brand new TPF

[jd70]

Bo,

Congrats on the return to work -- I think any extra bit of normalcy (like returning to work) helps one to get one's mind off of the injury, which I'm finding is more and more important as I continue to wrestle with FWB-related pains and discomforts.  I think mental distraction is helpful for relaxing those all-too-often tensed leg muscles, especially when one has gone FWB.  Anyhow, glad to hear it's going well so far.

jd

[TPF-PT]

Went to my OS today for follow up.  XR showed the fractures were completely healed.  My OS was extremely pleased with the outcome but I questioned my difficulty with ROM.  I admit that I have been able to go up and down stairs with minimal difficulty, but going down is a little disconcerting at times due to my flexion issues.  I still have a bit of a limp that gets worse when I am tired, but I, being the self-diagnoser that I am, have figured out that my ACL is stretched a bit and this contributes to my limp.  When I stride forward with the affected leg, I am unable to achieve full extension.  When I am lying down (non weight bearing), I get to full extension.  One of the roles of the ACL is to assist in causing the tibia to externally rotate (about 5 degrees) during full extension once the ACL is maximally stretched.  This is called the "screw home" moment of the knee or when the knee gets "locked out".  Since my ACL is stretched, I don't get that little bit of tibial rotation so my knee feels blocked at about 5 degrees short of extension.  There are 2 other structures that assist in this mechanism, the quads and the medial femoral condyle both of which are OK so that leaves the ACL as the culprit.  I didn't discuss this with my doctor since he would probably just nod his head and think..."gee, Bo thinks he is pretty smart".  Of course, my co-workers are probably sick of me talking about my knee, I know my wife is! .  My doc said that he thought I should keep working on stretching for 5-6 weeks and then, if necessary, we could discuss options if my ROM doesn't improve.  At this point, I think it will get better, but I just need someone to tell me that from time to time.

I am back at work full time without much difficulty.  I tend to get one of my patients started on an exercise and "run" over to one of the elliptical machines for 3-5 minutes.  My knee feels great after the elliptical and I have ZERO limp for about 15 minutes.  But, if I have to sit down...my knee stiffens.  By the way, my doc said "no running yet" and I told him that I didn't run before and I had no plan to start now!

Best of luck to all!

Bo

[morgana]

Hi Bo!

Congrats on how well you are doing!!!(really looking for that applause emoticon - it has to be here somewhere  )

I can totally id with you on the extension part.  Sitting on the floor I can easily make the leg as straight as I want, standing...ummm,errr.  I am absolutely in love with the Arc Trainer at the gym.  I've finally gotten to a point where I can log about an hour at various levels & various weights.  And right after I can walk very normally.  Sit down for 15 minutes & I look ricketty when I first start moving again.  A trainer suggested that it might be the hams are stronger than the quads at this moment - so I'm now focusing a bit more that direction.

The only running I'd like to be able to do is after a bus, or a small child!  Like you never was much into it before, have no desire to go for it at this age!

Hope you continue to heal well & see you dx efforts & intuition pay off!

btw - what exactly does going backward on an Elliptical do benefitswise?

[TPF-PT]

I prefer forwards on the elliptical because I begin to feel an intense stretching/burning in the middle of my calf at about 6-7 minutes.  My calf is VERY tight (just add it to the list) and when my left foot (affected leg) is in the rear position, I feel the stretch.  I do not feel this when I go backwards.  IMMEDIATELY after I stop the elliptical, I stretch my calf as hard as I can tolerate.  As far as backwards on the elliptical is concerned...therapists and trainers will tell you that the hamstrings work harder in that direction.  I admit that I feel my hamstrings firing when I am going backward, so there may be evidence to support the claim.   

Good luck!

Bo

[morgana]

Thanks for the info!

I usually do the majority of my forward time on the Arc Trainer, and finish with some backward on the Elliptical & as fast as I can go on the bike for about 5 minutes.  The spouse recently asked why the backward & I couldn't remember what PT had said was a reason to do 5-10 minutes backward.

I'm betting the empathy you have for your patients puts you in more demand as a therapist!  Not to mention how much more you've moved into role model for them...
 

[sueski]

Bo,
So glad to hear the great news. I'm a little jealous because you have access to the best equipment on a daily basis. I'm not even sure what an eliptical thing is, but I assume that I must not have used it yet or I would know about it.

You mentioned that you were having a little trouble going down stairs. Well, I am too. I still don't have full flexion yet and maybe this is the reason. I can go up steps just fine. But my OS and my PT don't seem concerned about it, so I'm not going to worry about it either.

Doesn't it feel great to know that your fractures have healed. I was especially ecstatic when my last xray also showed that I had some meniscus left. I wasn't so happy when I saw that long top screw. But I am thankful that my life is getting back to normal finally.

Happy days are here again!

Susan

[morgana]

Sueski

Elliptical trainers are found at many gyms these days - the advantage is that it allows your ankles, quads, hams, glutes, etc. to be engaged in working out in a low impact format -  easy on the joints.  Your foot maintains connection on a pedal the entire time & depending on your strength & fitness levels you can walk, jog or run. 

The PT location that I went to did not have an elliptical, although it's larger sibling locales did.  So I could have included ellipticals if I switched locations. 

I'm using something similar (Arc Trainer - which is a cross between a stepper & an elliptical) at the local gym the spouse & I joined.

[burnbank]

Bo,  It's so helpful to have someone a few weeks ahead of me.  I'll be charting your progress and taking notes.  Hope you continue to do well.

Susan

[sueski]

Morgana,

Thanks for the info on the eliptical. I asked my PT if there was one at our place and there was.  I sure would like to get some kind of aerobic workout soon. I think this machine might do it if I could stay on it long enough.