I am following several kneesies on-line and a couple off-line. The common and disturbing experience is with the aggressive physiotherapy. It seems therapists all over are pushing knees to straighten and bending knees to flex, causing lots of pain and presumably introducing setbacks and extending recovery. The repetitive exercises intended to strengthen damaged muscles and improve ROM are doing the opposite. Now that El Jefe is calm, I am writing this out so that I have a reference for my right knee.
When I fired my 1st home PT, I was made to feel weak for not being able to execute and hold a lunge on the step for 30 seconds, 6 days out of surgery. This after completing a cycle of other exercises in that session. The service never apologized or admitted that there was a problem. They just provided a more experienced PT who took a gentler approach. I rarely did the interim exercises by myself because the knee was too swollen and sore. With that said, I made great progress with my new home therapist and then at 4 weeks had to transition to outpatient therapy.
I selected the therapy group because they had a pool and I benefited from aqua therapy in my 2012 recovery. I had 3 different PTs on my outpatient case, depending on the day and each followed the same program. One spoke to me as if I were a child but at least he explained what he was doing. They all bent my leg to "improve" the flex. Only the lead guy pushed on my leg to "improve" extension. They massaged my scar, patella and popliteal. I did mini squats, step ups, kick outs, calf stretches, leg lifts, clams and bridges. As time passed, they added weights and bands. They sometimes used heat to warm me up before I got on the bike to rock (also to warm me up). They iced my knee(s) at the end of each session. Although they encouraged me to alert them if they caused pain, I usually just pushed through, thinking that was the way to go. I ended up crying on the table more than once, frustrated that I wasn't moving as fast as they expected. I found Bonesmart in time to take some control of my treatment but not soon enough to stop all of the madness. When I was released, there was no pep talk that had done well, achieved some hidden goal, to keep up the good work or even that i had been mildly successful. It seemed my ROM and knee assessment questionnaire put me in a better place (who knows) and they decided I was done at 6 and 118. I was never allowed to go in the pool.
After PT ended, I took the "no exercise" approach even though I had every intention to get back to the gym. A BTKR friend at work indicated that her doctor insists that she ride the bike every day so as not to lose ROM. I wanted to do this but found I was always too tired to pick it up. I just went about my daily routine, which was pretty extensive. It felt good to naturally improve, to be tired because I actually got stuff done. I added activity as I tolerated it and got stronger while also improving my ROM.
Next time around I'll definitely do less earlier so that I can do more sooner - maybe, every knee is different.
United States
Every time I change footwear it seems to cause different aches and pains. I'm stuck on the roller coaster and haven't been able to get off yet! Hopefully your ride will be over soon. Thanks for all your support too.
