I was mostly on the couch and attempted to fire my quad muscles a handful of times, or when sitting on the floor I would try to lift my heel off the ground.  The good thing about this being the second time around is I knew what I could expect going into physical therapy, and I wanted to be capable of doing the first "easy" things without much pain.

Between surgery and 2-day post-op PT, I kept a steady diet of pain pills, assuming if I didn't the pain would be close to unbearable. I popped one before PT and my brother drove me in.  I had the immobilizer on and utilized the crutches going in, but once we were in, Drew had me doing a handful of exercises I expected:  straight leg raises, heel slides (knee bends), balancing on my surgical leg, walking across the PT area and back, straightening my surgical leg while laying on my belly...  Luckily I was able to do all these things without too much pain or needing any outside assistance.

That being said, Drew told me I didn't need the crutches anymore, and would only need to wear the immobilizer when in public so people around me would be cautious of my leg! This was huge (and, perhaps a little over-confident) but it made me glad that I was already on the right track.  At home I keep the crutches nearby, but can tell I'm not leaning on them heavily anymore (literally!)!

We even cancelled the 3-day post-op PT, as Drew knew I would take the at-home PT seriously, and he handed me a sheet of suggested exercises.  Today I've been doing them (rather) religiously, and each set of reps builds my confidence a little more.  I even ventured across the street to do my exercises in the park while my bro and hubby played some tennis at the courts there. All in all this is not a bad way to start recovery!

On top of that, after a pep talk from Drew, I was encouraged to scale back the pain meds and only take them when I'm in need of them, instead of as a preventative measure. The 4-6 hour schedule turned to "as needed" and I was surprised to find myself successfully doing at-home exercises well after the meds were no longer in my system.  I still have one now and then, but am grateful that it's more for achey pain than for anything more serious.

I'll be back at PT bright and early Monday morning (day 6 post-op) and my only concern is getting my knee bending back. In the meantime I'll work on it at home and try to go beyond 90 degrees so that the forced bending doesn't reduce me to the puddle of moans and tears I was when it was done to my other knee!

Physical Therapy [22 Days Pre-Surgery]

Eric and I have coined my early visits 'Prehab' since it's a completely different focus than my rehab will be, post-surgery.

I arrived promptly before 7am and waited patiently in the lobby. At about 7:10 I decided no one was going to get me, so I went into the PT area and found Drew, the trainer. Note to self: Sign in, walk in, and get things started on your own if you don’t want to be waiting around next time!

After a 10 minute warm-up on a stationary bike, Drew took a look at my leg to see if straightness had improved since our initial meeting. Since I’d been doing the exercises he’d given me previously, I knew it was improved. He watched my gait as I walked the runway, and while it feels different in my left knee, my stride is even and balanced. From there we did a handful of things. Calf stretches, hamstring stretches, straightening my ‘surgical leg’ against a resistance band which went behind my knee, and calf raises. Easy-peezy lemon-squeezy! But as I thought my visit was winding down, he added just a few more exercises. First, surgical leg one-leg-press (he had me try it out when the weight was at 30#, but promptly raised it to 150# once instruction was over…!). This was more like the work level I expected at PT! Then, as a last gift and promise of soreness to come, I had to lie on a padded table on my non-surgical side with a 5# weight around my surgical leg ankle. I remember my mom doing ‘leg lifts’ like this when we were younger, while watching TV. Since I haven’t done these in… years, and I now had this fun 5# weight added, this was by far the activity that caused the most burn! 3 sets of 15, and I thought my leg was going to fall off at the butt! I laughed to myself wondering how this helped my knee exactly, and wondered if maybe my new friend Drew had decided for me that there were some other ‘problem areas’ for me to work on?! :)

Once I was done, I reminded him I’d be back on Wednesday morning at 7am. “Oh, and I did have one question. Can I go to the range and hit some golf balls before my surgery?”

“Absolutely not. That’s just the twisting and pressure you want to avoid in your knee before surgery.”

[With my tail tucked between my legs] “Well, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

This sudden stop of all sporting activities is going to be a lot harder than I thought. Meanwhile, at least I’ll have PT to focus on, and perhaps I can get back into yoga while I’m avoiding those impact sports I love so much.