Grey's LPFLr, MPFLr, TTT

[greyliston]

7 weeks post-op:

Things are going well. I am pretty much back to normal life with a few exceptions. Now the real test is when I can start hitting the athletics hard. Here is an example of my activities this past weekend:

Saturday: Went to the gym and lifted legs (hami machine, squat machine, extension machine), upper body and swam 2k yards. Then immediately went into the Columbia River Gorge with friends and did a 5 mile hike up to the top of Angel's Rest and back down (relying heavily on hiking poles). Saturday night: went out for beers (great beer in Portland) with friends, drank too much and probably did stupid stuff that made me hurt the next day. Sunday: Rode 20 miles with my friend up to North Portland and back into town. I cannot get up out of the saddle to climb a hill yet - must be sitting down to bike. Monday: needed to take a day off because of pain levels.

This may sound like I am doing really well but there is definitely still pain and my knee is definitely still on my mind all the time. I am still icing but not every day. Swelling is down but still a little puffy. ROM is great, maybe 140?

Additionally, I have been receiving acupuncture regularly. I have had 6 sessions thus far and have 2 more this week.
One thing that concerns me is that my skin is still slightly numb around the knee.

In conclusion, I am doing well but still a long way to go before I am fully recovered.

[smartdriver]

Additionally, I have been receiving acupuncture regularly. I have had 6 sessions thus far and have 2 more this week.
One thing that concerns me is that my skin is still slightly numb around the knee.

Grey:

Glad to hear things are progessing well!  But, I'm REALLY glad that you're doing the acupuncture!  I assume that you have noticed a difference since starting the acupuncture (esp. since you keep going back!).  If I ever have to have surgery for anything else, I think I will bring my acupuncturist with me so I can get pre- and post-surgery sessions.  Does your acupuncturist use the electrodes?

On the numbness, I've never regained (full) feeling back -it's better than it was, but  probably won't ever be back 100% 

[greyliston]

Hey smartdriver,

The acupuncture has been great. No, my acupuncturist does not use electrodes.

The first time I went I had significant swelling and the day after, the swelling went down tremendously. Thats when I knew it did something.

The numbness is going away slowly because now I feel the needles in places where I had not felt them before but it is just going to take time.

[greyliston]

2 months and 3 weeks post-op.

I can relate to Driden now in that I have hit a plateau. I am still dealing with pain but only when I am pushing myself.

The pain is definitely patellar but there is also a sense of overall knee pain and tightness. My ROM is great but there is this resistance to bending the knee. Most likely it is because of all the new parts inside there (TTT screws, IT band graft stapled down, donor ligament stapled down).

I will go hard and then have to stay off of it for several days. I go hard because I think that that is the best way to build muscle and get my knee back in shape but it becomes more apparent that I need to be resting and doing light PT. Like this weekend, I rode 33 mi Sat and 40 mi Sun. By no means was this pain free and I forced myself to get up out of the saddle on the climbs. Monday I was hurting and today I am still hurting.

I understand it is still early in the process and I will not pass judgement on this surgery until 1 year post-op.

On a pleasant note, I was trying to catch a bus and had to run after it (total run time of 10 sec?). I didn't even realize I was running and it actually felt ok. Running was impossible prior to this surgery so that is huge for me! Also, the fact that I can no longer pick my knee cap up and almost flip it over is very relieving. It is lock solid in there!

[TOMMAX]

Hey, sounds like youre hitting the rehab hard and its good to hear that youre able to be so active so close from surgery. I hope the pain will go away completly for you in due time and this surgery has solved the problem for you. Look forward to your future updates, best of luck to you.

[greyliston]

Ok so I am 3.5 months out and I am really starting to feel good. I even called Dr. Mark up today because of how excited I am.

Definitely still need some healing but to actually see improvement after a knee surgery is very encouraging.

Still have some numbness around the incision area. Not sure if that will ever go away but thats not really what I care about.

[greyliston]

Dr. Mark is a miracle worker.

A year ago, I thought my athletic life was over. This past Saturday I climbed Mt. St. Helens and then on Sunday I rode my bike 55 miles, all pain-free.

Thank you Dr. Mark.