Ruptured Patellar Tendon Surgery

[Dan]

Wondering If anyone can help been doing a lot of reading through this forum at what previous people have done I had surgery because of ruptured patella tendon which was caused by hyper flexion of the knee some people are saying it was quicker to recover as the patella tendon that ruptured is in the bottom of the knee connecting to tibia I am trying to get to 50 rom 3 weeks post op is this the correct procedure and light weight bearing with cructhes they said they will need to take the wire back out is this something that will restrict me from pt and do they need to open the knee up as previous or do they do a smaller hole be grateful if someone could help

As far as the wire removal is concerned, it should be a much less invasive procedure. Mine was an inch long incision, surgeon just snipped it and pulled it out in one piece. Only had a little pain afterward.

I didn't even start PT until after the wire was removed. But I don't know if that was because of the wire or the location of my tear (mid tendon as opposed to the more common separation of tendon from the patella).

As for my situation, progress has been frustratingly slow. Today is 16 weeks post op, and after 7 weeks of PT the best we can push it to is 83. Maybe this week will bring better results.

[jgreen1990]

Thanks all the physio said won't be doing much till 6 weeks however the exercises his got me do if with brace set to 50 and to be honest this is 4th week since surgery and I am getting about 45rom with a little bit of pain not a lot

[madvillain]

Thanks all the physio said won't be doing much till 6 weeks however the exercises his got me do if with brace set to 50 and to be honest this is 4th week since surgery and I am getting about 45rom with a little bit of pain not a lot

I remember those weeks, man it's a weird feeling isn't it?  The brain tells the knee to bend and the knee will not bend.  A little off putting to say the least but it will pass with hard work and time.

Here's what I would recommend to increase ROM:

light cycling
light rowing on the rowing machine
heel pulls / slides (critical, do these every day until failure (aka quad is on fire).
iso sets (really critical to try and avoid the worst of the atrophy, it's gonna happen but you can arrest some of it)

Also, I highly recommend you pickup a scraping tool and scrap post exercise every day:

http://www.amazon.com/Scraping-Massage-Highest-Quality-Available/dp/B00H1NDIGW

[madvillain]

Do you know how long it will be before i am walking again they said full weight at 6 weeks i am a plumbing supervisor aswell so when i can walk means i can get back to work im not looking to rush back as i have read that patience is the main thing but getting back to my day to day life will help me get back to normal

It seems to vary quite a bit.  Personally I was back on my feet, at work, for long stretches (like 3-5 hours) the week after surgery.  It was difficult at times and I took a lot of naps and tried to work shorter shifts.  Luckily I own my own business so I was able to set my own hours.  The braces were locked and I shuffled a long but as far as pain it was minimal. 

Others have experience pain and inability to fully put weight on the repair until weeks 4-6.   Your experience may vary like mine did and maybe you'll be back sooner but I wouldn't expect it if that makes any sense.

[jgreen1990]

Makes sense again for how it varys is different in England it is not very popular of an injury so it is treated by protocol rather than them having first hand experience of the injury I am only 25 so hopefully at 6 weeks I can start to walk again

[darrellb85]

Hey all, just wanted to give my 10 week update. Yesterday at PT we were able to get to 107 ROM, which again I'm pretty happy with, and we're not trying to push too hard with it. Had my checkup with my surgeon this past Friday, and he gave me the official go-ahead on ditching my brace, freedom!!

Leg strength is coming along, and my gait is looking alot better, my limp isn't as noticeable in my eyes as it was say a few weeks ago, some people have said they hardly notice it. At PT working on strength training along with ROM at the end of our sessions, although it seems like we're focusing more on strength now since ROM has been coming along relatively fast the past 2-3 weeks.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Jgreen1990 - At the 6 week mark I was able to walk around without my brace and a slight limp around the house and around at my office, but I would still wear my brace for long distance walks or when I was working out. I'd say until you feel comfortable with 100% weight bearing on the injured leg, you may want to opt to still use 1 crutch with your brace on. I felt that weight bearing early on in the recovery process (100% weight bearing at around the 3.5 week mark, with my brace locked at 0) really helped me with getting my walking back faster than my doctor had expected.

[madvillain]

Hey all, just wanted to give my 10 week update. Yesterday at PT we were able to get to 107 ROM, which again I'm pretty happy with, and we're not trying to push too hard with it. Had my checkup with my surgeon this past Friday, and he gave me the official go-ahead on ditching my brace, freedom!!

Leg strength is coming along, and my gait is looking alot better, my limp isn't as noticeable in my eyes as it was say a few weeks ago, some people have said they hardly notice it. At PT working on strength training along with ROM at the end of our sessions, although it seems like we're focusing more on strength now since ROM has been coming along relatively fast the past 2-3 weeks.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Jgreen1990 - At the 6 week mark I was able to walk around without my brace and a slight limp around the house and around at my office, but I would still wear my brace for long distance walks or when I was working out. I'd say until you feel comfortable with 100% weight bearing on the injured leg, you may want to opt to still use 1 crutch with your brace on. I felt that weight bearing early on in the recovery process (100% weight bearing at around the 3.5 week mark, with my brace locked at 0) really helped me with getting my walking back faster than my doctor had expected.

That's great on your ROM very impressive.  For those that aren't so familiar with the PT is there anything in particular you could attribute your success to?

[Kaddydee]

Hi all,

Time for celebration!  After 3 years of severe knee problems, 6 operations and finally the patella tendon reconstruction 6 months ago, I can now walk up stairs without the railing's support.  What a wonderful feeling!  I had to convince the surgeons to attempt the PT surgery (they were scared that all my complications would impact my recovery) so I'm really looking forward to seeing them in a few weeks to show them what I can do.

I'm giving myself until Christmas to walk down stairs - that still seems a long way off, but I can see that it is achievable.

As for my bend:  I haven't moved from 110 for a couple of months.  I have an intense bending session with my physio once a week and have a variety of bending exercises that I do at home and the gym but it doesn't seem to working too much.  I know there is a lot of scar tissue in my knee so I may not be able to move past this point but I'll keep trying.  I can ride on a stationery bike at the gym but still haven't got enough bend for my push-pike.  Gee, I'd love to go mountain biking again!!!! 

I know my recovery is very, very slow compared to everyone else on here but I am really pleased with my progress.  2 years ago I didn't think I'd walk again without crutches so this is fantastic!!!!

Take Care,
Kath

[jgreen1990]

That's good news Kath well done does anyone know how long post op till you lift your leg up and down

[John42]

Good news Kath

Suggest you get yourself a floor cycle - about £30 from Amazon - sit in your chair and pedal away - I have 118 ROM and can achieve ,most things in life.

JohnK/ Manchester UK

[nmacseven50]

@@jgreen1990, How long ago did you have your surgery? Partial or full tear? And what have you been assigned to do by your surgeon or therapist and what have you done so fare?

I can help out more with that info. But what I can tell you Is that you should be doing ankle pumps starting the day after surgery. No later than a week post op you shall be flexing your quad just to engage those muscles again. In my opinion by 2-3 weeks post op you should start to even attempt to lift your leg. Sit up against you headboard or wall behind or bed, or on a couch with your legs elevated. Set your brace to 0 rom or completely locked and start trying to lift up your leg. Start small and work your way up. If you can only do it twice, that's fine. Keep doing it until you can do 10 lifts 3x a day.

Getting your quads firing now is crucial to regaining most if not all of your original strength, and also limiting atrophy.

[jgreen1990]

Hi I had surgery 1 month today full tear I have been doing heel slides and laying down bending leg as far as can go with brace set to 50

[darrellb85]

That's great on your ROM very impressive.  For those that aren't so familiar with the PT is there anything in particular you could attribute your success to?

I attribute most of my success to a few factors. Eat as clean and healthy as possible, and stay hydrated with plenty of water. This allowed me to feel energetic and have the right attitude going into rehab. Plenty of sleep (I know this can be difficult especially with the nature of our injuries). Walking early and weight bearing early on in the process seemed to do wonders for me as far as getting the muscle memory going again in my bum leg.

As for ROM, I really stayed consistant with doing my passive rom exercises everyday for 3 different sessions (morning, after lunch, and in the evening). Having a stationary bike at home really helped as well with getting my knee to bend and get blood moving around the area. I also would do an extensive massage of my knee and the swollen areas, it was very uncomfortable early on, but it really seemed to help with loosening the scar tissue and adhesions around the tendon and joint. And lastly, patience, patience, patience. I would say things really progressed after week 6, so just stay consistent with the exercises and don't get discouraged.

Tomorrow will mark 11 weeks post op, and I have PT in the afternoon, so I will post an update after that session.

Take care everyone.

Darrell

[jgreen1990]

Hi Darrell that's very good at what point do people use the floor cycles ie can you try using the floor cycle around the 4 to 6 week mark

[Bilateraltimmy]

Hello everyone,

First time writing on here. I had a bilateral patellar tendon rupture, with the tears in the middle of the tendon not at the patellar or tibia like most do. I've read plenty of your stories and they are truly encouraging. Just a couple of things that I've experienced different myself as compared to what I've read. With both knees being operated, I was assisted to a standing position 1 day after surgery bearing full weight. Walking "like frankenstein" within the the first week using a walker.

Both my knees were locked in extension until about 3-4 weeks post op and then I was cleared for 30 degree passive bend. I was and am able to actively bend further but my dr has strictly prohibited me from doing so as his fear is stretching the tendon to much too quickly, tightness can be fixed through therapy, but too much stretch cannot be is his logic.

I am now in out patient therapy after spending several weeks at rehab facility. My dr had restricted any further bending until I was able to do a straight leg raise (few inches only) with both legs, further proving the tendon has healed and is now working and creating a connection from the quad to the tibia. has anyone else experienced this method of recovery?  My therapy is strictly focused on regaining muscle strength. Lots of quad tightening, quad e-stimulation, icing, and leg lifts with braces on.  Not allowed to walk with braces unlocked at 30 degrees until I can do 30 leg lifts with each leg showing the quad strength to prevent any buckling. I'll be at 40 degrees passive by the end of this week, 60 degrees by end of next week.

Just wondering if anyone has done it this way, seems my dr is very conservative but I'm not sure. I had read straight leg raises were not possible till 12 weeks in some cases. And I was able to lift both legs a few days ago with slight 5-10 degree lag.

Hope everyone is doing well,

Tim