Started back at the ACL class with the hospital physiotherapists yesterday. They were pleased to see me which was a nice bonus but I was really ready to get back to doing some proper exercise. So, after a good look at my knee Flo gave me a list of exercises to work on which is great and I cracked on ASAP. Things I used to do like the rower and stepups/downs but only low level. It was great to be doing them again though.
However, I was a bit dissapointed when the physio noticed my leg looking still a bit swollen. Obviously not their fault, I had been doing to much...probably too many exercises since I've been standing on one leg a lot and stuff. This was BEFORE I started doing the exercises at the gym too and it swlled up wven bigger after so I've gone back to taking it easy and elevating/icing my leg regularly which I had stopped for a few days since I didn;t think I needed to do it anymore. The physio said that lots of swelling can sag the graft which doesn't sound good at all so I'm going to take it down a notch and see if it makes a difference.
There were several others at the gym, all at various stages of recovery form the ACL op I think. I'll be at the gym every Monday and Thursday for the forseeable future which is great since I get to exercise and they get to kep an eye on me. Still worried I'll do something to the graft, especially because I'm moving around a lot better now and am off the crutches so will continue not to take any risks.
We'll see how it goes. Back to work on Thursday!
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
Physio number 2
Went to see the physio on Friday last. I phoned them the day before and luckily they had a cancellation, otherwise I wouldn;t have got an appointment for another 10 days since they are moving to a new site.
So, I saw Roy who I had seen when I first did the injury and he had a good look at it and watched me walk about before saying that he thought it was all going really weel. My notes say 'routine operation' which is good and everything is working as it should at this stage. My knee bend is 90 degrees and I can straightewn my leg pretty well too.
He gave me some more exercses to do, hamstring stretches, squats and balancing on one leg...which is harder than it sounds for someone who's had a new ligament put it. My body just didn;t want to know about standing on one leg and kept trying to find a centre of gravity on my left hand side. It's getting better now though.
So, all in all I'm still pretty positive, we went out for a couple of walks over the weekend, 2 miles and then 1 mile and it felt OK. I basked my kneecap yesterday though which was a bit worrying but (hopefully) it sems to be OK now although looks a little more swollen than it was.
The other good news is that Roy booked me back into the ACL class starting on Monday 4th October. This is a simialr calss to what I used to go to and means I'll be back with all the other ACL patients, both deficient and reconstructed. SO, there may be a few familiar faces to swap stories with there. Can;t wait really. It's OK this being at home but now the recovery has started I just want to get there. Slowly does it though.
So, I saw Roy who I had seen when I first did the injury and he had a good look at it and watched me walk about before saying that he thought it was all going really weel. My notes say 'routine operation' which is good and everything is working as it should at this stage. My knee bend is 90 degrees and I can straightewn my leg pretty well too.
He gave me some more exercses to do, hamstring stretches, squats and balancing on one leg...which is harder than it sounds for someone who's had a new ligament put it. My body just didn;t want to know about standing on one leg and kept trying to find a centre of gravity on my left hand side. It's getting better now though.
So, all in all I'm still pretty positive, we went out for a couple of walks over the weekend, 2 miles and then 1 mile and it felt OK. I basked my kneecap yesterday though which was a bit worrying but (hopefully) it sems to be OK now although looks a little more swollen than it was.
The other good news is that Roy booked me back into the ACL class starting on Monday 4th October. This is a simialr calss to what I used to go to and means I'll be back with all the other ACL patients, both deficient and reconstructed. SO, there may be a few familiar faces to swap stories with there. Can;t wait really. It's OK this being at home but now the recovery has started I just want to get there. Slowly does it though.
Monday, 20 September 2010
Stiches out
So, as you can see I have a nice long scar below the kneecap and a couple of keyhole scars around my knee (you can only see one of these). A running stich was used on the long one and one stich each on the others. The nurse put a couple of steristrips on the big one where te machine harvested my hamstring to use for the new ligament so I won;t be showering for another couple of days (though it's safer not too) but I'm glad they're out.
Had a good weekend over all, pretty positive at the moment. Down to one crutch too and can even hobble about a little with no crutches at all. Still, got to remember to be careful...it's early days.
Roll on physio.
Friday, 17 September 2010
Thursday, 16 September 2010
Days 6-8
Much better frame of mind over the past few days. The physio on Monday was really good and I got lots of my questions answered and my mind put at rest about a lot of suff.
Bascially, it's fine to have the odd sharp pain and realistically, the only way I'm gonna break the graft is if I fall over or something like that. Plus, I'd know if I did it cos my knee would swell up (even bigger tan now!).
So, I think I'm OK. The physiotherapist gave me a leaflet with exercises to do. The are basically made up of strectching my leg out to straight and bending it to a 90 degree angle if I can. I had 45 degrees on Monday which has definitely increased to around 70-80 in a few days. My lef staightens well too and I've been putting some weight on it to see what it's like...it's pretty week at the moment but will get stronger.
SHe also took my bandage off so I could see what the surgeon had done. It's not too bad, a large incision below the kneecap and some other wounds but it all seems to be healing well.
Ice will help with the compression and i've also got to move my kneecap around a bit to stop it seizing up. So, I've got lots to do.
I've made an appointment for Monday to have my stiches out which will be great because I'll be able to come home and have a shower! Then in a couple of weeks I should start my physio proper with things lke the bike and other stuff. That's what I'm really looking forward to.
The physio also said that after a week or so I might be able to go down to one crut ch and then no crutches a week after. I'm not sure about this though, my right leg won't take lots of wight at the moment, I can just about do it on the flat but no way going up or down stairs or even a slope. Still, this will come.
So, in summary, I feel a lot better now. Thise first few days I felt very isolated, my leg hurt, my back hurt, I didn't know what to do with myself. Now I have a bit more purpose.
Plus, Becs is being a start doing lits for me and my Mum and Dad have helped. Neal's been round from next door too so I have a link to the outside world. Much better!
Bascially, it's fine to have the odd sharp pain and realistically, the only way I'm gonna break the graft is if I fall over or something like that. Plus, I'd know if I did it cos my knee would swell up (even bigger tan now!).
So, I think I'm OK. The physiotherapist gave me a leaflet with exercises to do. The are basically made up of strectching my leg out to straight and bending it to a 90 degree angle if I can. I had 45 degrees on Monday which has definitely increased to around 70-80 in a few days. My lef staightens well too and I've been putting some weight on it to see what it's like...it's pretty week at the moment but will get stronger.
SHe also took my bandage off so I could see what the surgeon had done. It's not too bad, a large incision below the kneecap and some other wounds but it all seems to be healing well.
Ice will help with the compression and i've also got to move my kneecap around a bit to stop it seizing up. So, I've got lots to do.
I've made an appointment for Monday to have my stiches out which will be great because I'll be able to come home and have a shower! Then in a couple of weeks I should start my physio proper with things lke the bike and other stuff. That's what I'm really looking forward to.
The physio also said that after a week or so I might be able to go down to one crut ch and then no crutches a week after. I'm not sure about this though, my right leg won't take lots of wight at the moment, I can just about do it on the flat but no way going up or down stairs or even a slope. Still, this will come.
So, in summary, I feel a lot better now. Thise first few days I felt very isolated, my leg hurt, my back hurt, I didn't know what to do with myself. Now I have a bit more purpose.
Plus, Becs is being a start doing lits for me and my Mum and Dad have helped. Neal's been round from next door too so I have a link to the outside world. Much better!
Sunday, 12 September 2010
Day 4-5
Bit of a low day yesterday,wondering if I'd made the right choice having the operation. Some sharp pain in my knee when moving it around. Tight pain in the front around the incision and the same at the back around the hamstring. Paracetamol and ibuprofen are still managing it OK though.
Have physio on Monday morning which I'm really looking forward to. I want to know if what I'm doing is OK. We went to the park yesterday and I hobbled about on crutches...is this OK? I guess they wouldn;t have given me crutches if I wasn;t suppoosed to use them. I'd also like some exercises and some idea about what is safe to do. Very anxious about tearing the graft too although I can't think of anything I have done that would have made this happen. Surely if it was easy to do this they wouldn't suggest taking the splint off?
With hindsight, I would have liked this sort of think written down and given to me before I left the hospital...or to have seen the doctor after the op. Still, I have the opportunity today to ask questions:
1. Is it OK to move obout?
2. Can I take the bandage off?
3. What are the chances of breaking the graft?
4. Can you tell if the graft is still OK?
5. I want some exercises?
6. How does the whole physio thing pan out?
Have physio on Monday morning which I'm really looking forward to. I want to know if what I'm doing is OK. We went to the park yesterday and I hobbled about on crutches...is this OK? I guess they wouldn;t have given me crutches if I wasn;t suppoosed to use them. I'd also like some exercises and some idea about what is safe to do. Very anxious about tearing the graft too although I can't think of anything I have done that would have made this happen. Surely if it was easy to do this they wouldn't suggest taking the splint off?
With hindsight, I would have liked this sort of think written down and given to me before I left the hospital...or to have seen the doctor after the op. Still, I have the opportunity today to ask questions:
1. Is it OK to move obout?
2. Can I take the bandage off?
3. What are the chances of breaking the graft?
4. Can you tell if the graft is still OK?
5. I want some exercises?
6. How does the whole physio thing pan out?
Saturday, 11 September 2010
Day 2-3
OK, I've taken the splint off now since the feeling has come back into my leg. The hamstring area seems to feel a bit tight and the incision area at the front hurts a bit...but generally it's OK and I'm still only taking paracetamol and ibuprofen for the pain.
TGhe worst of it is my lower back which is causing all sorts of problems since I can;t seem to stretch it out properly. I laid down on a double piano stool yesterday (cos I'm living downstairs at the moment) and it hurt like mad getting down there and then back up again. Still, stretching it out a bit helped and I think I'll ust have to keep up this nominal exercise for the next few days before physio starts on Monday.
I'm moving around more now. Still anxious that I'll break the graft (or have already broken it!) but realistically, I haven't done anything to cause this to happen so should be OK.
Taking arnica now to for the bruising I can see coming out of the bandage. This all better be worth it.
TGhe worst of it is my lower back which is causing all sorts of problems since I can;t seem to stretch it out properly. I laid down on a double piano stool yesterday (cos I'm living downstairs at the moment) and it hurt like mad getting down there and then back up again. Still, stretching it out a bit helped and I think I'll ust have to keep up this nominal exercise for the next few days before physio starts on Monday.
I'm moving around more now. Still anxious that I'll break the graft (or have already broken it!) but realistically, I haven't done anything to cause this to happen so should be OK.
Taking arnica now to for the bruising I can see coming out of the bandage. This all better be worth it.
Friday, 10 September 2010
The operation - ACL reconstruction
So, on Thursday 9th September 2010 I went in at 7.30m was second on the list so had th op at 10, out by 12ish (although is approximate since I was a bit out of it due to the general anasthetic) and my wife came to get me at 4.30 although I could have gone home an hour earlier if it wasn;t for the school run.
Overall, the experience was realy god. The staf were all friendly, I was met beforehand by the anestatist doctor, the assistant doctor (I think that's what he calle himslef, apologies if not) and my surgeon, Dr Giles. All were really friendly and down to earth guys. The nurses were also friendly and seemed 'real' making me feel like a person and not just a knee.
I was looked after well when I cam out and the pain wasn;t to bad at all, although they had given me a femoral injection to numb the front of my leg which hasn;t worn off yet.
In the afternoon, two physio-therapists came along wth crutches for me and showed me how to use them and gave me an appointmet for Monday to start physio proper.
Finally, I was wheeled downstairs by a really nice helpful nurse and my wife drove me home.
So, I couldn't really have askd for more...although I would have liked to have seen the doctor again after but I have an appintment with him next month so he can check up on it then. Seems like a long time away now though.
Slept on the sofa for the first night, leg seems OK and I can get around on crutches. Just waiting for the feeling in my leg to come back so I can take the splint off now.
Overall, the experience was realy god. The staf were all friendly, I was met beforehand by the anestatist doctor, the assistant doctor (I think that's what he calle himslef, apologies if not) and my surgeon, Dr Giles. All were really friendly and down to earth guys. The nurses were also friendly and seemed 'real' making me feel like a person and not just a knee.
I was looked after well when I cam out and the pain wasn;t to bad at all, although they had given me a femoral injection to numb the front of my leg which hasn;t worn off yet.
In the afternoon, two physio-therapists came along wth crutches for me and showed me how to use them and gave me an appointmet for Monday to start physio proper.
Finally, I was wheeled downstairs by a really nice helpful nurse and my wife drove me home.
So, I couldn't really have askd for more...although I would have liked to have seen the doctor again after but I have an appintment with him next month so he can check up on it then. Seems like a long time away now though.
Slept on the sofa for the first night, leg seems OK and I can get around on crutches. Just waiting for the feeling in my leg to come back so I can take the splint off now.
Have the op or not
I should stress that the decision to ave an operaton was not an easy one. I went to lots of physio at the hospital with a deficient ACL (means torn but not reconstructed) and my knee got a lot better. It wasn;t that unstable and I could run, cycle, play on the beach, go surfing, skateboarding and all sorts of things.
So, why have the operation?
Well, I was pretty sure that my knee wouldn;t stand up to any real punishment like on a footy pitch or badminton court, and I was always aware of the instabilty so I now favour my left foot rather than my right, and this has started to cause other injuries like 'House-maids knee' on my left leg. This is where you clump down on your kneecap and it fills with fluid. I put this down to over favouring my other knee...and have been advised that this sort of secondary injury may become more common...especially with cartilage in my knee joint having to do more work due to the absense of an ACL.
Lao, there's the possibility of getting arthritus in the joint which, although not medically proved, seems to be a potential problem.
Finaly, my doctor advised that with no ACL, I'd have to make do with low level activity for the rest of my life, and the instability that I first felt with me knee after the initial injury, may return unless I keep up the high level of exercise that I do now. So, when I've 55 I may find that I have to have it anyway, and the operation may be more complicated and the lack of a right AC may have caused injury to cartilage and other joints.
So, I went for it...bt had many sleeples nights coming to that decision.
So, why have the operation?
Well, I was pretty sure that my knee wouldn;t stand up to any real punishment like on a footy pitch or badminton court, and I was always aware of the instabilty so I now favour my left foot rather than my right, and this has started to cause other injuries like 'House-maids knee' on my left leg. This is where you clump down on your kneecap and it fills with fluid. I put this down to over favouring my other knee...and have been advised that this sort of secondary injury may become more common...especially with cartilage in my knee joint having to do more work due to the absense of an ACL.
Lao, there's the possibility of getting arthritus in the joint which, although not medically proved, seems to be a potential problem.
Finaly, my doctor advised that with no ACL, I'd have to make do with low level activity for the rest of my life, and the instability that I first felt with me knee after the initial injury, may return unless I keep up the high level of exercise that I do now. So, when I've 55 I may find that I have to have it anyway, and the operation may be more complicated and the lack of a right AC may have caused injury to cartilage and other joints.
So, I went for it...bt had many sleeples nights coming to that decision.
Background
In February 2010, while playing football, I ruptured my right ACL and tore off some of the cartilage in the joint. It wasn't a tackle or anything out of the ordinary, I just kicked the ball, landed on my left foot, put my right foot down, my body twisted, I heard a tearing sound and that was that.
I was wearing astro trainers (trainers with litle studs on the bottom for extra grip) and we wee playing on astrourf which I think were important factors in why this happened though.
Anyway, I went to the doctor who referred me to the orphapeadic dept of Exeter RD&E who sorted me out an MRI scan which showed what I had done. I'm 36 and want to play footy again, and do other things so I opted for the reconstruction.
Now, 7 months after I did it, I've ust had the op yesterday...and here's how it's going...
I was wearing astro trainers (trainers with litle studs on the bottom for extra grip) and we wee playing on astrourf which I think were important factors in why this happened though.
Anyway, I went to the doctor who referred me to the orphapeadic dept of Exeter RD&E who sorted me out an MRI scan which showed what I had done. I'm 36 and want to play footy again, and do other things so I opted for the reconstruction.
Now, 7 months after I did it, I've ust had the op yesterday...and here's how it's going...
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