Typical Recovery Period? Check. [6 Months Post-Op]

6 months have passed since I went under Dr. Shapiro's knife, and I'm delighted to have this blog to go back and remember some of those specifics that are so easily forgotten as the 'light at the end of the tunnel' comes into view. I've now gotten back to try some of my fave sports (soccer, ultimate frisbee) which was my ultimate goal. Soon indoor soccer will start up, and perhaps I can even sub on some volleyball teams this winter... But more importantly, I've made it through the 'typical' 6 month recovery, and have reached some other goals:

• Walking without a limp
• Running (not rumping!)
• Reaching pre-surgical leg strength (using 1-leg press as a judge)
• Gaining most (but not all - yet!) of my quad muscle mass back
• I've got back my entire Range of Motion (ROM) with the exception of a little hyperextension (Dr. S said it's not necessary to get this back anyhow...)
• My balance and control is comparable to pre-surgery, just lacking a bit still
• For the most part, I have 'forgotten' about the knee and can enjoy my normal lifestyle!! Yippee!

Some other items of note:

• There is still some numbness to the outside of where the incision was made, but seems to be reduced
• Kneeling (think: yoga) is an odd sensation (probably due to partial numbness) which I believe my mind tricks me into thinking is painful, but it really isn't too bad, just uncomfortable
• On days after lots of activity my NON-surgical leg is sometimes sore, suggesting I still overcompensate
• I typically don't feel a difference as I go down stairs anymore, but on the aforementioned 'sore' days, that old feeling creeps back in a little

I must admit, I've gotten a little lazy in my "workouts" and it doesn't help that I don't belong to a gym. I am hoping that returning to some sports and having my BOSU ball at home in these cold/dark evenings will keep me moving and hopefully motivate me to have some level of 'rehab' at home as winter sets in!

For Wendy (who 'rumped' for the first time yesterday at 5 weeks post-op!) and Bill, who went under the knife this morning -- Keep your eye on the prize! It will be worth it in the end!

For anyone else who finds or reads my blog- I hope it's useful and if you ever want to 'comment', I'm happy to give you my take on the "ACL Journey", or just hear how you're doing or about your experience!

My next goal still remains: Indoor soccer with my beloved Hooligans!!

I'm Baaaaack!! [Shy of 6 Months Post-Op]

Funny how things work. I am 2 days shy of my 6-month ACL surgery anniversary and this weekend a few opportunities presented themselves which allowed me to prove to myself that I'm ready for my comeback!

We got a group together for the 3rd round of pick-up Ultimate Frisbee on Saturday, which as usual was a lot of sprinting, stopping, changing directions and a bit of jumping. Being that we play outdoors and in cleats, this has been a major confidence booster for me when considering my return to soccer.

Our normal co-ed team won't be starting indoor soccer for another week and a half or so, but the outdoor season is still wrapping up. I've heard the fields are in pretty rough shape, and fellow ACL rehabber, Jeff, opted out of the outdoor seasons entirely this summer partially because of the pounding and poor field conditions. So when I got a text from our captain on Saturday asking if I'd be able to sub on Sunday (yesterday) for outdoor, I was a combination of excited and nervous! I said yes, but worried because I'd hardly touched a soccer ball since surgery, and because I didn't want to hurt myself if the fields were that bad.

Luckily, the ground was kind of soft thanks to the previous week worth of rain, and aside from some expected ruts in the field, the game seemed to be pretty forgiving to my knee. [Note: I have not and don't plan on using a knee brace.] Once I got out there, I felt pretty strong and even tallied an assist with a corner kick! Otherwise it wasn't a brilliant game for me by any means, but it was on par with where I was pre-surgery, and that's all I can ask for!! I must also say that it was fun to be welcomed back to the field by my teammates-- I've missed being out there with you all!

I was delighted that things had gone so well in soccer, only to come home to a message asking if Eric and I would mind subbing for 2 games of softball that afternoon. How could I say no, seeing as how I'd conquered UF and soccer already this weekend?! Softball's never been a strong sport of mine, but it was fun to get back out there, toss the ball around and take a few swings. It feels good to be back!!

One day later, I am pretty sore, but I'm sure part of that has been some laziness in my exercise routine prior to this active weekend. I think there was a little unintentional overcompensation at times, because my non-surgical leg (quad, calf and even shin!) is more sore than my surgical leg... but for the sudden spike in activity in 2 short days, I don't think I would have expected any less.

Tonight, it's off to yoga, which I hope will end up with some much-needed stretching. But I couldn't be happier with the weekend's turn of events and opportunities to get back in action. My nerves are (mostly) settled and now I can look forward to my next activity to conquer: Indoor Soccer!

Until then, a big CONGRATS to Missy and Nic for their wedding this weekend-- I can't wait to walk (not limp!) down the aisle and be a part of your big day! And in addition to all this fun stuff to celebrate, I now have my own engagement to add to the list, as of 9/26/09! Perhaps it's time for me to start a new blog! ;)

Surgical vs 'Good' Leg [5 weeks, 1 Day Post-Op]

I was just thinking about how at the end of February I was hitting all the resorts in Salt Lake City with my snowboard, and here it is, almost 3 months later, and I've been through injury, surgery, and what they say is the hardest part of re-hab. I can't wait to hit the slopes again... among other activities I'm itching to get back to!

So in my continued efforts to get back to 100% (or better!) I returned to PT today assuming I'd have pretty much the same routine as normal: Ultrasound (locally @ incision), a few painless exercises and stretching, and eventually 'ice' by rubbing ice directly on my knee until it's numb! I was right on everything, but then I got a little more in the way of exercises.

At 26 Days Post-Op (just 10 days ago) I mentioned some 'upcoming milestones'...

One goal is to get back to a 'normal range of motion' , which is from zero to 130-135 degrees. Drew told me that I am within a few degrees of that as of today (Yay!) but that my 'good' leg is closer to 160, so I definitely have some more work to do!!

Another ongoing goal is to normalize my gait. Today I was told I have all the PARTS of walking normally, I just need to piece it all together in one fluid motion. I like to compare this to learning to golf -- it's not easy to do everything right at once! While I may be able to control my walk enough to appear not to have a limp, it is still a very conscious effort (hence my previous post, 'Could the limp be gone?!' not stating that it was gone!). Drew would watch me walk and of course compare- What was my 'good' leg doing that my surgical leg was not? [Answer: My surgical leg is slightly bent through the whole stride; I'm never completely straightening it out.]

My goal to walk smoothly comes back to another goal I was perspicacious enough to realize over a week ago- being able to trust my surgical leg as I balance on it and at the same time go between straight and slightly bent. I brought this up to Drew today and he had me 'practice' doing this very motion. There were some new twinges of pain as I did it, and my leg was shaking (oh, how sad the weakness is!), but it was good to be forced, because I hadn't challenged myself at home just yet. I had to stop a few times and do the same motion with my 'good' leg, just to remember how it's supposed to look and feel!

And so the battle of Surgical vs 'Good' Leg continues.... As for the other milestones I'd set:

• I'm happy to say I can go up stairs without favoring my surgical leg
• I can balance on my surgical leg when it's straight (as well as slightly bent) without pain or feeling like i'm going to tip over (it's going between the two that's tough!)
• I can go down stairs with one foot per stair (though I favor my surgical leg VERY much when doing so)
• I continue to massage around the incision to get the skin to move freely over the knee cap (and I've also been using Mederma to hopefully reduce visibility of the scar... eventually)

Pic as of today (you can ignore the waffle imprint- that's from using my ThermoComp icing machine...)

And, since I may not post again before the Memorial Holiday - I hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend, and I'll try not to do anything dumb to mess up all my hard work on my knee!!

Cheers!

Update & Remaining Milestones [26 Days Post-Op]

I am the first to admit my last post was pretty whiny. I apologize if it didn't leave a good taste in your mouth, but it is part of the recovery process, so no point in sugar-coating it!

But I can say that I am in a better place now. Yes, I am still limping, but I am feeling improvement (or, lack of pain I was feeling before) and am working more on balancing on my surgical leg while it is straightened to gain confidence in my leg as it teeters on the edge of locking/straightening or being just slightly bent. Once I feel good there, I think it will really improve my walking.

While I am physically improving, I am also grateful for the support of others who have either been through (or, will be going through!) this type of procedure, as well as those around me who continue to care about my well-being and encourage me to keep at it! I'm sure I'm not the first person to have moments of frustration and weakness in my recovery, so all I can say to those of you who might experience the same thing -- it will get better! I just hope I can remember my own advice as I continue on!

A few points of interest-

• I am no longer on a steady diet of pain medication, as of ~3 weeks post-op. I still pop something before heading to PT, but otherwise think keeping Motrin handy should be enough to curb most discomfort.
• I have no pain in standing for longer periods of time. (Immediately after surgery, this was what caused the MOST pain in normal day-to-day!)
• I will be returning to work tomorrow (mainly sitting at a desk all day) and while I was capable of returning a week ago, due to a temporary lay-off (don't worry, it's just a week here and there!) my start date was pushed back. I was grateful for the extra week of being able to stay home and focus on recovery.
• The most pain I have is in the region of my patellar tendon. Mostly it's caused by the simple motion of straightening the leg from bent, but without any support (As in, if sitting with legs dangling off a chair, trying to lift my foot so leg is straightened out in front of me). Similar to pain felt when trying to do 'straight leg raises' while lying on my back. [Note: I am not sure if this pain is because my graft was taken from this area, or if this occurs in all ACL reconstructions?? I assume the former...]

My upcoming milestones (in no particular order) include:

• Getting my bend to ~135° (considered 'normal' range of motion)
• Walking and climbing stairs w/o favoring my surgical leg
• Going down stairs w/o having to put both my feet on one step before descending the next stair
• As mentioned, focus on balancing on my surgical leg while it's straightened
• Eventually be able to balance on surgical leg w/leg straightened and remain balanced as I work into a slight bend
• Breaking up scar tissue in the area of the incision to allow the skin to move freely over my knee cap
• Continue to ice, elevate and massage around knee to reduce swelling and break up scar tissue

Perhaps returning to work will bring me some new challenges (I am thinking sitting in one spot for a bulk of time will end up with a lot of fidgeting so my leg doesn't stiffen up too badly). Either way I am looking forward to a change of pace and starting my return to a 'normal' lifestyle!

And, some photos of my progress. Enjoy!

I can now bend my knee to this angle somewhat (I say that lightly...) comfortably:

Swelling still there, but my knee is slowly showing shape again:
The scar is healing up nicely, though the skin does not move freely over the kneecap yet. I am massaging daily to break up scar tissue:
And how could I forget?! ... Happy Mother's Day!!