6 month update:
- I'm now fully off crutches. I stopped using them at home around the 3 month mark but kept one with me when outdoors. I stopped using them outdoors now completely. I'm still a bit slow walking though but pace when walking will come. Some days, I've managed to walk past 10,000 steps even! I should note there is still some heaviness in my knee but PT noted that can take 1-2 years to go sometimes.
- My flexion has improved to around 123°. It was 100° after 3 months, so the myth online can debunked that it doesn't increase after 3 months. My PT always kept me encouraged. My consultant said I'd probably reach around 130° due to the nature of my surgery, so almost there.
- I can go upstairs leg over leg using one hand on a railing. Going down I'm still going one step at a time as pressure on my knee doesn't allow leg over leg yet.
- My excercises mainly consists of home workouts using makeshift and ankle weights around 3 times a week, swimming once a week and physio session a week.
- Quad, VMO and calf muscles are strengthening but still weak, so work to do but I can start to see gains. I'm feeling stronger and stable and the difficulty and intensity of my excercises are increasing, so positive signs. They're already bigger than they are pre-op.
A couple of issues I'd like to solve over the next few months:
- My active knee extension is still lacking by 3-5° and I can't fully straighten yet. I initially had full extension a couple of months after surgery but this regressed a little. My PT has noted it still goes to 0° as he pushed down on it this week. The lack of knee extension does cause me to slightly limp when walking. PT noted hopefully with continued quad strengthening and some extension stretches (seated leg raises and supine low load durations), it should hopefully improve but one to focus on.
- I still have a slight quad lag when trying to do an SLR. PT noted as quads continue to strengthen this will hopefully come but I suspect it's due to the nerve block I took for my surgery as it took a long time to my quads to fire after the surgery.
All in all, life's significantly improving, my knee feels stable and strong in comparison to pre-op. I no longer fear my knee dislocating or losing balance (as I did pre-op) and I'm pretty much back to normal daily life activities. Hopefully, I can iron out the last couple of issues mentioned above but understand I'm only halfway through a year long recovery and understand gains can be made beyond that!
Hope everyone else is doing good. If there are any tips re extension and quad lag, please let me know!