ACL Reconstruction (Hamstring) post op diary

[Kaputt_Knee]

Well done   

Take it easy now and work on building up strength in order to maintain the stability.

As for the medial pain - what kind of graft did you have? It could be some bone bruising from the tunnel placement procedure or it could be related to the graft harvesting if you had an autograft. Two weeks is not that long and your knee is still recovering from the trauma of the operation. When you say the medial aspect, do you mean of the knee cap itself or more generally?

When is your next consultation with the OS? If it is still bothering you then, you can ask them for an opinion. As long as there is no redness, increased swelling or heat around the area you should be OK carrying on doing what you are currently doing.

 

[Kaputt_Knee]

DUH - Dimwit alert - just remembered the title of your thread 

The pain could be related to the harvesting procedure your surgeon used. Just monitor it and see if any particular actions cause it to increase or spread.

Sue 

[pinotlover]

Thanks for the advice Sue. I maybe should have mentioned this as well  but I have finished all my meds now and came off the anti inflammatory tablets on Sunday, so I think my knee has sort of caught up with everything that has happened to it! PT really didn't seem that concerned and it is not enough pain to take anything for so think its just a general operation side affect.

[pinotlover]

Pressed post to early then!

I go back to see the surgeon on 10th Jan. Was supposed to see him in four weeks but obviously that is smack over xmas/NYE period and then his surgery was booked up for that first week in Jan. So the tenth it is!

Still avoiding going anywhere outside on my own as the weather here is horrible and icy!



 

[Kaputt_Knee]

Where's here?

I'm in the Alps and we've had about 50cms of snow in the past 24 hours. I've just driven down to my local town and back again. There is snow on the roads but everyone has winter tyres and more than enough common sense to keep to safe driving. The snow ploughs are in continuous service and doing a damned good job to be honest.
Tonight's temperatures are due to go down to -15°C but with the wind chill it will be considerably lower. I love the snow and am happy I'm in a place where they do not panic when two or three flakes appear! I used to live in the SW of the UK - God that was a disaster when it snowed!

Compacted snow is OK to walk on as your shoes sink in and grip as do the crutches. It is cleared surfaces that are lethal as they are prone to black ice. My landlady is obsessive about clearing every last grain away and it was as a result of slipping on some black ice on my way out to work that my left leg was messed up (plus skiing for 3 days further on it didn't help  ).

Talk to your GP about possible milder analgesics but ask about the side effects of ibuprofen, as I kind of remember reading somewhere that despite it being frequently prescribed, it is not exactly graft friendly. I switch to atopical ibuprofen cream in the end which help with the lingering pain.

Sue 

[lwillson]

Hi PL,

Sounds like you are doing really well and coming along in great strides and bounds.  The PT is very rewarding, particularly if you like exercise anyway.  Keep chasing the extension as the priority, the rest will follow in due course.  I find the cycling is the best bit as it really helps to free up and lubricate the joint, setting it up well for the day. 

Keep posting!

Lawrence

[pinotlover]

Hey all,

Been back into physio this morning and all went well. I go to the local hospital and it is a designated ACLr class in the gym so usually 7/8 patients and 3 physios, but because of the snow there was just me and two physio's!! So did some really good one on one work.

Sue, I live in Halifax (West Yorkshire) and you would not believe the chaos 4 inches of snow could cause. To be honest it doesn't bother us because we have land rovers and although my is village is isolated we can still get out and about. I know what you mean about the snow - I would rather walk in that rather than the cleared areas. Next week it will all be a distant memory and I will be free to wander to the shops!

On the plus side and I have been feeling very guilty about having time off when my kids have exams in January, but that guilt has subsided seeing as though the school has been shut for three days and all my colleagues are announcing every two minutes on facebook that they are going sledging!

Lawrence hope everything is going good with you!!

Cheers for the replies

Jen

[Kaputt_Knee]

Hmmmmmmmmm, let me guess, you are a teacher, am I right?  Me too, originally a PE teacher but the injuries and advancing years have put paid to that little number. I'm now a Business English teacher and desk jockey in southern Germany!

Nice one with the ACL class - milk it for all you can until normal service resumes. 

Even so, 3 PTs to 7/8 patients is pretty good ratios for an NHS ACL class - I had one-to-one for a while under the NHS in the early 1990s, then joined a group where I was pretty well autonomous as I'd been through the process so many times. Here in Germany I have always had one-to-one and group classes, plus access to rehab gyms and hydrotherapy pools whenever I want.

I'm working a 12 hour shift at my desk today to make up my weekly hours, then bunking off to go skiing with friends tomorrow! Still quietly snowing here, we have about 2/3 foot on average, but the drifting is causing a few problems. Forecast for tomorrow is sunshine but brass monkey temperatures - can't have everything I suppose. 

Sue 

[pinotlover]

Hi - yep I am a teacher! I teach Business Studies but also do a bit of PE, mainly netball.

The funny thing is my fella is obsessed with skiing and him and his best mate have been on a regular basis for years. Although I am very sporty it is not something I did as a child so have never really got into it. Last xmas I agreed to a skiing holiday and thought I could really really into this after doing lots of research. Then in the feb I went and did my knee in and haven't given it a second thought! After reading some of the stories on here it seems skiing isn't great for ACL's!! So I am sort of tempted to put off learning to ski!!

Sounds like you have a lovely day planned!! Hope the weather holds right for you!

Jen

[Kaputt_Knee]

Far more ACLs damaged playing games like football than are damaged in skiing. et good equipment and good instruction and there is no problem. Most ACLs torn skiing are done either in collisions (rarer than you think), or doing something beyond you current ability (frequent).

No reason why you shouldn't learn and enjoy the whole range of skiing skills.


Weather looks as if it is going to be MEGA! 

 

[pinotlover]

Hi

Well it 17 days today since my surgery and I generally feeling good. However it really brought it home to me yesterday that as much as my walking and general knee condition feel good at home, actually being out and about is a very different story.

My Mum took me to our local shopping centre so I could get some bits and bobs and boy did I feel it. First 20 mins was ok but I was panicking someone was going to bash me with a big bag, then after 45 mins or so the scar started stinging and burning. Went to get a coffee and promptly got leg as high up I as could. The stinging subsided after a couple of mins. Then had another ten mins up walking before we finally got back to the car.

I could not believe how tired I was and how much energy was zapped from me in an hour!
Anyway I suppose it was a lesson to me not to overdo it!! Today is a couch day!!!

Hope everyone is doing well xx

Jen

[lwillson]

Hi Jen - sounds like you had an escape trip yesterday which is always worth it.  As you say, only a short time in "real world" beyond the sofa can be quite draining, but good for the soul.  I presume by your blog name, it was for a shopping run for fermented grapes?    Sorry, couldn't resist....

Guess it is quite possible to do SLRs with a glass in hand as well? 

[pinotlover]

Hi all,

Well went to physio today and she managed to bend me pretty much to match my good knee, bit dud it hurt though!!! She has told ne I must work on this now and get it bent as much as I can. Extension is good and I am hitting -3 on my own.

Lawrence- you were sort of right about my little adventure but I promise all the wine was not for me! ( had guests at the weekend!) however I did knock a few glasses back but not whilst doing slr's for fear of spilling it!

Jen x

[Snowy]

Hey Jen! A belated welcome from me to the ACLr Class of 2010.

Glad to hear that you're keeping the biceps in trim raising glasses of wine. I climbed on the wagon for a month or so before surgery and roughly the same afterwards, only to discover that a few judicious glasses of wine or microbrew often provide more of a boost than you'd realize.

Sorry to hear about the bad reaction to the trip to the shopping centre, but it seems like at this stage that's often the way it has to go - you only figure out what's overdoing it when you push it a little too far. The early days are by far the toughest - once you start to get some real activities back, it's amazing how much better you feel about everything. At this stage, the most important thing is to listen to your body and give it a break when it's been overstretched. I look back and feel like the early stages of rehab were a continual round of push-check-push-check-overdo-rest-recover-push-check...as long as you keep everything within the bounds of your rehab protocol, it should all work out in the end.

I'm another skiing victim, but that was just the straw that broke the camel's back - I lost most of the ACL in a kickboxing incident 4 years previously and the mistimed ski jump just finished it off.

Rehab is a strange place, but it sounds like you're doing well so far. Hope the good progress continues!

Kay

[pinotlover]

Hey all,

Well i'm now on 22 days post op and feeling good. Went to physio yesterday and got 123 degrees flexion!! So chuffed! I can now progress to the next stage on my program.

Still avoiding the snow and ice as I met a woman yesterday who slipped on the ice 14 days after acl surgery and has just had an MRI which has confirmed she has torn the graft. To say she was gutted is a massive understatement. She now has to go back in for surgery.

Anyway hope everyone is well!

Jen