ACL Update: 7+ weeks post-op
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Well, my knee is feeling better and better. I can now walk and be up on my feet for long periods of time without irritating it. My PT seems to have reached a plateau, meaning that not much new is being added. My ROM is pretty much the same as my other knee. I don’t do heal slides anymore because they don’t do anything for my flexion anymore. I now just stretch my quad (by pulling my ankle behind my butt), which also stretches my knee a bit. I walk normally now, even pretty fast. But, I can’t really run. I sometimes get pain on the lateral side of my knee right by my knee cap. My PT says that should go away as I get stronger. Otherwise, my pain is very minimal- just some stiffness here and there after long periods in the car, etc. My PT now is focusing on just getting my quad muscles stronger. My hammy is pretty much just as strong or stronger as my other leg. But my quad is not. I still walk upstairs and downstairs with a bit of a limp because of this. But otherwise, most people wouldn’t even know that I had surgery 7 weeks ago.
I’m still fighting the mental battle though. I really want to be out there skiing still. And the fact that I cannot ride my mountain bike on single track until September makes me feel like I’ll be missing out on the best part of summer. Even though the doc has approved me to ride my bike outside on level roads, I have not been able to do so because of work, poor weather, and traveling. I plan on riding outside on Tuesday or Wednesday, though. Being outside should help my mental state. I’ve also joined a gym (Elk Avenue Fitness) which should help with my PT and my mental state. As I get further along in my PT I find there is less I can really be doing at home. The exercises with the pilates bands seems to be getting easier and easier to the point where my muscles feel like they are barely working. So, being able to lift weights at the gym is the next logical stage to improving my strength.
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