Ruptured Patellar Tendon Surgery

[John42]

Hi Tim

Welcome to the RPT thread of KneeGuru - a you are aware by now, you have sustained a very rare and serious injury - in fact I would guess that there have only been 3/4 registered on this thread with a double RPT.
Read the undermentioned thread, which contains a number of documents which I have put together with
KneeGuru.

How did you sustain your injury?   Where do you live?

PATIENCE - Listen to your knees and ASK questions 


https://www.facebook.com/QuadricepsPatellarTendonRupture

JohnK/ Manchester UK

[John42]

Hi Jgreen 1990

A floor cycle is excellent, but should not be used until your tendon is healed - around the 10/12 week mark - so listen to your knee and remember  Patience.


JohnK/ Manchester UK

[Bilateraltimmy]

Hey john,

Thanks for replying back. I'm probably one if not the youngest on this thread. I'm 23 years old and got injured playing basketball for fun at the gym. I was in a full sprint and someone tripped me. I was very fatigued at this point and didn't have the strength to break the fall, my knees both buckled at the same and popped before I went to the ground. Both went numb immediately and honestly after the initial shock I didn't have much pain., I just couldn't stand.

I live in Long Island, New York. My job is outside sales, requires lots of driving and walking which scare me as to when I can return or even have to choose a different career path. I'm also a big guy, close to 300lbs. I played American football as a lineman and always had knee pain and probably tendonitis which led to this injury. Very athletic, lots of upaper strength which is so important right now. In my 6th week post op.

Any advice helps.

Tim

[John42]

Hi Tim

What better advice can I give, but to read as many posts on this thread - you are not going back to active sports for a very long time, thats for certain.

Are you in a brace or a plastercast? - no driving for many months and watching TV lying on the couch for the first few weeks.

ASK questions - we are all rooting for you with lots of advice if required.

Take care

JohnK/ Manchester UK

[jgreen1990]

Hi all thought would update had physio today which is nearly 5 weeks post op I am getting 60 degrees rom and still partial weight bearing been given a few more exercises to do as well now and will be full weight bearing at the next session which is 6 weeks post op

[jgreen1990]

Was wondering if someone could help me one of the exercises they have given me is to try to lift my leg of the ground 20 cm whilst laying down did anyone have problems trying to lift at first and if so is there anything that could help get the muscles firing to lift as my leg won't lift at all

[John42]

Hi Jgreen1990

Lie on your back, put a rope or belt around the heel, and pull gently - listen to your knee and take extreem care during the first few weeks.

JohnK/Manchester UK

[Bilateraltimmy]

Hey jgreen1990

I just went through the exact same thing about a week ago. What I did was use lots of E-stim on the quads for 20 minutes, followed by ice on knee and quad about 4-5 times a day. Aside from that I would try to lift my leg in the braces first. You could also stand facing a wall make sure you have careful support and fire your leg straight up with brace like a kick but go slowly. Do 30 of them and you'll feel a burn and not feel the weight like you do lying down but it gets the quad firing. I did this for about 2 weeks and then I was able to lift my legs no brace but it was painful, and it does put a strain on the tendon. My dr wanted me to do it constantly but my physical therapist put a stop to that. It's not the safest thing to be doing constantly until there's minimal pain. You may have to slightly bend your knee to do it, but that goes away the more you practice and get used to what it needs to feel like again.

Hope this helps.

Tim

[jgreen1990]

Thanks Tim will try that

[bustedwheel10]

Was wondering if someone could help me one of the exercises they have given me is to try to lift my leg of the ground 20 cm whilst laying down did anyone have problems trying to lift at first and if so is there anything that could help get the muscles firing to lift as my leg won't lift at all

jgreen1990 - I did a lot of this initially, and doing a little less now - as  it does tighten my hip.

Similar to Tim,  I did some e-stim, but didn't find that all that helpful.  I just focused on flexing my quad to the greatest extent possible as many times as possible per day.  Started with sets of 20 reps (flex and hold) working down to 1 rep.  Then added a set at the top each day.  Got up to 40 sets working down to 10 reps by 5 weeks post-op.  At first could barely get the quad to fire.  By end - much better muscle tone and no issue doing leg raises you describe.  Admittedly, full knee extension is still the toughest thing for me though continues to improve  Now at 4 months post op. . Hit 6x15 parallel box squat at up to 185 last week, which is probably within 30% of where I was pre-injury and hit a 500m row in 1:28 which is wthin 10 secs, or 10% of  pre-injury.

Keep at it and stay patient.  Tim - one thing for you that I suspect will actually help, and I think helped me is that walking around with a little more weight will actually prompt muscles to start working more quickly simply to support the weight.

Good luck fellas.

[carkeltom]

Bilateral Timmy.  Sorry about the injury.  I also was a double RPT, July 2013.  Bitch of an injury being a double.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel though.  Saw you were about a month and a half in, so there are some tough times ahead.  Hopefully you are using the crutches and getting better with walking with two braces on.  Not sure on your braces either, but I had a few instances when the braces caught and that was almost the worst feeling in the world.  There will be some buckling of the knees as well.  Proprioception and the nerves are just a part of it.  I tore both mine from the patella and of course all the associated tears of the retinaculum as well.  I felt like I was walking like a toddler at times and had to use my arms to steady myself when I finally ditched the crutches (arms out and hoping not to fall over).   I am responding without reading all your posts, but I will go back and read.  I too was a football player, D-line and was under 300 before my injury.  The double sucks since we do not have a good leg to stand on.  I really had to concentrate on walking and watching where I walked, especially when the braces were on.  Sort of like walking like Frankenstein.  I was much more cautious when the OS introduced the loosening of the braces at about 8 weeks, but I did protect the injury until 12 weeks, since there was no way I was going back to a rehab hospital again.  I was probably more cautious than those with a single.  I did lots of e-stim and quad sets, but it did not stop all the muscle loss and the passive heel slides were great too.  I got a lot of good advice on this site and tried to get as much info as I could.  I could not read everything and the literature on doubles is almost non-existent.  I did lots of RICE, even up to the time after braces when I was still doing PT.  I kept pretty close to the protocol given to me.  After almost 22 months, I can finally do a little jog, but down steps are still rough and I still watch where I walk.  But, I have resumed softball pitching and hitting lessons for the girls in town, so that was my minimal expectation and I still see improvement from time to time.  I still hope to get back to being able to fully coach softball, especially running the bases, but next summer is my goal for that.   Hope you are getting on good.

Tom

Tom

[bryce73]

Hello everybody,
I'm a french guy (so please be comprehensive with my english!  ), 37, and I cut almost completetly my patellar tendon two weeks ago, on the 5/5. I had quite a few injuries but this one is new to me. I said cut because my injury is due to an accident. It happened while I was sawing planks with an angle grinder when it swinged back to me (I think it encountered some hidden screw or piece of metal). Actually, it ended on my arm and wrapped with my pullover, which probably save it as this stopped the machine from rotating. The bad thing is that it hit my knee before, making a big cut in it and almost completely cutting my patellar tendon.    I had surgery the same day after entering the ER.

I'm very happy to have found this forum as I didn't find any french one on this injury. So that's very cool to read so many rehabilitation experiences and be able to exchange on it. As for myself, my surgeon just told me he had sutured the tendon, so I don't have a wire or any other material I guess. I have to wear a brace with my leg fully extended for 3 weeks after the surgery (I was forbidden to bent my knee as it could break the suture), so that's already 2 weeks and I 'll see my surgeon next week to learn about the upcoming program, starting PT I hope! 

What else can I say, I'm very sportive, I do a lot of MTB and rock climbing and I felt quite bad when I was told that my tendon was cut and that it would be long to recover (I was just recovering from an ankle fracture which took me 6 months to fully recover). But I'm also willing to recover as son as possible, so I started very gentle exercises, hoping that it will accelerate the healing process. So I was happy to find a lot of interesting and useful informations on the forum, though I still have much to read.  (won't go to the 377 pages though... )

good rehab to everyone!

[John42]

Hi Bryce73

Welcome to the RPT thread on KneeGuru

You have sustained a very serious and rare injury with a long rehab.   Suggest that you look at the underneath thread which gives you quite an insight to the rehab.

Ask questions as we wish to help you to overcome this injury.

Take care
JohnK/ Manchester UK 




https://www.facebook.com/QuadricepsPatellarTendonRupture

[bryce73]

Hi John42,
thanks for the link, as for the questions I'll sure do  .

I already got one for anyone who would answer me : how long did it take you to be able to drive since the injury? I'm wondering of this because I need my car to go to my work where I live.

[John42]

Hi Bryce73

Driving a car after a RPTinjury is a problem - a rough guide would be three months, because you must reach a minimum of 90ROM, and even then the drivers seat must be placed right back.

You may not drive until your OS gives you the ok, otherwise you will invalidate your car insurance policy.

I changed my car to an automatic gear change, and this made all the difference.

Take care

JohnK/ Manchester UK