Don't! Coming back with a new strong knee is going to be worth it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces
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Don't! Coming back with a new strong knee is going to be worth it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces
Quote:
Originally Posted by Telepath
i know, you're right.....
;)
http://www.aspectjournal.com/forum/s...?p=808#post808
Hadn't seen that one. Thanx for linking. Nice :yourock:Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces
4 Week Post-Op PT Report:
7 AM Pain Therapy sessions ssssuuuuckkkk. Hopped on the stationary bike first and spun for 15 minutes...by the end of this cycle, could finally pedal a full revolution with proper technique (i.e. keeping the heel on my injured leg flat, rather than pointy toed), so that was good.
Then hopped over to doing quad sets on a pilates machine (a reformer). Banged through 3 sets with higher tension than I've ever done so that was good. Doc has me on orders to keep motion doing these between 40 and 90 degrees though for the time being so that kinda sucks....so tempting to keep pushing and extending further.
Then did hamstring curls. Two legged and one legged (with the injured leg). 60 lbs two legged and 30 lbs one legged with 2 sets x 15 reps each. Felt good.
Did a bunch of balancing exercies too on the balance boards. Proprioception feels weeeeiiiird, but by the end of this session I could easily balance for 30 seconds which was the goal.
Finally went to work on knocking out the pain in my hamstring which has been the bane of my rehab from the onset. After some masssage, was able to get to 2 degrees extension and 123 flexion which was an improvement over 3 and 115 respectively from last Friday.
See the orthopod in a week for my second post-op visit....hoping to take in some even better numbers for him and see what he says about getting clearance for longer cardio sessions and weight training.
Everyone's hittin' it sooooooooo hard, I love It! :yourock:
...and the roller coaster keeps rolling...up, down, up, up, climbs, climbs, crests, falls....
...pain...
...hamstring..
...ughhhh....
getting beyond frustrating now. the pain in my hamstring when I flex / extend is really getting to me. it's always there. I know I can flex beyond it's limits, but the pain stops me and it usually takes a few bangs against its wall to push on through.
finding out that heat helps it though. spent nearly this entire Saturday alternating between cold packs on the knee, then hot packs wrapped around the back of my thigh, then hop on the stationary bike, repeat.
took some measurements at PT yesterday...lost 2 mm girth from my quad. One month post-op visit with orthopod is Monday.
Damn, that sucks, Ty. Is the hammy pain where they took the graft from? I've been waiting/expecting to experience hammy pain, and it hasn't come (knock wood). You should try to get into a pool or a hot tub. Doing rom exercises in the warm water has really been good for me. I feel great after a session, and stronger every day so far... I hope your hammy loosens up soon, delays suck.
yeah right where the graft was from.Quote:
Originally Posted by Arnold Babar
Just saw my orthopod for the 1-month post-op visit. Despite the hammy pain, he says I'm right on track and the new acl feels "solid". Heat packs really make it (hammy) feel better and he said just to keep on doin what I'm doing.
Good news is he gave me clearance to road ride. Sweet. Now all I need is my insurance policy check to come after I destroyed my road bike ramming it into my garage when I tried pulling into in with the bike on the roof rack :D
Go back to see him beginning of March...and he says at that time, if things keep progressing as they are, I'll be able to start running. cool.
5 Week Post-Op Report:
Getting better! All that hamstring pain that I was bitchin and whining about earlier is getting MUCH better. Treating it at home with heat packs and then lots of stretching is helping (in addition to all the stuff at PT).
I'm now at 127 flexion max (with PT help), but still at 1-2 extention...grrrr...must-get-to-ze-ro-....the hamstring pain is pretty much gone in flexion, but is very limiting in extension...getting there though.
Can finally hop on a bike and start pedaling with good technique (no hip cheating or toe pointing) with no discomfort, so I'm out pedaling around my neighborhood everyday for an hour for lunch. No hills or no super hard workouts yet, but soon.....contemplating signing up for the death ride (www.deathride.com) in July and then maybe even the Park City Endurance 100 mountain bike thang in August too to give me some extra motivation.
Balance is feelin excellent....did a lot of one-footed balance exercises on the bosu ball today while throwing a small medicine ball into a horizontal trampoline and then catching it. Was doing pretty well at this until I started telling my PT a story, lost attention to what I was doing, and the medicine ball game back off the tramp and hit me in the nads :D......but I kept my balance through it!!!! :D
Looking forward to a relaxing, long-ish (for this stage in the game) smooth fireroad mountain bike ride this weekend. Can't wait to get back into the woods.
Nice. I envy you being able to ride a bike. I am 3 weeks Post-Op and can't even get on a stationary one yet. My Flexion is 106 so 14 more degrees until I get to pedal.
That is always so funny when it's someone else.Quote:
the medicine ball game back off the tramp and hit me in the nads
When I was at this point, I would just sit on the bike and rock the pedals back & forth as far as I could tolerate...in no time (but definitely with some pain & discomfort) I was able to get 'em around. It was definitely easier getting over the top while pedaling backwards then forwards. Once you can get 'em over going backwards, just keep working on that until you can go forward.Quote:
Originally Posted by Snow Ranger
I missed my pt session today due to attending my wife's level two ultra-sound. It's a girl! That'll be Babar daughter #3. I did drive to New Jersey yesterday in a 24 ft. rental truck :( , Picked up 22,000 yards of fabric, then drove back to CT and unloaded the 24 foot box truck (about 500 rolls). Lots of bending, twisting, lifting, carrying, hoisting, probly walked about three miles inside that damn truck :mad: . Does that count as pt? Good news: I'm back to work. Bad news: I'm already slacking on the pt. Oh well, gonna have another mouth to feed, and so far nobody's offering to pay me to ride the eliptical machine :rolleyes: .
ahhhh.....back on the mountain bike.....Christmas Day, 5 and a half weeks after surgery....went for a 10 mile mellow, fireroad ride along the lakes & hills near my house. Stayed in the saddle and didn't mash the big gears, just spun at a healthy rpm. Slowed way the hell down for any corners, and got off walked some off-camber sections that you'd normally not give a second thought too, but can't risk even the slightest slip. Anyhow, it felt so damn good.....Prolly won't need anymore updates here for awhile.... :cool:
Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!!! I'm gettin' on the bike soon too, though they say snow's comin' to these parts so maybe not. Nice goin' keep 'em spinnin...
haven't had a rehab update in awhile sooo....
it feels good to look back through this and see progress. Things are going great. I have my 3-month post-op visit with the orthopod on Wednesday and my PT thinks I should get clearance to start jogging a little.
I can get to 0 degrees extension on my own no problem and my walking gait looks fine. My normal knee goes to about -1 or -2 hyperextension, but as long as my injured knee can get to 0 on it's own i'm psyched...it goes hyper with a little help...
For flexion, my injured leg is only about 4 degrees off from my normal knee (137 vs 141 roughly)....tightness in my quad of all places actually hinders it from going further now, since it hasn't been stretched that far in so many months.
I'm riding my road bike nearly every day. It's been so warm (60's) down here in the valley it nearly feels like spring. Days are gettin a little longer so I cut out of work around 4 PM and then ride for an hour and a half every day. Take a day off here and there if I push it too hard, because if I do (say if I start hammering hills or something) my hamstring is sore the next day so I'll just rest. Put my name in the hat for www.deathride.com and will know if I got picked to ride that sufferfest at the end of Feb. Saturday's & Sunday's I started pushing my saddle time up to about 3 hours - 4 hours a day...which is where I'm going just after I finish typing this...
Trying to get to the pool 3 times a week too, but that's getting tough to fit in with PT, the gym, bike rides, and work.
Some odd things I've noticed is that there's still some bruising behind my surgery knee. it's nearly 3 months and it's still there! i guess it's slowly fading though...
Also, my knee cap is popping and cracking like crazy. PT says it might be IT band tightnees. Mentioned that it could be crepidus (sp?)...which i guess is the patella getting pulled out of its normal groove from tight structures? It sounds like i'm cracking my knuckles sometimes when I stand up after sitting for awhile. Doesn't hurt..just sounds like rice crispies. PT says there could be a way to tape it when I start running to ensure it doesn't get worse.
took my skis to the shop last night to get mounted and tuned...not really sure why....but just felt I had to do it.........maybe I can XC ski soon...I wonder how Stockli DP's with Freerides & alpine boots will do as an XC set-up :D
Thats a little like asking how an erupting volcano will do as a cigarette lighter.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces
Nice job on the rehab. Hope I can be that motivated when the time comes. I just got back from finally getting an MRI. I won't see my ortho to analyze it till the 17th though. My PT wasn't so sure it was fully torn but the ortho suspects it is and I just have so much muscle that it dosen't feel like it (he compared me to Maori rugby players he worked on while in NZ).
I'll also be getting a real functional brace soon so maybe we can go XC and stare longingly at the mountains together as due to time constraints for my research I probably won't be going under the knife till mid May.
Ty that bruising might be there for a while. I had a bruise on my tibia for more than a year after my first one. Really it isn't anything to worry about.
With the cracking of the patella. Make sure to get that taken care of. Have your PT check your patellar mobility and hamstring flexibility as well as the IT band as these are 2 or 3 likely causes of the crepitus you are feeling. Don't let that go until it becomes painful or else it could be there a while.
cool will do.....it's really started up a lot in the past week, but I haven't but all that vocal about to my PT, but I'll start to bring it up more. thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vinman
Glad to hear that you're getting so much riding in!
I get some popping in my patella too - though lately it's gone from popping to just an occasional feeling of tightness like it's going to pop, and if I do a couple quick patellar mobs it's gone.
well- im a little late jumping on this bandwagon... But Im getting ACL replacement surgery on Thursday, so in 3 days. Im taking it from my pateller and am just trying to work hard to get my knee in shape before they cut me open. All your info has been very informative, thanks to all for the updates and such. Hopefully my rehab will go as well as all of yours has. Im a little nervous but seeing as this is my third big surgery its nothing new. I was really surprised that one of the doctors I went and saw actually asked me IF I wanted surgery... I didnt know that not getting it done was an option, my knee hurts too bad to do much anyway. But was tempted because I missed and am missing a lot of really important comps and opportunities this year, it was supposed to be my big year. But as long as this gets fixed and I can rip it this summer and be back at it next winter... thats the most important thing.
So a few questions (if anyone still reads this thread,) How did you cope with not skiing for so long? I haven't gone this long without skiing for probably 15 years, since my first day on skis when I was three. Its my life, now I dont really know what to do with myself and am trying not to let this totally devistate me. I understand injuries like this are really common among our kind and it was probably bound to happen to me when I ski 100+ days every year. Plus everyone keeps telling me that females are a lot more likely to tear theirs... so it was probably in the cards for me sooner or later. But im 18 and before this happened I felt amazing, stuff was finally starting to happen for me. This is just a really big setback and its hard to deal with... I just need to keep thinking to get strong and healthy to charge even harder next season.
Is there anything I should make sure to concentrate on before surgery/the few days after surgery that I should make special note of? Im trying to keep everything strong and get my range of motion the best it can be, but what really makes a difference?
Well apart from that.. I am just going to stick through it... Oh, and anyone have any ideas of how to drive a clutch with only one good leg?? Cuz thats all ive got. Maybe attatch a ski pole to it? hah, hmmmm.
Anyway, hope you all are doing well with your rehab and such, any tips would be good... hah im super familiar with back and ankle rehab, but knees are totally new to me. Thanks!
The best way for me to cope was to channel the energy I would normally put into skiing into rehab. I figured if I became as passionate about rehab as I am about skiing, then I'd come out of this fine, and it seems to be working. The thought (or in my case, fear) of not being able to do the same things you once did at the same level will drive you.Quote:
Originally Posted by fineline
I was thinking the same thoughts as well post-op. And everywhere kept telling me that i'd come out of all of this stronger and better off in some way. At first I thought, "yeah right whatever, i'm still missing the season, whatever"...but now, 3 months into rehab and I'm finding that they're absolutely right. I am going to be much stronger coming out than I was coming in (and you will too so long as you turn that "ski drive" into "rehab drive"). And honestly, it really does just boil down to one season...heck in your case, it might even be less than that. You'll have many, many, many, many more ski & pow days with your friends in your future. You will be in excellent shape to kick some ass next winter.Quote:
I understand injuries like this are really common among our kind and it was probably bound to happen to me when I ski 100+ days every year. Plus everyone keeps telling me that females are a lot more likely to tear theirs... so it was probably in the cards for me sooner or later. But im 18 and before this happened I felt amazing, stuff was finally starting to happen for me. This is just a really big setback and its hard to deal with...
Keep your quads strong. They will atrophy some, so the stronger they are going into surgery, then the easier it will be to come out.Quote:
Is there anything I should make sure to concentrate on before surgery/the few days after surgery that I should make special note of? Im trying to keep everything strong and get my range of motion the best it can be, but what really makes a difference?
hmmmm, ski pole would work. And it would be like a pole plant as you shift into a left hand turn :DQuote:
Well apart from that.. I am just going to stick through it... Oh, and anyone have any ideas of how to drive a clutch with only one good leg?? Cuz thats all ive got. Maybe attatch a ski pole to it? hah, hmmmm.
All the best.
Ditto to what Ty said on all of that stuff. Think "rehab is my life" for a while. And find something else productive to do too. I got my real estate license - there's only so many hours in a day you can spend in the gym before you're overdoing it and it starts to be counter-productive. If I'm busy all day and tired from working out, I'm not freaking out that I didn't ski. Much anyway...Quote:
Originally Posted by fineline
About driving - Which knee are you having done? I had a hamstring graft on my left knee years ago - I didn't drive for probably 4 weeks, but I got tons of paid sick leave and had people that could shuttle me around and it wasn't a big deal. This time I went back to work in 4 days - drove the truck the first couple days because it's an automatic, and I was back driving my Subaru (manual) in under a week. But this time it was my right leg, which is easier for that anyway.
Good luck!
I'll jump in late too. My biggest problem has been getting full flexibility back. The hamstring etc had shortened a lot post op (wasn't able to straighten my leg due to cartillage damage). But the flexibility is mostly back and it's all pretty functional.
I had my first bit of skiing about a month ago - just over 4 months post op. Not strictly recommended but I felt OK and I was confident that I would know whether I was steady enough not to fall. I told my physio about it after, however! Didn't do anything too exciting but it's very motivating to realise that , basically, I can still ski. Will be doing some more demanding stuff in March (just over 6 months post-op) and can't wait.
Sometimes it's been a bit depressing on the rehab. But I've been quite lucky in that it has been quite a steady progression so I've always been able to look back a few weeks and think how much I've improved.
Hope this provides a bit of encouragement and good luck
that is sweet! Maybe a little risky eh?...but sweet nonetheless. I assume you wore a brace?Quote:
Originally Posted by Arno
I actually plan on noodling down a groomer at about my 4.5 month post-op to get up and watch the IFSA big mountain comp at Kirkwood in early April. Gonna be so hard to just cruise a groomer over to the venue and just hang out all day.
Possibly a bit risky but when justifying it to my physio I said it was like a soccer player starting to run again - a step on from what I'd been doing before but not the full activity by any means. I'm a good enough skier that I know when I am not feeling stable and I didn't do anything too committing. Just some nice smooth groomers. Avoided bumps, soft snow, hard snow, people etc etc
The most noticeable thing was how quickly I got tired.
I did wear a brace, although not a very sophisticated one. My knee does feel very stable now so I don't know whether I'll bother on my next trip.
As I said, though, the first day back may be a pretty boring day by normal standards but it feels so good to be up in the mountains sliding again that you probably won't mind. :biggrin:
Actually, one interesting (maybe) debate I had with myself was which skis to use. I have Atomic SX11s in a 170 and a pair of the old Dynastar Intuitiv Bigs (the ones with the semi-swallow tail) in a 188.
I knew I was going to be staying on piste all the time and spent a while thinking about whether the Atomics would be best because they were shorter or whether the fact that they are stiff and want to be on an edge all the time meant that they might be a bit too much to handle. One of the many virtues of the Bigs is that they react quite well to lazy technique!
Went with the Atomics in the end and lived to tell the tale...
funny you use that as an example...because that is me. I'm also a soccer player (that's how I tore mine), and I'm about to start running again next week.Quote:
Originally Posted by Arno
hmmm....so tempting. :)
As far as braces go some docs don't even Rx them anymore. A few studies have shown a simple neoprene sleeve is as good as a brace for preventing re-injury. this is mostly due to the abililty of the neoprene to give some sensory feedback and what position the knee is in, (proprioception).Quote:
Originally Posted by Arno
Now I'm not saying that you should just stop wearing your brace or anything but just another piece of info to think about. Talk it over with your doc or PT sometime.
I personally think a brace is a good idea for the first year until the graft fully matures and then after that it is kind of a personal prefernce kind of thing and for some it is even kind of a mental crutch that just makes them feel better. Anyway....
Just saw my orthopod for 3-month post-op..aaaannnddd....
I GOT CLEARANCE TO RUNNNNNNNNN!!!!
sOoooooooooooooo PSCYHED!
Finally starting to feel more like training rather than rehab now :) :) :)
Well, they do say that once you're fully rehabed the graft should be pretty much as strong as the ACL was. I agree on the mental crutch point - everything just feels a little tighter with it on.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vinman
Interesting about prioproception - hadn't thought of that but I certainly see what you mean.
Great news on the running, Tyrone. Having been doing it again for a couple of months, I'm still amazed by how nackered it makes me! All good though
Awesome! Congrats!!! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces
First Time Running Post-Op Report:
About 11 weeks post-op...almost 3 months. (First time running in about 4 mos. actually)
Ran for 25 minutes @ slow-ass 10 minute/mile pace....
...Knee felt focking BOMBER
can't wait to start ratcheting that pace back up to normal. Getting closer....
that is all.
I had my surgery yesterday... my knee hurts :( It went pretty well though, but like I said.. my knee hurts- I am on lots and lots of painkillers though so thats keeping me together I suppose. I got some pictures too so I will post mine (I had pateller) when i can get access to the scanner that my brother stole from me.
well, you're on your way to getting a stronger knee already. keep ice on that sucker as much as possible and keep it elevated as much as you can too. Elevated as in propped up somehow so that's it's above your heart. That, combined with constant ice will really help the swelling, which will really help the pain.Quote:
Originally Posted by fineline
EDIT: Glad to hear you are relatively killing it, Ty.
A little update on my progress, my PT put me on a running program about 3 weeks ago, and it feels good. I'll go to the track, lay down a few laps then just dork around with a soccer ball getting the touch back. Combine that with some miles on the bike and things are coming along OK.
There's no doubt about it, day after surgery sucks big time. One thing I was glad I did was keep ahead on my pain meds. I got the femoral nerve block in my leg (so it was completely numb for 48hrs) but made sure to keep up on the pain meds so that when it wore off (you can't really tell when it will) I wasn't shocked with the pain.Quote:
Originally Posted by fineline
You'll be back on it in no time. The first couple weeks seem to drag on, but after that time flys by and you are back running and riding.
fineline - we had surgery the same day. I just saw your perkaset induced post over on the padded room, bwahahah! Mine was a patellar graft also....and yes i also had perks for breakfast today.Quote:
Originally Posted by fineline
Ty, great thread thanks for sharing. Way to get your jog on.
really??? wow thats cool! We will have to keep in touch and help each other out with rehab and stuff.. Haha we can make it a race!! Haha yeah I like perkaset, and oxycotin or whatever it is. I got some pretty cool pics and video that I will try to post once I figure out how.Quote:
Originally Posted by milton
[QUOTE=scoober]EDIT: Glad to hear you are relatively killing it, Ty.
PT put me on a running program about 3 weeks ago, and it feels good. I'll go to the track, lay down a few laps then just dork around with a soccer ball getting the touch back. Combine that with some miles on the bike and things are coming along OK.
QUOTE]
I can't believe how conservative my docs are compared to yours. I don't see my ortho for another month. Last thing he said was to hold off on running. I dropped my pt, and have just been doing my own thing, mostly super long bike rides where I mash alot of hills. But I've also been using the soccer ball. Been doing a lot of juggling, and passing it around with my daughter. It feels really good and I got control back really fast. I thing that soccer is a great rehab activity. We'll have to put together a gimp central all-star team: VIctoire! Victoire! Victoire! :D
I was talking to my PT about speed of rehab (after I owned up to skiing 4 months post-op). She said there are huge differences in views as to what you can do when. Apparently some college football players are running and cutting 1 month post-op! :eek: Having the best medical attention money can buy, daily MRIs etc etc probably helps...
Arno you skied after four months. How did it feel? are you going again or waiting? Did you wear a brace? I am at week 10 post op and feel strong enough to snowboard with a brace, I still feel a little to weak for skiing.Quote:
skiing 4 months post-op