Ruptured Patellar Tendon Surgery

[NoGoodKnees]

Thanks for the Welcome John K. Have checked out so,e of those article and they were good reading. Will start to sift through the posts and read about other peoples journey. Really glad I stumbled upon this page. Hope your recovery is going well 

[John42]

Have a look at " Ruptured Patella Tendon/RupturedQuadriceps Tendon- this is the main website for a RPT injury.

Best

JohnK/ Manchester/UK

[JC55]

41 weeks post-op.  Wow, hard to believe.  Can do most everything I did before except for long runs and jumping.  Being 51, my basketball days are finally behind me...so no worries about the strenuous jumping.  I would like to be able to run without all the soreness later.  Seems like tendinitis with some mild pain on top of kneecap.  Anyone else get this?  I may need to just do some more stretching before  I run.  Oh well, can't complain...been on long hikes, referee and coach basketball, go up and down stairs like normal so I'm satisfied with outcome.  Numbness seems to continue improving, but hard to tell.  Hope all are doing well and to the newbies, "stay strong"

[NoGoodKnees]

JC 55 is great to read that you have had a satisfactory outcome and are able to still be active. Just what I needed to read right now!! So for me your update was great timing. I am one of the newbies and am being operated on this Friday 27th June. I am starting to get very nervous. Have done a lot of reading and understand that rehab can be a grueling process. Worries about the pain afterwards, coming home. (Live in a two story townhouse with my 13 and 17year old sons). Comforting though to hear stories of good outcomes so from a newbie -thank you for sharing :-)

[carkeltom]

Hey everyone.  Tom here.  Well, 48 weeks post injury and surgery of a double RPT.  I feel nostalgic almost about the time that has flown by since the accident.  No garden this year and I have let some of my property go untended with the ground being really uneven in places ( I do not really feel like tumbling off of a river bluff to get to some of the weeds ) so maybe next year.  I still can not really run, but I can move faster than I did at the beginning of softball season.  This past week was a test of my endurance with 5 softball games to coach.  I was sore each day afterwards, but no real ill effects from the injury.  I am still having a hard time going down steps, so I just take my time and do not carry anything.  I was able to do some fastpitch softball pitching with the girls and was back to ok form.  Not good enough form however to strike out my daughter who dumped several over the fence for homeruns.  She said I did not have the zing on the ball.  Oh well.  Hope everyone is doing well.  Glad to see you doing well Jerry.

NoGoodKnees, sounds like a bummer of an injury.  Hopefully they can just re attach the tendon to each of the rupture points.  Not sure if putting the bone back on would be an option, depending on the size of the piece that came off.  I have read that is a common occurrence with the ruptured RPT.  Hopefully your surgery and recovery will go well and sorry you have to be in the club. 

Tom

[mpruett]

Quick update:

I'm in my 25th week post surgery, and my PT has released me from needing physical therapy!  Her opinion is that I'd made enough progress where it wasn't really justified to keep me coming, since I'm not limited in any material way that she can see.  From what I can see and feel, I've got back probably 75-80% of my post-injury muscle mass- enough to where my legs don't look lopsided or anything.

I can squat down and stand up with no pain, go up and down stairs with no pain, and do some light jogging and jumping without any pain.  My ROM is somewhere in the 130 degree range, and for the most part, my other knee is the limiting factor at this point- it often hurts when the RPT knee doesn't.

I still ended up with a 'weather knee' that gets sore out of the blue when there's a cold front or other major weather change coming, but that's just the way of orthopedic injuries.

[SellaVee]

Tom and Jerry, great to hear that you're doing well.  You too, mpruett.  Although I was released from physio a long time ago I'm still doing lots of the exercises I learned there.  I do my own work out at least 3 times a week and I also do stationary biking and Pilates.  I'm working on my upper arms too, just because it's summer time.

I've added pram pushing to my routine when I look after my little grandson.  My husband tells me I go like a rocket when I'm in charge of the pushchair!

My numb spot seems a little less numb these days, Jerry.  I wouldn't say I could run, Tom, but I can work up to a fast trot!  I'll have to get faster before the baby starts walking or keep him on elastic.

Sella

[Egatsby]

I'm at 7wks 100 ROM. Started riding the bike last week. Saw my doc last week he said I'm doing great and told me I don't even need to wear a brace or a sleeve. I walked 2 miles yesterday muscles got sore but I made it.

[dtr42]

Good to see the progress everyone has made,I am now 7.5 months after snap day and my knee is now as good if not better than it was before .I have done 8 Munros[mountains over 3000 feet] also a 32 mile charity walk and finally I have now kicked my backside about 6 times while squat jumping .Keep the faith listen to your physio[who probably knows better than your surgeon and finally as Spock once said" Live long ,do your exercises" [well if he had a ruptured patella he would have said this ]

[fishy]

Fishy here, 13 month one week post double RPT.  I have lost around 22 pounds getting myself into a more "fighting" weight....and a lighter me means less weight for my quads to carry.  My PT doc said I could expect about a 80% recovery of my quads (I lost 4 inches (the bad news) BUT the good news I lost 4 inches equally on both legs...lol).  I just completed an extensive deck project requiring me to hand carry 5,400 pounds of lumber/concrete from the driveway into the back yard.  I have gardened up a storm and felt sore from my toes to my eyes.  Life is returning, not a 100% normal, but one that is manageable.  Downslopes still require a conscious step, stairs (especially going down) are taken slowly and holding the handrail, and rising from a seated position still had a dull pain in the repair zones, other than that its pretty much back to "normal".  Hope all my brothers and sisters in this family of RPTers read this and believe that there is life after injury.... Bob

[SellaVee]

Today's the first anniversary of my RPT surgery.  I remember the registrar visiting me on the ward post surgery to tell me that the repair had been successful and I could enjoy a glass of champagne at my son's wedding.  His wedding anniversary is 1 week from today.

Funnily enough I'm going to a wedding tomorrow.  This time round I'm hoping to hit the dance floor "sans wheelchair". 

Although I wouldn't wish this injury on anyone I'm a better person for having "met" you all.  Thanks for the support.

Sella

[JC55]

Sella, congrats on your one year anniversary...glad to hear you're doing well.  Also, looks like Fishy is back to fighting weight...22 lbs, GREAT!  I injured myself 44 weeks ago today...although I wish I never hurt myself in he first place, I feel great and would say I'm 100% healed but only 85% recovered.  I do feel like it gets stronger each day/week and am working toward full recovery.  I'm glad I listened to my knee and pushed it when I could and eased off when I felt I needed to.  Its not sore at all on long trips in the car...really only time I notice it is when my knee bumps into the car door handle where I still have some numbness (outside left knee with steering wheel on the left side for all by european friends). 

To NOGOODKNEES and all the newer people...I can't stress this enough: believe in yourself, trust YOUR instincts.  We all have healed differently, I took a more methodical approach and pushed my ROM incrementally while gaining strength back.  I achieved FULL ROM early on but have always been very flexible and athletic...so if you started out not very flexible in the first place please do not try to compare yourself and your progress with others with a different starting point.  Thats not to say that you shouldn't PUSH yourself through the pain because you need to do your part in the rehab at home...you'll be glad you did.  But as John says, "you have sustained a very rare and serious injury with a long rehab in front of you"...embrace it, do the work, live your life and cherish those around you who have helped! 

[carkeltom]

Before I forgot to post later in the week, I thought I would get this out of the way.  On the 18th of July, I will celebrate the one year anniversary of my bi-lateral patella tendon rupture (a double for those in the know).  I can not imagine how deciding to tend to the garden that Friday evening changed my life.  I look back with horror on the feelings I had, mostly about the unknown which lie ahead of me.  Surgery on the 21st of July followed by 10 days in the rehab hospital in St. Louis.  I was miserable, until I found this forum and got to reading everything page and post on this thread (between narcotic naps of course).  I will say I took the slow and steady route to recovery, which when you do not have a good leg to stand on, would be my mantra for other doubles.  From the hospital bed and CPM machine to the wheelchair to the walker to the crutches, I would say I progressed.  Those first 8-10 weeks of immobilization and healing were a test of my patience and sanity and I was lucky to have a wife who was a registered nurse and three girls to fetch things for me and in home PT visits.  I was very lucky in that aspect and lucky to have one to two good friends who brought me the things my wife would not.   If not for the anti-depressant medications, I might have gone stir crazy I think. 

I went from an active softball coach giving pitching lessons to all ages of girls to a blob of anxious energy, reading, surfing the web and watching TV.  I loved getting my electrical stimulation machine and hated PT.  There were the sleepless nights not being able to get out of bed without assistance and the braces hitting each other (the pillow between the legs helped best), both legs hanging off of raised toilet seat, legs propped up on my daughters step stools and finally being able to shower after 9 long weeks when I got my second set of braces and knew I could get the originals braces wet.  Getting back to work and driving were a problem since I was unable to bend my legs to get into the car and I started by driving with my toes (automatic car).  Work was another obstacle since I see so many people in my occupation as a social worker and the crutches and car situation made it hard to get out, especially to where stairs and inclines were involved.   And having braces on both legs was another hardship in itself.  I was walking on my toes, trying to keep the braces from locking and grabbing each other, which happened so many times I forgot and got good at stumbling and catching myself.  When winter snow and ice came, I had to remind myself to slow down and work hard at steadying myself and that in turn built up some of my proprioception.

After the doctor started increasing the braces ROM, my walking got better and better and I got stronger with the use of the bike and weights at PT.  Finally released in late November 2013 by PT and then in March of 2014 by the OS, I made a go of the softball, but probably could have held off for another year.  My girls' parents were thrilled to see me back and have been helpful with the coaching.  I sort of direct while they engage.  Next year will be much better. 

And that is my motto.  From all the reading, 18 months to a full recovery is normal, and that is what I am shooting for.  By Christmas, I hope to be able to take off at full speed while running, jumping and squatting.  I take my aches, pains, knees popping and creaking, numbness and overall knee changes in stride.  I will get better, little by little and I will take it.  I hope you all do the same and I have cherished the small steps we have made together.  People on the board come and go, and so will I some day, but it is one thing I will make sure to keep up with.

Thanks and blessings,

Tom

[John42]

Hi Tom

Yep, Patience paid off - so pleased that you are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel -you are a role model for others on this board.

Keep on posting

Take care

JohnK/ Manchester UK

[d_j_a_m]

New member here. Rupture the patellar tendon in my left knee playing basketball on the 12th of May. I had surgery on the 13th of May. I am currently 9 weeks post op and was measured at 84 degrees ROM. My progress seems to have plateaued, and I don't feel like I'm making significant gains. My ROM was ~75 degrees two weeks ago and my PT wants it to at least 90 degrees by Tuesday and preferably closer to 100 degrees with a goal of 120 degrees by my followup with the surgeon on the 30th of July, which is in two weeks. Did anyone go through something like this where they seem stagnated and if so where how did you break through it?