Ruptured Patellar Tendon Surgery

[Bascat]

So last week was my first anniversary of the double snap, snap! A crazy year and looking back progress has been made. I try not to dwell on what happened what I could do before the double booboo and find I appreciate life more now than I did before. Walking is fairly normal. Stairs are a sideways shuffle but I manage. No severe pain. Sometimes discomfort but overall life is fairly normal. I've lapsed a bit with the exercise in recent weeks after a family holiday back on it now but have put on a bit of timber. Need to lose weight is my biggest struggle. Right knee is recovering stronger than left and left swells up a fair bit particularly after exercise. it also gets very tight at the back of the knee and hope to find out more about this next week. I can't jog or run much yet but the Pt thinks it will get there and to keep at it another 6 months . The tendons I think have healed I guess but the problem is reactivating the collective mussels particularly the quads. Crazy dudes with all your supplements! Doesn't appeal but interesting to see how that goes. Keep at it everybody. Cheers

[AroohArooh!!]

Congrats on the recovery and glad the progress is still being made. Hope you get back to running sooner then later. lol I'm right there with the weight gain also....got 20lbs to lose myself.

[Primetime_21]

stumbled upon this website yesterday. it has been cool to read about peoples progressions while dealing with this tough injury. anyways, i had a complete rupture of my left patellar tendon on 4/15/17 while playing basketball. I banged knees with someone and a few minutes later while running up court my knee popped. it felt like somebody took a bat to my knee. I kinda knew what it was when it happened, as i saw this happen to someone in my ultimate frisbee league a few months prior. I ended up getting surgery about 3 weeks later on 5/5/17 (it sucked having to go through all the hoops for insurance purposes when everyone knew what the injury was from day one). 

So I am exactly 1 week post op. The first 4 days were miserable, but the pain has subsided quite a bit. I have been place in an immobilizer for the first 6 weeks.  Sleeping has been extremely difficult.  I seem to have the most success sleeping in a recliner.  I've also had issues with the brace. my thighs are pretty large and calves not quite as big, so after a few steps there is usually some slippage with the brace that can sometimes be quite painful.  I have been reading through the forum to look for help with these issues, but it takes awhile to go through 400+ pages haha. Hopefully somebody can offer some suggestions for these 2 issues. Would be greatly appreciated.

This is my first knee surgery, and I've realized this recovery is going to be a lot more mental than physical. I am definitely looking forward to making significant process towards recovery, but no it is a long road ahead.

[John42]

Hi Primetime 21

Welcome to the RPT thread on KneeGuru - you are now aware that you have sustained a very rare injury will a long rehab process.

Suggest that you read some of the previous posts on this thread - ASK questions - many buddies on this thread will give you advice. 

Sleep with a cushion/pillow between your knees.

JohnK/ Manchester UK

[AroohArooh!!]

What's up prime....I'm sorry you had to come here but I swear your story is similar to mine as far as insurance goes (mine took 5 months before I got surgery though so consider yourself lucky) and I also have football player thighs and small calves regardless of how I work out. Pretty athletic guy here. Anyways so far it is a lot of mental and I'm not sure if I see the light at the end of this tunnel  yet but I can feel and see my leg getting stronger. I'm 15 weeks post op today (Tuesday 5/17). I kept the brace on for 4 weeks post op and then took it off. It was crazy scary but so glad I did. As far as it slipping I loosened the thigh part and really cinched it down around the calf first then tightened the thigh after so it helped hold it up instead of vice Versa. I might be saying it wrong but just try it out and you'll feel the difference.

[Primetime_21]

appreciate the suggestions. I've got the slipping under control for now, but I can tell I will need to adjust more as the atrophy continues. I had a glue put over my incision wound post surgery, so an drainage has stayed in my knee.  The Dr says the hematoma will work itself out as my leg eventually absorbs the excess blood, but it has become uncomfortable when getting up. Can feel liquids moving around in my knee when moving. Im constantly rewrapping my leg, as any added compression helps alleviate the pain.  I have my first PT session in 2 more weeks. Was wondering how that first session went for others. Easy? Painful? A little bit of both? I'm anxious to move a little further along in the process.

[AroohArooh!!]

Well that's the first battle down. Many more to come. I had the glue also but the top part of the brace kept ripping the top of the incision open and I eventually had to give myself stitches to close it but it all worked out. My first few pt sessions were easy and didn't do much but make me get used to trying to walk and stand without the brace. A few weeks after the pain started when they started stretching it. Lol felt like I was being put in a submission from wrestling but it gets easier after the initial stretch session.

[Bascat]

Prime 1st pt was weird. Legs just stuck out straight and they just flexed it a small amount very gently and knee was very very stiff. Lots of strange sensations like a wire being pulled across the quad down to the toes. Get a pt who knows and understands your injury if you can. Its immensely frustrating. As John will say patience and don't push too hard. At the same time I'm with the treat it a bit more aggressive camp. A year on I'm still progressing and have to keep pushing. Right leg is nearly there. Left not so and swells a bit plus very tight hammies. Going back to the OS to get wires out.

Hope you are managing to sleep. I had a rise and fall hospital bed downstairs at home and found I could position it to get a good night's kip. Get loads of pillows around you. I was pretty tired and needed to nap. Sleep is a healer and your body has been through trauma and there is a lot of stuff going on you can't see.

Keep ploughing on. Some days are better than others. Good luck with recovery

[Chiropractor2001]

Hi
Few months post surgery...( almost
8 months).oct first surgery and Dec second surgery.
Things are a lot better.
At the gym still doing elliptical and bike three times a week. Minimal lag -2
And knee is getting stronger...
Arooh..stairs will get better.
I have minimal issues with the stairs at this point.  However still slow coming down. No running yet. I leave that for the next 8 weeks.
I am sure by one year anniversary things will go back to 80% normal.
However.... NO MORE BASKETBALL....
Hang in there....

[AroohArooh!!]

Hey chiro I'm glad to hear the good news. I'm looking forward to being able to fly up the stairs again and run also. Same here doing the elliptical and bilking but I want to really get this leg strength up because I feel the weakness as I start lowering myself to sit down.

[Bascat]

So it's been agreed the wires r coming out sometime between now and crimbo. Don't know if it is limiting anything or not but they protrude a fair bit particularly after exercise and where they twisted the end of the wire. Still not running only a slow jog. Trying to increase speed on tread mill but fees like a balanced issue as much as anything Would be good to rule them out. Quiet on here so hope no news is.good news:-) Cheers J

[AroohArooh!!]

I don't have a wire but I am right there with you on this slow sloppy uncontrolled jog. It feels funny and like i have no control but i can just about jog VERY VERY slow. My 1.5 year old boy is wayyyyyyy faster than me lol.

[madvillain]

First, man, so much truth in the last few posts.  From getting to know yourself better (and others) to frustration, the irony of me having no insurance (and getting a next day surgery by a top doc so he could put it on his resume for a double repair) verse others that are not tens of thousands in debt but without as successful of an outcome.

Everyone that has found this forum has found it because of a reason beyond their knee blowing up and probably for most of us it's because we wanted to educate ourselves and take charge of our recovery.  And yea, -- feel the support and community of other's -- literally -- walking (or not) in this recovery.

I'm at 25 months now from the double (age 32, kevlar style repair) and through hard work and luck I feel pretty much as athletic as I did before the injuries.  I won't talk too much about my recovery but just know that the most important thing is to own your injury and if you found this forum you're already on the right path.

John is an absolute god send and just thanks for always posting and offering stern advice with encouragement.  The most IMPORTANT thing post op is to not EFF UP your surgeon's work.  That mean's making your injury priority #1 in your life.  (do it, just make it work).  You are going to be spending a lot of time relying on others as well.  As always, let them help you.  It's funny how this injury can work, bringing you closer to others while also making you more aware of how much you need others just to ...get a cup of water...bring you  ____ or drive you ____.

Mobility is really precious and I sound preachy but hell this injury will teach you that if nothing else.

Hard work works and keep positive everbody!

[madvillain]

Hey chiro I'm glad to hear the good news. I'm looking forward to being able to fly up the stairs again and run also. Same here doing the elliptical and bilking but I want to really get this leg strength up because I feel the weakness as I start lowering myself to sit down.

You'll get there, albeit slowly.  I used to load up triple plate squats and bound up stairs easily.  After about two years from a dual rupture I can do the latter easily but not the former.  The ROM will come then it's all about building the power and moreso the endurance.  I did a hard leg day today with 4 sets of 10 reps x125lbs, then one each of reps and weight: 7x185,5x,205,3x 235, 1x 245 and I could barely walk at 4mph on the treadmill after for my cooldown.

I get  DOMS so badly after leg day after the injuries that I feel like I can't train legs for 5-7 days (who I am kidding, picking a pen up off the ground or getting off the shitter is hard).  Granted I have an awful diet but it's amazing how the muscle comes back so slowly and yet atrophies so rapidly.

In the sauna the other day in the gym I was reading about this guy from University of WA (here in Seattle where I live) , a CB (American FB ), who tore his achilles tendon and had the cast off at 60 days and was amazed to see his calf had shrunk to about 1/2 of the other one.

I tell ya what, I sure fit into skinny jeans better after the injury.  Hey, take what you can get.

[John42]

Hi Madvillain 

Just a short note to thank you for your compliment - that is the success of this thread -  share your experience and in so doing, give advice to those who have gone through this serious injury.

Best/ JohnK/ Manchester UK