Ruptured Patellar Tendon Surgery

[Unlimited6986]

We'll I'm done with pt insurance isn't covering me anymore and dr gave me the go ahead to return to normal activities. Bending on my own I'm right around 121-122. What are some of you at bending on your own? I'm about 4 1/2 months since surgery.

[dtr42]

Unlimited6986, I am 5 months and have a rom on good knee of146 and on bad knee after warm up I can get 140 degree's and before warm up about 130 degree ,I also can kneel [with pad] to about 130 degree bend .sounds like you are doing well. I found swimming sauna and the gym have really improved my knee and its stability and lunges and squats =3 sets of 10 ,2-3 times a day along with leg lifts with weights as well at home. A fully functional knee is about 110-120 degree's so you are in the ball park [but if like me you want more than functional you want full return] the bike ,either stationary or an actual bike is great for rom as you go through loads of bends,lifts and stands on it so I recommend you get a cheap light bike and get out and about. I done my first hill walk on Sunday and it was grand so onwards and upwards .

[Fredharmon2005]

Hi bballkingofnba....got your personal message but for some reason I can't send personal messages.  :-)  Anyways, my kneecaps are pretty much the same based on the surgery.  The surgeon should actually make sure their aligned when he is suturing your tendon to your knee cap.  Hope that helps as I am at week 7 and seeing some progress.  I have around 90-95 ROM back although it still feels like something is tugging against it (as I am sure the tendon was sewn back to where it was much tighter than before....

[bballkingofnba]

No worries. Haha this is pretty much my standard question as I am very fascinated by how tendons heal and doctors seem to say they can't say with full certainty what causes it to lengthen or shorten after surgery. Even mine is more or less the same and it was actually hard to gauge it's height with all the swelling in the first few months. Mostly people can't tell unless I point it out haha. How did you measure your kneecaps, if you don't mind me asking?

[Fredharmon2005]

I didn't actually measure then.  The PT did the measurements.  He measured it from to points....foot to bottom of kneecap and hip to top of kneecap.

[bballkingofnba]

Wow that's one thorough PT. I had never been to PT until this injury so I never knew the difference between a good PT and a bad PT and turns out my first one was horrible who barely did any hands on work and ignored the  docs guidelines. What does a typical day in PT look like for you (during the first few weeks since the injury)? Do they give you heat?

[fishy]

Week 47 and the beat goes on.  After reading the comments on ROM I thought I'd add my stats to the mix.  At 67 years old and having lived a very active life my ROM is right at 130 right leg and 135 left leg.  I must admit I never did yoga and was not much of a "squatter", ie, if I tried squatting prior to my injury I was uncomfortable and never could get "down".  Bob

[fishy]

Wow that's one thorough PT. I had never been to PT until this injury so I never knew the difference between a good PT and a bad PT and turns out my first one was horrible who barely did any hands on work and ignored the  docs guidelines. What does a typical day in PT look like for you (during the first few weeks since the injury)? Do they give you heat?

Fishy here, and after PT RICE....rest, ice, compression, elevation.  My PT doc was amazing....the VA deals with this type of injury routinely so they had a wealth of history.... the worst part of the PT was the last exercise of the day.... a rod 2 feet long with rolling balls attached that was compressed against the muscle to work out muscle knots....then ice for 10-15 minutes.  This really sped up the healing process.
Bob

[Stuart Rulka]

quote author=Stuart Rulka link=topic=33177.msg614054#msg614054 date=1396751820]
Melynnm.  There is a general acceptance of the view that because OSs are experts in surgery they are also experts in rehabilitation.  I may be alone in taking the view that they are SURGEONS and probably have little experience with rehab. I placed my trust in a proven PT and people express surprise at how rapidly I progressed. Having the word Doctor in front of your name does not make you an expert in all fields. Let the professional in rehabilitation do his/her thing.
 I realise I am not being politically correct and may be offending some people but for 6 months now  I have been reading posts of people who have suffered because of an adherence to antiquated rehab protocols. My own surgeon admitted , after the fact, that rehab protocols have not kept pace with modern techniques and materials.
 One of the purposes of this forum should be to stimulate discussion!
[/quote]

[fishy]

Hey Stuart, I couldn't agree with you more.  God bless my OS for having the skill set to piece me back together (he likened it to stitching ice cream).  On the other hand, my PT crew at the VA had a whole different skill set to stretch/bend/manipulate, then work my butt off to help improve my situation.  Does the OS have a clue...probably, but just.  His job is a whole different can of worms....and god bless my PT crew (the army VA hospital has a clinic for knee rehab...I was never lonely) for the wonderful job they did.  Stay strong my brother and sister RPTers.... Bob

[fishy]

Week 48 begins.  Taking a week off two weeks ago was the correct choice for me. This last week I attacked my workouts with great results.   My diet has been successful. I have lost 10 pounds in six weeks.  Weighing less will sure go a long way easing the streign on my legs. Stay strong and positive.... bob

[carkeltom]

Hey all.  Some positive news on the home front here.  Went for my 9 month follow up appointment and the OS said he was more than pleased in "my" rehab and recovery.  He said the response of the muscles and the increased size and strength will help me get as far back to my "normal."  I have regained some of my lost muscle mass and flexibility, but still have a way to go on the mobility and moving about normally, but I showed him I can actually jump, not high, but it is a jump.  I still can not run or jog, but once I get that reaching out and lunging, I am sure that I can do it.  Softball practices with my girls are going much better and I can recuperate in about a day from any exercises or exertion, which is much better than just three months ago.  So, the OS said I did not have to come back to see him unless I experience something out of the ordinary.  He did say that the creaking and cracking coming from my left knee is normal and is a function of the injury and age, although I told him I do not feel that old (44).

Keep going all.

Tom

[SellaVee]

Great to hear your news, Tom.  Here in the UK there's no such thing as a 9 month follow up appointment.  My consultant said bye bye to me after 11 weeks and the NHS physiotherapist signed me off back in January.

The good news is that 9 months out I'm doing fine too.  My leg is no longer the first thing I think about when I wake up.  I still have issues with strength and my knee occasionally does a funny thing where it seems to lock or flex a little bit, but when I'm walking in a straight line on a level surface you'd never know I'd had an accident.  However .....  coming down stairs I do look like a drunk - holding on tight and concentrating hard!  It feels a bit like step, clunk, step, clunk rather than the graceful glide I'd like it to be but I'm getting there.

I have no problems with ROM and can sit with the soles of my feet together in the yoga position.

I can't overstate how important this community has been to my recovery.  Thank you all very much!

[jonathanpeacock1522]

Hi guys,
New to the site! Im 21 yo, and I tore my patellar tendon 29 days ago. I'm uninsured, but will be insured May 1st. Newhoo, I went to my father's general care doc and he ordered an x-ray. This was about 9 days after my injury. He was very conservative about my knee and I wanted results! He wanted to wait 2 weeks after that for me to come back in. That just seemed too long for something that seemed injured to me. I said I will be getting an MRI then seeing a specialist. Had an MRI done April 2nd and received my results April 4th. This was my diagnosis, "FULL THICKNESS/NEAR FULL THICKNESS PATELLAR TENDON TEAR FROM PATELLAR ATTACHMENT WITH RETRACTION MEASURING 2.4 CM. MINIMAL REMNANT REMAINS ATTACHED TO THE PATELLA." I am scheduled to see an orthopedist April 17th.
       Now about the injury. I was playing basketball and went to plant and go for a layup on my left knee. Felt and heard a loud pop and instantly went down. I was in pain and My knee was very "tight"...straightened it out because it felt better straight than bent. I went home that night and iced, elevated it and rested it. Thats when i went to my father's general health doctor.
       It started to feel better a couple days after. I could put my weight on it as long as it was straight(knee did feel unstable as i was doing this though). I was walking around with one crutch for support and could walk slowly without crutch after about a week and a half. My cousin has lent me his nice metal rod supporting brace that keeps it really straight but i barely wear it. Yesterday my dog tripped me and i went down hard and may have injured it worse. It hurt worse than when I first injured it, so now im using both crutches out of precaution. I haven't been able to lift my leg straight up if laying on my back without help from my other leg since the initial injury. Im just curious if any of my symptoms sound similar to any of you guys. Were you able to put weight on it shortly after your injury? How soon did you have surgery after your injury and how are you coming along? Any comments/feedback/suggestions or any input of any kind would be greatly appreciated. Im just scared I won't have full functionality of my knee again. Thanks guys!

[SellaVee]

Hi jonathapeacock1522.  Were you given any advice along with the results of the MRI scan?  I think you need surgery ASAP, and I'm surprised that with your scan result and your symptoms there doesn't seem to be any sense of urgency coming from your medical professionals.  The usual opinion is that the sooner tendon surgery is carried out the better.  If it were me, knowing what I know now, I'd be ringing the orthopedist first thing Monday morning.

You are young and fit, which is good.  I think most of us could walk after our injuries, provided we could get ourselves upright, but bending the leg was agony.  Wearing a brace is useful to avoid the pain.

After surgery there is a long rehab period which will probably drive you mad with frustration and boredom.  Read some more of the posts on this board.  If you want to read one person's story click on their name and you can read ''all user's posts''.  That way you can see how people recover.  SE27Eagle has recently posted some excellent info on rehab. 

Keep us posted on how you get on.