PKR 1 month out<

[Jockette]

I’m really afraid by the time the swelling goes away (or even down), my quad & hamstring will be so weak/tight I’ll never be able to bend my knee!

This is approximately a one year recovery, so where you are at 10 weeks is not where you will be at 52 weeks.

 

[Smythe89]

I’m sorry you’re struggling. I’m 2 months exactly and after feeling great 2 weeks ago I have pain and swelling again. I guess that’s why people say 6 months or more to heal totally
I hope your surgeon has some answers for you. We had to move and my OS is 1200 miles away!

 

[pacosmom]

This is approximately a one year recovery, so where you are at 10 weeks is not where you will be at 52 weeks.

I know it's a long, long process - I just worry...... I asked my PT the other day, "once the swelling goes away, won't it just bend?" She said it doesn't work that way, which I'm starting to see, or rather feel. Not bending my knee is really affecting my leg muscles/tendions, etc. Hopefully one day soon it will just start being less swollen and stay that way!

 

[Jockette]

Your swelling is the main reason it won’t bend right now.

Also keep in mind, it’s not exercising that gets our range of motion back, it’s Time:

Time to recover.
Time for pain and swelling to settle,
and Time to heal.

Our range of motion is right there all
along just waiting for that to happen.

 

[pacosmom]

@Smythe89 me too lol My PT said she thinks my OS is one that doesn't believe in MUA, so we'll see. I'm not sure I'd want that done...... I have to wonder if the build-up of scar tissue is a genetic thing, PT said it is, but a year and a half ago my daughter had ACL, etc surgery and 9 months later had to have a scope to clear out scar tissue and a ganglion cyst. She did major PT too as she is a college athlete, but still the scar tissue built up still with all she was doing.

What a bummer about being so far from your OS, hopefully you can find a new doc you really like!

 

[pacosmom]

That is the thinking I've really bought into @Jockette, and I've been really good about not overdoing it (after trying to do too much right away). I've really taken huge steps back in what I do each day and elevate & ice much more than I had been doing. I guess I just can't grasp how to stop the muscles from deteriorating and the tendons from tightening up while I'm not using them on a regular basis. Maybe I'm not explaining myself well enough lol what scares me - once the swelling goes away, everything else is not going to be working and it still won't bend It really seems like since I've been doing less physically, my knee (swelling & ROM) has gotten worse. Maybe I'm overthinking it all since I'm bored and tired. Hope you have a great weekend!

 

[sistersinhim]

As long as you are using your knee everyday the way God intended it to be used, it's not going to tighten up and the muscles won't deteriorate. Listen to us that are experienced in knee surgery recovery. I've had 11 and never took PT. Some days were good, some days were bad. That's just the way knee surgery recovery is. You can have 2 steps forward, then 1 step backward. Even 1 step forward and then 2 steps back. You can not force it to heal any faster than it's going to heal!

 

[Celle]

Even when the swelling has gone down, your knee won't magically bend fully. All the soft tissues around your knee have to be conditioned to allow bending again. Yes, you could have a manipulation to bend your knee straight away, but that could tear soft tissues because they aren't yet flexible enough to allow your knee to bend fully straight away. They need to return to that state gradually.

Imagine you're into athletics and you've just learned how to run. Would you rush straight into doing a marathon? No. You'd work up to that gradually, by doing shorter runs until your muscles were ready for longer runs.
It's the same with bending your knee. You bend it a bit first, and gradually work up to bending it further.

 

[pacosmom]

Well, saw OS this morning. If he was very bothered by the ROM I'm at, he didn't really show it, so I'm very happy for that! No mention of a MUA, which I'm also very glad about. He said it's just taking me a little longer to heal most likely. He did prescribe a steroid pak medication to see if we can help get rid of the swelling. He agreed that it's the swelling that appears to be the cause of why I can't bend very far, although he did say that scar tissue could be starting to form as well. So, hoping the steroid helps with the swelling!

Has anyone ever taken a steroid (Methylprednisolone) to help with swelling?

 

[pacosmom]

Well, I do not think the steroid helped I had such high hopes, but took the last of it yesterday & looking back over this past week- it was no better than it has been. I’ve been so good about not doing too much & keeping my leg elevated instead. I’ve felt more like myself mentally the last couple of weeks, and have been focusing on staying positive. It just is so frustrating to me, all I want to do is bend my knee lol I’d so love to be able to ride a stationary bike! I feel just “blah” without being able to exercise. Here’s to another week & hoping this just may be the week

 

[SusieShoes]

What do you do in terms of exercise? Do you walk? You could get on your stationary bike daily (even a few times a day) and gently rock the pedals as you’re able until you can get a full rotation. I’m thinking it might help you battle boredom if you can work the bike into your day.

 

[pacosmom]

I can’t “exercise”. I can walk without aid, but not normally as my knee does not have enough ROM to bend properly. I practice the stairs in my house during the day, can go up correctly, but not down. I work on PT exercises & stretches throughout the day and still go to PT 2 times a week. I don’t have a stationary bike at home. I do go to my gym/PT and do the rocking a few times a week. It’s not the same as being able to exercise to the point of raising my heart rate. That’s what’s making me feel like such a blob lol never thought I’d hear myself say I’m longing for a good workout

 

[SusieShoes]

I know what you mean. It was a few months before I got so much as a sweat with my walking. It really feels good when you feel your muscles and whole body doing a bit of work. But if you're not up to it just yet, there's really no good way to push it.

Can you get a stationary bike for your house? Borrow one? Buy a used one? (My mother found one through a neighbor who was getting rid of things before moving.) I think you would enjoy having one and it would be great for your recovery.

Also consider cutting out those PT exercises during the day. You don't need them. Just walking and doing a few bends and stretches as the knee says it wants to (you will just want to do these when the knee gets stiff while elevating) will give you the mobility your healing knee needs. You go to PT twice a week -- so did I -- and that will give you the work you need on gait and balance. Just stopping the extra PT exercises will help your knee by giving it those days between to recover from the PT. That's what I did, because my knees got sore the day after PT. On the days I did not have PT I did no exercises other than walking. None. Zero. My knees thanked me.

 

[pacosmom]

I don’t do a whole lot of the exercises on my days off. Maybe a few slides or bends when I get off the couch. We don’t have room for a bike, plus I wouldn’t use it once I’m able to get back to the gym. I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing and praying for this to be over!

 

[pacosmom]

just back from PT. She tried using one of those metal tools today to lightly work on the scar tissue. I could feel the places, but she was very light so it didn't hurt. We'll see how it feels in a bit though...... I guess my OS suggested we try blood flow restriction PT, so we're going to try that next week. Anyone heard of it, or tried it? It looks like it's supposed to make it easier to gain strength while reducing pain. I'm hopeful it'll help!

 

[Celle]

I practice the stairs in my house during the day, can go up correctly, but not down

That's normal at your stage of recovery. Many people take about 4 months before they can go downstairs normally.

 

[kneeper]

I'm a bit of a skeptic re: those tools on "scar tissue." They tried that on me--which just gave me more pain and didn't help. What helped was time.

But if you feel it helps and it doesn't make things worse, I guess it's worth a try. I have no idea about "blood flow restriction PT." never heard of it

When you practice stairs how many times in a day? I ask because I found stairs to be fairly aggravating to the knee. I tried to keep it to about one flight a day even once I was back at work.

I did a few slides or bends and a few muscle stretches because I thought it sort of helped me feel looser--but not much.

If you pay attention to the knee it will usually tell you how much is too much. It is trial and error.

You will have plenty of time to exercise for conditioning once the knee is more healed.

 

[pacosmom]

Well, our house is a split level so I have to do stairs multiple times each day. Most times I go up 1 at a time, I do them the regular way a couple times throughout the day (going up). Going down I do them 1 foot-1 foot. Once or twice each day if I’m feeling okay that day, I’ll try the last step with going down the “normal” way. The last step is a little shorter than the rest.

I found out today that my daughter did the blood flow restriction PT last year after her ACL surgery. She said she cried she was 18 at the time & working a lot harder as she was trying to get back to playing college basketball. She can be pretty dramatic lol but I’m a little nervous about it. But, if OS thinks it might work, I’ll st least try it. My visits this week are with the PT asst, so we’re wsiting until next week when I’m back with my PT.

 

[Jockette]

If anything about this treatment even begins to hurt, you have the right to say stop. You are the one who will reap any consequences, not your PT and not your surgeon.

I like to google procedures that I haven’t heard about.

 

[pacosmom]

If anything about this treatment even begins to hurt, you have the right to say stop. You are the one who will reap any consequences, not your PT and not your surgeon.

I like to google procedures that I haven’t heard about.

I've been reading everything I can find since yesterday. I think it's probably used more for athletes right now, but it looks very promising. I think basically it's supposed to help build muscle with less work/pain. I believe it will be working my quad muscles more than my actual knee. My upper leg is a lot of my issue right now, no strength. My knee doesn't hurt, but I have no strength in my leg. The muscle at the top of my knee/bottom of quad is so tight, it feels like a rope when I rub it.