Light at the End of the Tunnel... For Me... [3.5 Months Post-op]

A few weeks ago I had yet another follow-up with my surgeon and since I didn't have a slew of questions for him this time, it was the typical visit. He asked how things were going, I said they seemed to be fine.  He felt the knee, said it was stable and that my quad muscles were looking like they were getting close in size to one another. All good things.

I mentioned to him that I seemed to get a discomfort / catching feeling when I go from a straight to just bent knee.  I remember this happening last time around, and it felt like something that kept me from progressing on a normal schedule.  Just now I was removing files from my phone and I came across this little video (which was before 1 month post-op) but it shows the "pop" of something - perhaps a sac of fluid? - moving from one spot to another all at once. [My apologies for the poor video quality]

Now, around 3 months later, it is not as severe, but it still catches me off guard (no pun intended).  Doing some of my exercises (specifically my leg extensions where I flex/straighten my leg against a resistance band) makes it more evident than others, but never is it truly "painful", just uncomfortable.

I'm still trying to get to PT 2-3 times per week and I feel like I'm probably at 70% strength, if that. In a normal day-to-day however, I am feeling good. And, according to a woman who was waiting in our PT room (perhaps for her son to do his own PT), I look "very athletic" and she "wishes she had my legs"...!  I was flattered, but informed her it was my love of sports that not only got me these legs, but also got me under the knife twice!

So as my recovery starts to wind down and I dream of getting back to all the sports I love, my husband has now had the pleasure of having his knee checked by my surgeon, and he had an MRI two days ago..  If we had to guess, it looks as if his ACL may be torn!! We're waiting for the official report, but if what we think is true, my hubby will likely be referencing this blog about the joy of the surgery and rehab that he may have to undergo!

Unexpected Feelings (1.5 yrs Post-Op)

Generally I try to think positively about my knee. I've long since gotten back to most of my favorite activities (and most recently- indoor volleyball!) and being out and active gives me the impression that I'm 'all better' even if I openly admit that my surgical leg still has a smaller quad and some actions, such as jumping in place on one leg, feel decidedly different from one leg to the other.

In the last few weeks my surgical knee has been feeling... different. It seems to be a combination of feelings, not necessarily at once, that's had me mentioning to family and friends that it feels "funny". For example:

• In day-to-day motions my knee will suddenly feel tight like it's about to pop or crack to relieve the tight feeling. Sometimes it does pop or crack, other times I stop quickly enough where it feels like it got on the cusp of popping, but I change my motion to avoid it. The times that it does pop or crack is not painful, but slightly annoying.
• When sitting on a chair, with my legs straight out in front of me, I will apply a little pressure just below my patella (to the area where my graft was taken from). Keeping this pressure, I first flex my legs (straighten) and then start to bend them slightly (both legs at the same time). My surgical patella will sometimes feel like it's 'catching' or even 'grinding' as it slides up during the bend. I realize this is a very specific motion / feeling, but the engineer in me wants to put the knee in certain situations to see how it reacts compared to the non-surgical side!
• No matter how much I try to stretch, loosen, warm-up or manipulate my surgical knee, it seems to have a feeling like the pieces of the joint are not allowed to move as freely as the non-surgical knee. Imagine a non-surgical knee being surrounded by water whereas the surgical knee feels like it's moving through something thicker- like jello or pudding. Not painful, or even limiting, just... different.
• It's since gone away, but at one point when I would straighten and flex my surgical leg there seemed to be a popping noise at the BACK of my knee, towards the inside. I seem to recall this happening during rehab, and we attributed it to the swelling in the knee pushing parts of the joint out of place and hitting nearby veins/tendons/what-have-yous. So, either that was just a guess at the time, or perhaps there was some additional swelling in my knee recently to bring me back to that feeling. Either way, that particular popping/uncomfortable feeling has since passed.

I think with the change in weather and also sports seasons, now would be a good time for me to reconsider a continuous 'rehab' plan for my knee. I've got a BOSU ball that's gathering dust, and don't spend nearly enough time stretching before my various sports. I think it would be wise for me to get out for a run and some PT-like exercises more often before Michigan's winter weather sets in and I'm forced to strictly indoor activities.

On a lighter note, whenever I'm in the middle of an activity, the knee doesn't pop (that I notice!) or have any continuous feelings of pain or soreness that limit me. Perhaps it's that I'm distracted with the sports, or that in the faster movements the knee is performing like it's been (re-)designed to!

Back to Bangin'! [1 yr 5 months Post-Op]

When I played club volleyball at MSU we called ourselves The Bangers... and I must say, I miss the old days of organized volleyball where you actually practice and make plays and have players designated for specific positions...! While I may never go back to that level of play, I was more than happy to jump on the court with a new co-ed team last night. Our team, cleverly named 'How to Kill a Blocking Nerd', is new to playing together but once we find our groove, it'll be even more fun than last night's first attempt!

As far as the ACL/Knee... My girlfriend Wendy (who had the same doctor/surgery I did) and I did a quick check post-match... "How's it feel?"

Truth be told, the knee didn't stop me at all. I may not jump as high as I used to or be as quick to react, but I don't think it's the knee that is to blame! Throughout the game there was jumping, lunging (both forward and sideways), side-shuffles and quick sprints and I never felt like the knee put me at a disadvantage.

Post-match my surgical knee did feel a little 'tighter' than the other, but barely. The only difference I really felt as we walked away from the gym was that my non-surgical quad was feeling a little sore/ over used, most likely due to some overcompensation that I'm not aware of when it's occurring during plays.

Day-to-day knee is pretty much consistent with previous posts... Feels good and comparable to the other leg, even if surgical leg quad muscle remain slightly smaller. POPing noise still occurs when going from a stretched (straight) leg to slightly bent, but with no pain (like cracking a knuckle).

I hope anyone else who's had the surgery is able to get back to their favorite activities in a timely fashion... it makes it easy to forget the long hard road it's taken to get to this point! ;)