hi there mate
my name is nick and i am from the uk.i ruptured my left patellar tendon whilst at work after rugby tackling someone.this happened on 14th september 2007.
first of all can i just say that you would have been better off breaking both your legs then experiencing our injury.
if you are going to get back to the ways things were you need to do the following things
stay focused on each day at a time.do not think about how wonderful things were as this will put you on a real downer.it is all about time and your injury takes a long time to heal.you need to become an expert on your knee and how it works and exactly what has happened in the knee joint when you ruptured your tendon.you can do this by going onto google and searching under ruptured patellar tendon.
your left side of the knee like mine will be totally numb.this is quite normal mate as when the surgeon opened up your knee he/she had to cut through all the nerve endings to that area.
i am afraid to say that you wont be walking properly for at least three to four months,and that is without crutches.the problem with tendon injuries is that they have a very small blood supply so recovery in that area is very slow.be very cautions of over doing it in the early stages because there is a risk of re injury over the first six months.the tendon will be repaired in six months but the leg it self to get back to the way it was will take 18 months and thats no bull s**t.
a couple of things that helped me were these
get a leg shower protector so you can shower daily.you need to shower daily and keep clean it will lift your spirits and prevent fungal infection.hopefully you will have a supporting family structure.use them and talk to them.let them be your councillors and spend time with them.i got to know my wife when i got injured and my kids and we now have a special bond.
if you are wearing a pot for the next six weeks your quads will shrink so the pot will move around alot.try and do some basic quad flexs inside your pot.this will keep your leg muscles active.when you sleep put a pillow between your legs so that you can sleep on your side.if not it bloody hurts with your pot rubbing against your other leg.
buy yourself a piss bottle that you can piss into in the middle of the night.it saves you getting up and all the hassle of that operation.plus it reduces the risk of re-injury during the night when you are half asleep.
stay off the alcohol you dont want to turn into an alcoholic to add to your problems.plus that will put tonnes of weighton.try and exercise your upper body this will help with staying strong and make it easier with using the crutches and pulling yourself around.
be prepared for the next twelve months as they are the hardest thing you will probably have experienced.just dont be too hard on yourself and stay positive.try not to think about how great and strong your lef leg used to be.put things into perspective.you now know how a disabled person feels on a day to day basis.
write everything down in a diary so that when things seem to not be changing you can look back at two or three weeks ago and see for yourself that you have made progress.
make sure you suss out your physio and do everything they plan for you.
when you have your first assessment take your diary with you and write all the exercises down and ask her/him if they have ever deaqlt with your type of injury before.
i will give you a flavour of what things i can now do bearing in mind that it is now two days away from a full year when i had my accident.
i struggle lowering my self down the stairs going down on my left leg..going upstairs is ok.i can jog for twenty minutes with a good stretch and warm up before hand.i cant do weighted leg extensions in the gym.i cannot kneel on my left knee at all as the pain is unbarrable.this i believe will always be like this.i can do star jumps and stand on one leg for 5 mins.i can sprint on the running machine for 1 minute.i can drive but having my leg bent for twenty to thirty minutes causes it to ache.
one really good bit of advise is buying a bag of peas and wrapping a towel around it for twenty to thirty minutes.
whilst i think on your knee,shin and left foot will have a crazy amount of fluid over it.this is normal so dont worry too much.when you start walking the pads on your feet act like a pump to pump the fluid back up your body into your lymphatic system.even now if i have done too much and been on my feet for too long i still experience swelling in this area.
you will have a new respect for all those old birds that have swolen ankles,you will never take the piss again,ha,ha.
so that is it mate i have gone on long enough and wish you all the luck in the world.welcome to the club so to speak and i hope i havent upset you too much with my honesty.i wish someone had written to me when i had my injury and answered a hundred of my questions.
if you need any advise or just need a bit of spiritual guidance do not hesitate to email me at
[email protected] and i will try to help you.
all the best
regards
nick.
