My Comeback Continues... [5 Months Post-Op]

Towards the end of last week, my BOSU ball arrived!! I didn't get a chance to check it out until yesterday, and even then I chose to do what looked like the easiest of the included DVD workouts because I wanted to start out simple. So I promptly popped in the 'Long and Lean' DVD, and it was a lot of yoga-type poses (but, incorporating the BOSU, of course) and I was delighted to see that once I got past the awkwardness of doing the DVD for the first time, none of the poses created additional pain or strain through my knee! This included lunging poses where the BOSU was bubble-side-up and the forward (bent) leg was on the bubble. And now, a day later, I feel it more in my back and abs than my knee, which must mean in a left-to-right comparison, my legs are getting back to even!

The BOSU wasn't enough for the day though, as I have gotten pick-up ultimate frisbee back on the radar and we had a group planning to meet at 4pm. Eric and I have gone and thrown around a little, but that never prepares you for the stop-and-go running of a true pick-up game. So prior to getting started I strapped on my cleats and did some jogging on the field to remind my body of the ground conditions and being in cleats instead of runners. I also spent extra time stretching my legs out and doing some side-to-side jumping to imitate a quick change in direction. Besides the butterflies in my belly, I felt prepared to give it a try.

Originally I thought I'd have everyone huddled up and be making a blanket statement of 'take it easy on me!' but since we're not that hardcore (and, maybe the opportunity didn't really present itself) we just kind of got the game going and slowly but surely I reacclimated to the game and the feeling of being out on the field and active again. As soon as I started to feel comfy, the enjoyment really came for me... As out of shape as I might be for the sprinting aspect of the game, the knee held up amazingly and there hasn't even been any soreness since! There were a few plays where I became a little timid and avoided jumping up against other people for a free frisbee, but I will probably avoid major contact like that until I feel closer to 100%.

And my latest accomplishment on my 5 month anniversary from surgery, is that I've started a yoga class with my friend Jen! We chose a beginner level class we've taken before to try to get back into practice, and I am looking forward to the first session tonight where I can continue to monitor the progress in my knee and work on balance, strength, flexibility and relaxation! I am bringing along a foam pad to provide extra padding to my patellar tendon area during various kneeling poses, but aside from that I feel I have my entire range of motion (ROM) back, and hope there won't be many poses where I even feel a difference from side to side!

Namaste!

Fine Tuning My Knee [3 Month 1 Week Post-Op]

"How's your knee?" ... It's a loaded question that I get all the time. I think most people are just being nice, but if you care to read, here are some extra specifics.

Being over 3 months out, I figure I'm more than halfway to recovery. At my last follow-up appointment with the surgeon, he said we're looking at a 4 month recovery, which normally I'd be super excited about. However, seeing as how I'm not a professional athlete (surprise!) I believe I'll be taking the full 6 months before I decide to commit to a sports team, perhaps subbing once in a while before that. We'll see-- I want to be steady and confident before I go out on a field and act timid and end up doing something dumb because of my fear.

Current Abilities:

• Walking without a limp (including speed-walking)
• Running (slight limp when I'm slower, but the faster I go, the less I limp). I have not tried a dead sprint yet, but really, what's the rush?
• Going up stairs- Very even and seems controlled. Even taking stairs 2 at a time doesn't seem to show much weakness.
• Going down stairs- I can still feel the unsteadiness in my surgical leg as I move my non-surgical leg to the next step down. While some days it seems easier than others, there isn't a time I've gone down stairs and 'forgot' about my knee.
• Jumping- When jumping on both legs (think: jumping rope) I can feel my right leg doing more work the longer I jump. When jumping on just my surgical leg, it's still not developed enough to accept the impact of the jump like my other leg does.
• Bending/Straightening- I can bend my knee so my heel touches my butt, though I'm still not confident when squatting all the way down and using my body weight to bend it. For straightening, there is some uncomfortable feeling when it gets close to hyperextending, but I think I need to keep working to make sure I don't lose range of motion there. My kneecap also seems to 'catch' or 'pop' every so often when I go from straight to bent, but it's not painful.

Current Focus/Exercises:

• Doing PT at home: I've been a lot better with this since my birthday, keeping a promise to myself to do my part in my recovery. I take 1-2 days off per week, but otherwise try to run every other day, and on the in-between days I'm doing more pointed exercises like lunges, step jumping, shuffling... etc.
• Physical Therapy with Drew: I am happy to announce I'm back up to my pre-surgical 1-leg press weight, as of a week ago! It feels good to be 'back to normal' in that sense, even though it doesn't translate to a 'back to normal' leg as a whole. PT will continue 1/week at least through the end of this month.
• Quad Strengthening: Lunge, lunge, lunge!!
• Calf/Knee/Jumping: Lots of jumping and quick shuffling to build up not just my muscle, but also the motor skills to be using the muscles AND moving at the same time. One exercise I do- Stand on L leg at a step with R leg resting up on step; In one jump, land with R leg beneath you, and at the same time lift L leg to touch up on step; Alternate which leg you land on (and which touches the step) after each jump, and do this as fast as you can for 30 seconds. I find this is a great gauge of how 'steady' my surgical knee is underneath me, as well as controlling that leg as I quickly touch the step through the repetitive motion.
• Jumping on one leg: Being able to balance just isn't enough. Trying to jump and accept the impact (as I mentioned before) is a whole new game. In PT on my own I try to jump forward in a straight line on just my surgical leg, and land softly. I still have a ways to go here.

Drew told me that the exercises I still feel 'unsteady' doing are the ones that are the last to come back, so I'm well on my way to recovery. Also, I have another follow-up appointment with Dr. Jeff Shapiro next Monday afternoon, and I expect more good news there!