Physical therapy progress

So just a quick update on how PT is going. I had a session yesterday, and when I got there, my knee was all sorts of swollen from the beginning. I think it's because I had 2 interview days in a row and was on my feet all day for those 2 days. Normally, he starts me off with heat just to loosen the muscles, but this time, he did some high frequency stim and ice for about 20 minutes first. After that, I did quad sets with 2 different angles, one set over a folded towel, and one over a ball. I do leg raises with I think a 1 pound weight, and of course, my favorite, the Jane Fonda.

Oh yea, that's the look I go for in PT

After all that table work, I usually get ultrasound to break up some scar tissue. The ultrasound is interesting. I don't doubt that it works, but you don't feel anything, so it's hard to believe that it helps. All the other exercises, they hurt, but it's almost reassuring because it feels like something is going on. With the ultrasound, you don't feel anything. Still, I like it, and since I'm a social person, I use that time to blab with the therapists and try to provide some relief from the rather geriatric population at the center.

And then I get to do my favorite exercise... the bike! He straps me in, and then I first warm up with just going back and first, and then start going all the way around. The therapist waits until I am able to go all the way around before leaving me on my own, making sure I don't fire the hamstrings when trying to make my leg go around. It hurts in the beginning, but once I get over the hump, then it feels much easier. I do that for a short time, he sets the timer for 3 minutes, but I always try to go for longer. After that, it's time for stretching and more knee bends, then more ice and stim and I'm good to go.

I do feel like I'm making progress, I do feel like I'm able to get my knee to bend more and more each time, and the point where it starts hurting gets higher each time. The first session, it would start to hurt at around 60 degrees, and it became unbearable at around 90. Now, it starts getting uncomfortable at around 80 or 90, and unbearable at about 110 or 120. My PT doesn't use the ruler thing each time, only at certain intervals, so I don't have the exact numbers, but I can feel it. The first time I got on the bike, it took me quite a while before I broke through to the point where I could get all the way around. Last time, I only had to pedal back and forth about 3 times before I was able to go all the way around. 

The most frustrating thing is that I'm still not able to walk or drive. I physically feel great. Sure I have quad atrophy, but my knee doesn't hurt too bad, only when I'm pushing the flexion. So I feel really good, but logically, I know the graft still isn't healed. My PT is supposed to call my doctor this week to find out if I can start weaning off the crutches. Hopefully I will have something interesting to post soon.

Pain never felt so good

Back from my PT today. It went really well. I got to go on the bike today, and  at first, it was just to work on range of motion, a little bit backwards, a little bit forwards. And then, after a few times of that, I was determined to go all the way around, so I pushed through the pain, and then it was like a breakthrough. I was going all the way around, and rode the bike for about 3 minutes. I'm not going to lie, it hurt, but it felt really good to go all the way around on the bike. I also "graduated" to doing leg raises on my own. The therapist at first was busy with another patient, so I asked if I could do the leg raises on my own while he was with the other person. He told me no. So I did quad sets and some adduction exercises, and then he came over for the leg raises. My leg went up nice and smoothly, and he commented that I was doing better at them. Well, I have been doing them in my leg brace which adds some extra weight, so he added an extra weight onto my thigh and I did straight leg raises, and the Jane Fonda leg raises.

So I'm feeling pretty good, I'm very sore, and I'm laying in bed with ice on my knee right now, but it feels good. When I was on the bike, I was clutching onto the handles because of the pain, but I got all the way around, so that's what matters.

Day 13-first day of PT

I just came back from my first PT session today, and so far so good. Although I think I'm the youngest person there by far, everyone else seems to be of the geriatric age group. The therapist told me that it's better to schedule my appointments in the later afternoon because most of the patients prefer to go in the morning since they have nothing else to do.

Anyway, he explained to me that the beginning will be quite dull and there isn't much that I will be able to do. He looked at my knee flexion, bending it passively only, and I already got about 85 degrees, and a little bit further and better extension after he put some heat on my knee. The 85 degrees hurt a lot though, but he said that for being not even 2 weeks out, it's actually really good. I also did some leg raises, and I felt like such a wimp doing them, I could barely manage it, but I got it. I'm not yet allowed to do them at home though, unless I want to try it with the extra weight the brace adds. I am also apparently very flexible, or he just got used to working with older people. He lifted my leg to stretch the hamstrings, and as he was stretching it, I was getting uncomfortable because of pain in the knee, but not in the hamstrings.He kept going and said none of his patients can get that muhc stretch, and I still didn't even feel it in the hamstrings. Of course, he didn't know that I used to be able to lie on my back and bring my legs into an almost full split, and I used to stretch every night, but haven't since the surgery.

After that, he did some stimulation and I was done. Not really a whole heck of a lot that I can do for a couple weeks, and then things should start to get more interesting. But I'm encouraged, looking forward to going back. I'll be going twice a week for now, and so I'm going on Wed because that's when he has his evening hours.