15. 5 months post op

Amazing how life jut slots back into normal and you forget how hard it was initially post surgery. This blog has given me a way to look back and remember things that you tend to forget over time.
I have had a great support network with friends, family, my physio and gym coach, I am forever grateful for all they have done for me.
Over the last few weeks my confidence has grown with the use of my knee, I find i am no longer looking for things to hold while walking, not looking at the ground whilst walking and haven't needed any regular pain relief now for an extended period of time. I take an occasional panadol.
I do however continue to do what has been asked of me I am riding the stationery bike when i have free time, I am going to the gym 5 times a week and completing the tasks set by my physio.
I still have some restriction and my main complaint at this time is i cant tolerate any pressure on the tibia itself, so i cant kneel on it due to an uncomfortable pain. At the gym i am doing most things as before with some modification, so i am still only doing the arms movement for starjumps in the warmup and  i havent begun skipping so  i use the stationery bike but i love being there it is as much about your physical health as your mental health. the gym is fun with a group of people who are happy to see you, encourage you and don't care that you are in 'rehab' mode.
I had the physio ask me a week ago to jump off a little step wouldnt have been 10-15cm off the ground....nope so he asked me to jump with 2 feet onto it...nope, i think alot of this barrier has been a residual of what has happened previously, i could never do that before surgery...but i came home and i gave it a whirl, something about doing things in the privacy of your own home. An awkward first jump up and grabbing of the door and woohoo i jumped up a small step turned around and jumped down...a funny feeling a sense of achievement then i realised it isnt actually my old knee i have a reconditioned knee that should be functional like anyone elses. My only restriction here is that i have got degenerative changes so i still have a lot of crunching and clunking going on and that will never change but i am aware of it. I have a clicking nosie intermittently during full load bearing extention, which can be annoying to listen to ...kind of like a pacemaker clicking.
I loaded the kids in the car 2 weeks ago and forgot something inside the house, of course running late so i , without thinking, went to start a jog and the first landing of my operated leg to the ground felt like a big ...how to explain...the knee kind of did its own woosh from side to side , i grabbed the pole otherwise i would have landed on the ground. clearly not ready for breaking out the running style. I spoke to my physio about this and all stems back to the old VMO, continue working on it to stabilise the knee and all is other little jobs it does etc etc. I havent tried this again yet but am continuing the leg raises and other vmo specific exercises.
I am planning on getting back to work in another month and that will be interesting to see how it fairs with a 10-12hour shift on your feet, but i can only try and see how it goes.
I thought i had got off a little easy with out putting on any weight post surgery, but it did happen and you do feel a bit yuk, i have gained 4 kg and to some that may not seem much but when you think about the period of inactivity and continue to eat the same its bound to happen, also coming into christmas season isnt helping...so much yummy food around. I have taken my measurements as i prefer this method to the number on the scales. I am back doing kettle bells and weights at the gym so it may also be a shift of another sort. I took a measure around the top of my knee 2 weeks ago and it was 47cm today it was 48.5cm my left knee is the same for both weeks and is at 50cm, a good indicator that the muscle bulk is slowly returning which is great! I would recommend taking this measurement presurgery cause it has been fun watching it grow again.
I was struggling the the last post with up and downhill slopes, this has sorted itself out i can now confidently go up and down pretty much where ever i need to go. this weekend we were at the beach with sanddunes and managed these quite OK. My kids race BMX bikes and the have a rather high start hill, i had to make it to the top to assemble the riders, managed up and down the first time with a helper and the second time on my own small goals..reaching them !!
Steps...continue to be probably the hardest, up pretty good can do single leg single step with injured knee sometimes it still feels like knee is 'flicking' back. Down i can do single leg single step but it does fell like i plonk down as opposed to a fully controlled movement, downhill if there is something to hold onto i find i still hold on.
My scars i am really happy with if you can be happy with a scar, i have rubbed bio-oil into it for a fair while and then as time went on i did forget every now and then and then forgot completely haha! I find i am not 'thinking' about my knee constantly now and find i can even sit on the lounge with my legs pulled up beside me without having to place them there. I get stiff quite quickly though so if i have been sitting for 10 mins or so i have to stand get my bearings and then walk, which is OK and im sure this will get better also.
I think that is about it for now, i am really happy with my progress, I go the the GP next week to get my clearance to go back to work, so i'll let you know how going back to work goes :-)
Cheers Liss x

 5 Months post MPFL and TTO surgery

14. 3 months post op MPFL and TTO

Well, 3 months has passed since i had my MPFL repair and TTO done!
It has been a very interesting process to say the least. There has been good days , bad days and days in between. There has been tears, there has been laughs, pain and awkwardness but there has also been progress. Progress, how quickly depends on how quickly your body is willing to let you, apparently it wasn't my decision it was my bodies and i have had to allow it to do its thing in its own time. This was the point that i realised it doesn't really matter how 'quickly' things are done but that the are done with the respect that your knee deserves. I know that may sound a little odd but what i mean is i have had a long standing injury to my knee, basically, i don't trust it, i have had to rebuild the trust in my joint and like trust in anything it takes time, patience and persistence. The knee is such a complex joint on its own without an injury, without surgery, without being old, your knee deserves to be allowed the freedom to heal at its own pace.
I had 3 days of quite severe pain with restricted movement last week, it didn't feel right. I contacted my surgeon who suggested perhaps i have a joint effusion and that i should maybe try a different non steroidal. I had an XR ordered that I hadn't had done as it was for my 3mth follow up, so he suggested i have that done also. I had a physio appointment on the 3rd day of this and ROM was good no gross musculoskeletal issues could be found. I have been following my physio exercises, trying to do extra as incidental, waiting for the kettle to boil doing single leg calf raise etc, i had started to do 30 minute walk each day just lapping around the house and doing 15klm on the stationary bike(5klm each  in morning, lunch and after dinner). I didn't feel like i was 'over doing it', One question from the physio, "are you using your single crutch", BAHH, at home no, follow the instruction of the people you have asked for their help. You wouldn't think this would have been the issue and after 2 doses of new NSAID mobic, RICE, using single crutch, continuing physio exercises,  2 days later and my leg is completely feeling different, i felt good, which part of that equation was the turning point I'm not sure but i am not complaining.
So week 11 i still have knee tightness, the rubber band about to break has completely gone and a stiffness if i sit too long but acute pain has gone. As this is school holidays for us we have been out and about a bit more. I have been given the offical release from crutches and can return to strength and conditioning training (within limits and i still havent been yet...oops next week). I think sometimes it takes for one person to say and mean you are doing really well, giving realistic goals and a physio program that changes each week to fit where your progress is up to, to really see you move forward.
Sometimes you need to see it visually, this is photo at week 1 and at week 12...progress ..there it is even if this pic just displays skin deep :-)

I had concern over the stability of my knee earlier on and when my physio asked me this week to step onto a small trampoline, stand on one leg and catch the ball he was going to throw me, I know that there is no way even a week ago i would have done that sucessfully, with a few laughs and slight unbalanced co-ordination i managed to do as i was asked, i tried and just that gave me an added confidence in my knee, trust building whilst strength building, my knee really can do this!
So i have been successful off crutches for a few days now, at stairs i still need a rail to hold onto and am still doing them as single step both feet down and up but am working on single step single foot. Down hill ramps i am a little cautious still but am improving.
I head to the surgeon for my 3mth check up next week, and am hoping that he is happy with my progress.
Here's a pic of my XRay, unreported, results when i see surgeon on Tuesday, do they really think you wont open the films and have a look before you go to the specialist ?? Cute screws in there, kind of also puts in perspective why it has been a road to recovery.

(ignore the bits at the bottom of the films thats where i was holding them up to take photo!)


Cheers, Liss x

13. 8 weeks post -op first drive woohoo and crutches transition

It has been 8 weeks since i have driven on the main road, apart from a couple of bus pickups that are just at the end of our street, i haven't sat in the drivers seat. In some ways it makes you realise you need to remain humble and be grateful for the help you receive, even if the toilet paper that is bought is the wrong one.

So I'm a little over 8 weeks post op now and today my husband was ready to take the kids to school, he had his list for the groceries that were needed and they loaded in. Today i had it in my head i wanted to be able to drive!. At the last surgeons appointment he said i could drive when i felt confident enough, well unless i try i will never know. I didnt want to drive with the kids for my first trip so we did school drop off first.

I wandered through the grocery shop which consequently i havent missed this job, its a shame our little town doesnt yet do online groceries and delivery. I guess i knew but you really do get used to buying the products you like and when you don't normally shop with your spouse having to debate/discuss about which product is better value for money or has more product in it, makes the task even more lengthy and light hearted as by the end I found my grocery savy attitude return and what went in the trolley was my choice. The bill at the end however was double what his bill has been since he has taken over the grocery run, oh well, I guess while i have been off on sick leave it has been important to save where we can and groceries clearly has been one area that has been played down.

Following my second physio appointment my crutches use can be a single crutch at home and when out use them like 'walking' crutches so instead of crutches moving together they move separately and kind of mimic normal arm movement of walking. This does make you look like some kind of weirdo and i have had a couple of comments about how i am using the cructhes incorrectly...everyone is an expert!

So groceries done with my spider walking (that's what my 8yo calls it), slowly, but as I look around you realise how difficult it must be for the older population as you see them using the trolley to lean on and guide them and holding aisle ends to keep them upright. Hopefully for me this is a short term mobility issue, i feel for those who now face what my short term issue is as their long term issue.

My husband hands over the car keys, jokingly with a shaky hand. It does seem weird that i am using crutches and yet i am about to take control of a vehicle.

Off to a good start only one person honked their horn as i left the carpark, i was trying to be courteous apparently the person behind was in a hurry. Unperturbed i continue through a few round a abouts and get to the outskirts of town unscathed. The downward accelerator pedal movement seems ok, the movement from the accelerator to the brake and back isn't as smooth, i can feel quite a tightness in the knee, not terrible but i can definately notice it.

I forgot you have to concentrate when you drive haha! as a passenger for the last 8 weeks i have enjoyed the scenery...eyes on the road. We made it home and i officially feel like i can drive for at least short periods which i am super stoked about.

As the physio gave the go ahead for one crutch at home, i feel like i am transitioning off the crutches. I am not in a huge hurry to get off them but it is interesting the comments you do get ' ohh you're still on crutches' 'you would think you'd be off crutches by now'. I have tried to explain that it is about being stable and quad loss and i'm getting better but quite frankly i dont think if half these people had what i had done to themselves they would be rushing to rid themselves of cructhes. Even if I am off cructhes what does that gain? if i come off to soon, fall, reinjure all so i can say im off them. The physio is working with me to build up my strength and confidence and i can tell you that using one cructh at home, i actually felt i could use none in areas where i could hold something i.e the lounge,  wall or chair, you seem to just know as i tried this 3 weeks ago and it was a big fail. Everyone is different with their recoveries and my transition off crutches may be slow but i think that when i finally ditch them i will be ready!

A day out yesterday to the BMX park i decided to try using one crutch outside. I had the support of my husband if i needed him and there wasn't a big crowd. I did OK, my biggest concern is being bumped or knocked as i dont feel like i have the agility or stability to reposition myself quickly enough without the fear of falling. I see the physio again in a few days and see where i go from here.

Liss xx

 

 

12. first physio appointment

I was somewhat nervous about going to the physio as i had heard so many 'it's gunna hurt', 'i had a love hate relationship with mine', 'good luck with that', so my expectations were mixed.
Luckily i have found a physio who actually listens and i do feel comfortable with.
While explaining the mechanics of the loss of my quad strength and the need to turn the quads back on, the physio asked to see what i could do...welllll...not much, but you've gotta start somewhere.
So what seems simple flatten your leg to the physio bed ...no... knee up- i thought it was down...
Lift you heel off the bed without lifting thigh...no...nothing. The physio rolled a towel up and put it under my knee, kind of worked but it did hurt.

The physio raised my leg up and asked me to hold it up...no...zilch
bilateral calf raise...yes...i can do, thank goodness there is a yes
He gave my knee a gentle passive movement to check the bend and when he asked what i felt was restricting me, that it wasn't pain but a tightness he agreed swelling was the restriction. The physio commented on the level of swelling that remains post surgery and also the fact that the knee is still fairly warm to touch compared to my other knee. Both these not uncommon post surgery according to him. He suggest i use soda crystals which i have not used before but they work to draw fluid out of the affected area to reduce swelling. Worth a try.
So to try the bike before i go. I tried to get on my stationary bike the day before at home and was hugely unsuccessful i couldnt even get on! Luckily the physio bike was more a step through variety compared to mine which has big thing where you have to step over to get on. It is amazing how a couple of little techniques like which side to get on and to use and trust your arm strength to guide you works  wonders. So on the bike at the physio and i think i thought i would be riding a marathon..ha! i can't do one rotation just a rock back and forth more a half cycle to and fro.
So with my soda crystals and my list of exercises i leave feeling excited that this is the beginning really of regaining my strength yet feeling quite down as clearly i have such a long way to go. Small steps i know but it can be very daunting when you just want to be able to just do basic functioning of life. As i hear some of the para-olympians stories as the 2016 games for them begin, i have nothing to complain about, these amazing athletes are truely inspirational.
Bike
Day 1- to and fro half rotation at physio
Day 2- to and fro half rotation and mastered getting on bike at home
Day 3- modified full rotation...so i put my heel to the front of the pedal and as the rotation was coming to the top i lifted my hip to allow it to go around
Day 4- modified full rotation
Day 5- modified full rotation without hip lift
Day 6- full slow rotation with heel at back of pedal
Woohhoo!! it still isnt perfect but it is amazing when you write it down you can see progress.
I have continued my exercises 3 times a day and have noticed a big difference directly after doing them so i have quite enjoyed doing them as the knee feels really good afterwards. but i dont seem to have laid down that automatic memory just yet and it feels like i am back to the beginning each time i restart the exercises.

The other thing i have noticed with the knee is that it doesnt just naturally want to bend when i walk it physically feels like you are asking it to lift and hold every time you step and that it will swing straight back to straight leg position if you dont consciously hold it there. i wonder if that is just the tightness of the realigned and new liagment, i will ask physio this week.

not the most sexy pegs...but they are mine !!

most of the swelling remains on that inner side of the knee.

My next area to work on...getting off crutches and driving again...
Liss x

11. 6 weeks post -op , surgeon review

Well, I made it!! I made it to 6 weeks post-op MPFL and TTO.... HOORAAYY!!
I think i thought that 6 weeks was going to be the magic time to be back to pretty much normal. I would ditch the crutches, id be walking freely and driving kids to and from school like normal oohh and back to work.

                                              Week 1                                           Week 6

                                               The scar goes really purple when it is cold!

Don't get me wrong I am super excited as each day is a day closer to being back to my pre-operative functioning. BUT....
My expectations at this post op appointment where pretty simple, I like to have goals...
*Can I have the brace off...YES...woohoo i can finally have a full shower and not just wash the leg on its own with a washer, no more garbage bags...sweet
* Can I start physio...YES...great...this come with a two tone excitement as I had heard most people have a love / hate relationship with their physio- pain to get the gain but thats OK i want it to be better and i am more than happy to work for it.
* Can i come off crutches...NO...BOO! reason being i have to 'wake up' my quads as they have been wasting for 6 weeks due to inactivity. That is for my physio to help me with, lucky him. If i come off them too early i risk falling, instability and disappointment...patience
* Can i drive....Drs question ' can you guarantee your leg is going to respond quickly to brake hard and have fluid movement to and from accelerator to the brake pedal?' Unlucky for me although i have an automatic car my affected leg is my driving leg. Now he did say once you are confident off crutches generally you will be OK to drive. He suggested as we live rurally to drive up and down dirt road before i do any great trips. I would hate to cause an accident so i understand, it just doesn't make it any easier getting on with life..patience... I have been down our 2 car road to pick the kids up off the bus but i had to use two feet two pedal method was kinda funny!
*Can i go back to work...this was more a question surrounding do i have to go back to work haha! If I had a desk job I would be happy to go back. I am an emergency nurse and we are due to relocate into a bigger building so we are going from 15 bed department to 52 bed department. I'm not sure who is reading this but for people who have ever attended an emergency department there isn't many jobs that require us to be sitting, we have to walk quickly with purpose and poise haha!. Wearing a pedometer you can walk 10,000 steps in the first 4 hours and we do up to 12 hour shifts. We have to park and walk 2 blocks to the hospital up hill which was great exercise pre-op. As this is not workcover I want my knee to be where i feel comfortable before i go back and if that means more sick leave than so be it. My Dr suggested triage and although one of my favourite jobs in the department i dont think triaging with crutches is going to be OK. Dr wants to see me again in 6 weeks which will put me at 3month mark so I asked for a medical certificate until then and he abliged.

The Dr removed my brace and gave it a stretch sitting my heel on his knee and asked me to relax it into a straight position. Interesting I had thought with the brace on I was extending the leg into a straight position. OUCH! clearly not. Dr explained my last 30 deg has been blocked by the brace and it was now up to me to gain this back, lucky me. He then proceeded to bend my knee back under the the chair...ouch ouch ouch! so tight it feels like an elastic band is going to go PING. 'I am very happy with that! was his response to that movement so I guess if he is happy then I am too.
I still feel like the knee is very swollen ans feels warm to touch compared to the other knee, surgeon said to carry on! That i will...
I don't know exactly why but that first night sleeping without the brace was excruciatingly painful! I was quite excited to be without it as I thought i would have a great night sleep as i wouldn't have to chase the support pillow that i put between my leg all night (I toss and turn a bit) and i wouldnt have the weight of the brace to manouvre under sheets, blankets and doonas. I woke crying, actually not just crying sobbing! I couldn't even vaguely move my leg without wincing and trying not to squeal. I couldn't get comfortable. I had already taken panadol osteo and nurofen and wasn't due for more, so i asked my husband to get me an endone, i hadnt used narcotics since week one. I did have to laugh my husband who by all account has been very helpful brought 1 tissue for a crying woman, well better than none. Sleep didnt come easily but it did come and i woke feeling fine, so just a bad night. The leg feels like jelly kind of like the lower half of my leg isnt being controlled and its doing its own thing.
So off to make a physio appointment and get this knee moving!
Liss x


(15/8/2016)

10. pain/no pain/pain, trying to reduce crutches unsucessfully and the rubber band knee feeling at week 5

It is interesting the pain process that i have had. In my mind I assumed i would have acute surgical pain and then be back to  normal sore knee. I don't think anything could have prepared me for the initial post op pain but after that first 2 weeks the pain was really easily managed and each day within that two weeks you could tell each day you needed less.
As the wound healed it remained feeling sensitive if touched and i still remain with some numbness to the right hand side of the wound below my knee.
Weeks 3 and 4 the pain had reduced considerably and I think following my post op visit i still remained cautious about doing anything extra things so i was relatively pain free for these 2 weeks bar a bit of panadol. In these 2 weeks i also heard a clicking sound like when you stand and you've been stiff and something cracks. It didn't happen all the time but it could be heard by others.
Week 5 however i think i overdid it, and after i got home after a day out to watch a school singing concert my leg was aching and had big diverts where the brace was on all day. Sitting awkwardly in a chair with a partial bend in your leg that doesnt reach the floor...mmm not my best choice but i had kids to watch sing and beautifully they did. I had walked 2 days before on crutches to our main road which is 500mtrs down and back approx, the longest i have done since surgery.

 

The 2 big diverts where the brace sits on lower leg after a full day up on my leg...oops

The pain that has really hit this week (week 5) though, is like there is 2 rubber bands one below my patella and the other on my inner patella ready to go ping!!! They feel so tight you can feel the stretch and pull with each small movement. It feels like when you bring your knee passively into a bend position that it would spring it self straight back into a straight position if it was allowed! So i have had to go back onto regular panadol and i started naprosyn as i was having trouble tolerating the celebrex.
I remain dubious about steps and have been avoiding them when i go out as i feel like i am going to be a victim of the ground if i do. At home i am managing quite well as we have a railing which i hold onto and use the crutch under my other arm.
I became frustrated with the crutches and not being able to do simple tasks like get the butter out of the fridge to make the kids sandwiches and being able to put washing away in the cupboards, so i tried to go back to using one crutch whilst at home.
I think the key here is i made the decision myself and i should have respected that i was to be on crutches for 6 weeks. I would do ok for a while and could do what needed to be done and then all of a sudden in the middle of the kitchen i would have the oddest sensation of unsteadiness and the frozen i can't move my legs for fear of toppling over. This happened a few times and I realised i was not ready to be rid of my crutches just yet and that this process was going to take time. So i employed the kids unpaid of course and i now have helpers to get lunch ready, empty the dishwasher and set the table and i think this has been a great lesson for a 6 and 8 year old to recognise all the little things that a mum does that go kind of unnoticed because they are always done for them. I am very proud of this pair!
Week 5 also saw my first 'real bend' and i don't know if it was coincidence but it happened about 48hours after i started on naprosyn the new anti inflammatory for me. Sitting on a chair with a straight leg i could bring my leg into about 45deg and passively bring it in to sit and nearly a 90deg, although only for a short time but still my first bend really in 5 weeks!! A little progress, i took a photo, i dont really know how the numbers work on the brace but thought i would show you what it says.I can now fully straighten my leg, where this has been needing a small pillow underneath the knee to keep it up a little to be comfortable.

Brace a bit low in this pic ...(they are troublesome to keep in the right spot!) but i have bend!!

Maybe i could drive??
Maybe i should start some single leg raises??
Maybe i should just be patient!!
Maybe i should enjoy the fact i haven't had to go the grocery shop for 6 whole weeks, cause it aint going to last forever ...hahaha

Liss xx

9. Mishap with the cat,Tears and Stairs issues...week 3.5 not my week!

Well i should have known it wasn't all going to be roses and its amazing how one simple mishap can seemingly put you off track.
We have 2 outdoor cats , 1 is 15 years old, he scooted in the house at feed time and darted across in front of me. As i only had one of the crutches in my hand i over balanced, i felt myself bending at the hips and going down, my knee did a funny slooosh, i corrected but not quite enough. Both my hands went to the ground, my knee did another sloooosh feeling. So i was hands down, bum up with my daughter in the background saying 'mum what should i do?'. I didn't know i was stuck neither up nor down, couldn't get up, didn't want to go down on my knee/knees and i didn't know if it was hurt, it didn't feel hurt, so i slowly put my head up, pulled my core in and used my good hand to work my way up my leg holding on the crutch with the other. Few... i was up and all seemed OK, and that story became the first thing my daughter told everyone, mum fell over the cat. Never tripped over the cat before but suddenly things that werent obstacles before are now, lesson learnt.
3 days after this i noticed i was having trouble at the top of our stair case, we have 7 up to a platform then another 7 to the top and exiting/entering the one step out of the house. Over the weeks since surgery i have had this happen maybe 3 or four times mainly when going downwards with a feeling of 'give way' when i lift my good leg to bring it down.
Not thinking much of it, i carried on, realising i was struggling more and more until i just couldn't do it. my knee felt like it was just going to give way, so when the main weight was on the operated knee it would kind of push itself all the way back and then feel like it was going to keep me up. Unfortunately this meant when i got that feeling in my knee which i didnt want as it felt really awful, my good leg would start to shake and my arms would go to jelly. I was doing all my jobs upstairs of a morning so i didnt have to go back up and i was waiting for my husband to get home from late shift at work to help me up the steps to get to bed. Some days I could get up one or 2 steps and have no trouble going down, then others i could go up 4 and then struggled to go down, the pattern didnt make sense.
I started to think it was all in my head, it seemed really ridiculous that i had been doing stairs without any great issue the only difference the cat mishap. I had no issue walking on flat ground but unfortunately life gives you steps. So i thought i should contact the Dr. He wasn't concerned about the mishap, he said that is why he put the brace on so as the knee would only go from 20ext-90flex it wouldn't allow it to go any further than  he wanted. The stair issue he explained is a loss of quad strength because of the splint and that it is not an uncommon scenario. I felt much better that it wasn't in my head but i did feel i had lost a lot of confidence and i so didn't want to hurt the knee as i dont want to have to go through this all again...some kind of weird self preservation maybe.
Unfortunately i waited one night just a little long for my husband to come home, i wanted a shower which was upstairs, i got stuck 3 stairs from the top, couldn't go up couldn't go down, grasping onto the railing like i was going to fall to my death, ridiculous i know! I did those last 3 steps by dragging myself in the most awkward position, i don't know how i didn't hurt myself. I had just reached the bathroom door and my husband arrived home and was so excited i made it up the steps, my response wasn't nice, it wasn't his fault, I got myself into the shower and cried and cried, and repeated the why did i do this question. I am suprised i lasted this long, with all the things you cant do, that you could do before it is very frustrating to not be able to do what needs to be done! Tears dried up i needed to move forward as there is no way back, i am alot further ahead than i was in week 1.

This tided me over the weekend and i was struggling still into the beginning of the 4th week, I know i wasn't to start physio but i messaged my physio to ask his advice, He wanted to see me.
I got worried then i didnt want the physio to speak to my Dr as he had made it clear no physio, and like i said i like to follow the rules. I went to the physio for crutches support only ! I promise...
I'm really glad i went he took me up and down the step with canadian crutches then got me to use the normal underarm crutches and suprisingly the underarm crutches made a huge difference he did agree that you lose quad strength quickly but also thought it was mainly a confidence issue. The other part of my physio visit involved rearranging my splint, it didnt look right and had been slipping down heaps over the last week. Apparently this is common as the swelling recedes the braces need to be adjusted and whilst i tightened the straps there was more to it. When that brace was put back on my leg it was like an instant comfort, it felt way more secure and seemed to fit around the knee much better.
I stopped taking the celebrex again i just didnt seem to be able to stomach it, so am in the process of arranging the naprosyn to try it and see if that will help.

Enjoying a little sunshine on day 20

Wound Day 22

Liss x

8. first post -op visit

A little over 2 weeks and i'm off to see my surgeon for my first post-op visit. Back in the car for a 2 hour trip north to the hospital, i thought i might do a little shopping while we were up there.
Amazing how much longer things take to do when you are on crutches so by the time mum and I stopped in for some lunch along the way it was time to head to the surgery for review.
I got the all clear....well the all clear to do more but within limits! Meaning my Dr is very happy with my progress and i can do 'thing' as i wish but i will need to gauge things on how my knee is travelling so if its hurting stop. Yay!!! im happy with that. I mentioned all of the concerns i had spoken to the nurse about a few days before and an agreement that i needed to be patient with my recovery was made.
The Dr removed the brace and gave a straighten, a pull, push here and there and seemed happy with his handiwork. I was more guarded than i thought when this brace came off i didn't think i had much pain but i didnt want him touching it or moving it, i grasped the chair and was ready to jump. A bit of fiddling and the brace was back on....i have become friends with this brace and i have come to rely on it to keep me safe. my legs felt like jelly when i left the surgery!
No physio yet either the Dr explained that he was wanting all that had been done within the knee to heal properly before i started causing extra strain to it, made sense.
As i was leaving the Dr did comment once more on the amount of swelling and he thought perhaps i should try and go back on the celebrex as nurofen wasn't strong enough, so i will revisit it but i didnt like it. Dr mentioned another type of anti- inflammatory Naprosyn if i couldn't tolerate celebrex so we will see how i go.
So i was good to go, carry on, and see him again in 4 weeks, appointment booked!
The dressings could remain off now, the looks from my kids when they saw the scars was priceless...ewww i think was the main word.

Still alot of bruising day 18

scar is healing...

I have been using one crutch at times within the house so i can try and get some chores done, just simple things like sweeping the floor, putting clothes away, amazing how you can still stand at the ironing board and iron but i couldn't get the clothes up the stairs to put them away. So i am still asking for a lot of help.
Movement wise i still have very limited range of motion, when i sit, my leg still is out straight in front of me and walking it is like a straight leg lift up to the next position.
Showering i am managing well on my own but i still find i am having one when i know there is someone about, just in case.
I sent a letter to the bus driver to get him to let the kids off the bus without me. The kids are dropped to the end of our street, we are on a quiet dirt road about 400mtrs from main road. So with a lecture about bus safety i waited at our mailbox and waited for them to get off the bus, they did fine, I don't think you give the kids the credit that is due sometimes.
Football training my dad has picked Harry up and taken him to that 2 afternoons a week, and i think this has been a great bonding exercise for them as well.
So all my pre-op concerns were no longer concerns, it was all working out OK.
ohh the shopping after my post-op visit... didn't happen, i was exhausted!! maybe next visit...

Feeling so confident them Bam the 3 post-op week mishap and tears, it was bound to happen!

Liss x

7. Week 2 concern , boredom and kids on school holidays

Lucky my first week post -op coincided with 2 weeks of school holidays and my mum took the kids for the first week. No school lunches to make, no uniforms to be ironed or afternoon sport to be ferried to, however, you dont realise how much 'ducking about' you do with kids on school holidays, going to the skate park, movies or a trip to the beach to go fishing, when you cant drive or mobilise properly it makes it very 'boring' at home for kids for a week.
The bruising on my leg continued to shine and then decline, the pain had reduced considerably also but the swelling remains. I remained taking regular panadol anyway just to keep myself covered.
I developed a pain in my thigh which i woke with on day 10, it felt like a corked muscle as if i had strained it. I only noticed it when i did certain things so it didn't concern me greatly. I still had a lot of swelling in my foot and knee and was unable to feel a pulse, my foot was pink and warm so i wasn't concerned. I decided to ring and speak to the Drs nurse and told her of the above issues and was given reassurance that i had had extensive surgery and need to rest, ice, elevate and be patient with the healing process. I had an appt next week to see the Dr, so I continued on with my lounge chair gilmore girls back to back episodes and annoying people with my requests for coffee refills.
The intermittent thigh muscle pain lasted about 5 days.

Day 14                           Day 7

back of my knee           

Day 14                              Day 7

Inner side of my knee

At day 13 i was needing a little out of the house time so my mum took me in for a drive to the local coffee shop, I managed to manouvre into the car, crutches in tow. I was ready for real coffee.
Wearing the brace and crutches is a good indicator for people to steer clear and people are very helpful at offering to help. I managed to get up the curb guttering, i managed to fit my non bending leg under the table and OMG I enjoyed that coffee. It may have only been an hour out of the house but it was devine. I felt really proud i had accomplished an outing with no dramas.
As it was school holidays, I thought it would be a good idea to go to the movies, I was very uncomfortable in that chair after about 15 minutes and no position seemed right. It was a long 1 1/2 movie.
Both outings have given me a newfound appreciation for people who are permanently disabled. I have always taken for granted that i have been able to access anywhere i needed to go without assistance, I have never needed to look for disabled access to shops or buildings. It is always a longer way round for the disabled and there isn't always easy appropriate access. Whilst on crutches you are always thinking about the best and easiest way for you to get about.
In hindsight the movie wasn't the best idea but my kids had a ball and i owed them one for being so great this week at home not whinging about not being able to get out of the house themselves. Sometimes your mental health needs, need to be met also.

Back for my first post -op visit next week this should be interesting.
Liss xx

6. My first week post surgery

Being home is the best feeling but it also brings along with it the feeling like you should be doing something. I don't know but those cobwebs that have been there for months suddenly are necessary to be removed or the world will crash.
I was given instruction by the hospital physio i was to have minimal activation of my quads for the first 2 weeks after surgery. What exactly does that mean how does one tell the quads to not activate...ohhh right that means only doing the activities that are absolutely necessary for 2 weeks. So it was explained as movement from the bed to lounge to toilet privilidges only. OMG this is going to be a long 2 weeks.
As it turns out when you take a regime of pain medication there is very little you want to do apart from go from bed to lounge to toilet, As someone who is only used to panadol going to taking targin, endone, celebrex, gabapentin, aspirin and regular panadol knocked me for 6. I didn't like the way it made me feel, I felt sick, I couldn't string a sentence together, I couldn't read a book as I couldn't concentrate. I still had pain but only on movement, so sitting on the lounge with my leg up I was great and then I was asleep... again. I weaned myself pretty quickly (i think) off these and at day 6 I was only taking regular panadol and nurofen with an endone to go to bed. I felt so much better.

What did suprise me this week was the size and distribution of bruises over my leg. Now when i say leg i had knee surgery so i expected a bruised knee. As i had the brace I had taken little notice of the rest of the leg but there was massive swelling over the whole front of the knee and massive bruising mainly over the inner knee. There was also a bruise on my foot, ankle, a bruise on my inner calf and the back of my knee coupled with a large swollen foot.

Behind my knee

Swollen ankle with a touch of bruise...

I did a dressing change to the wounds at day 10, just to make sure they all looked OK and they did.
Showering was going great i was using the plastic chair in the shower if i needed to wash my hair- very important! My husband was very clever at the stickytape wrap on the top of the garbage bag over my leg and brace to keep it dry. You do realise though you lose alot of dignity when you need someone to help you get ready to shower, you have to be willing to let your saggy bits and post baby pouches to hang free without embarrassment. I did quickly realise a slip mat was needed, no near miss but when you shower after children there is soap everywhere left behind. I do like to follow the rules and i was told to leave the brace on at all times, I took it off to wipe my leg over with soap and washer as i couldn't leave 1 leg unwashed for 6 weeks. I didn't do this in the shower though and i maintained one hand grasped contact to the vanity at all times, i promise.
I didn't sleep well in the first week mainly because when you wanted to go on your side you had to physically lift the leg and position the pillow in between your legs. The pillow for comfort and pressure care as the brace put alot of pressure on the underleg. I also gained a sore lumbar back i think just the awkwardness of crutches and different sleeping positions, I did a bit of bed hopping to see if there was a more comfy bed in the house but the back pain settled after a couple of days.
Stairs havent been an issue i have been using one hand on the railing and one crutch with other arm.
I have little to no bend in my knee and i'm unable to straighten so does requires a pillow for support underneath at all times. It is early days and I'm hoping as the swelling recedes the movement will improve.

Wounds at day 10

Week 2 is better than week one but this is a slow process and the bruises get darker!

Liss xx

5. Discharged from hospital and heading home.

The big outer dressing was removed, the drain removed- that felt weird like a stingy pulling sensation but over quickly, the physio visited and applied a ROM brace.
A shower sitting on a chair with my leg in a plastic bag, i was feeling not to bad, still not right but determined to prove i could go home, except i couldn't eat and had had little to drink. I got myself dressed feeling pretty proud made my way with a tall four wheel walker frame to sit myself out in the chair.
As i still had that numbness feeling down my leg i didn't realise i was bleeding. I looked down and there was blood at my toes. Why is it you can never reach your nurse button when you need it! i made my way over to the bed dragged my new pj bottoms off that now had blood all over them and found the culprit, the drain site was oozing alot...pressure applied, nurse bell called, leg up ahhh the old clexane trick, blood thinners are great. Not only over my pj bottoms but also over the very expensive looking freshly applied ROM brace, ooh no. The nurses tried to clean it but the physios deemed it to be an infection control issue so would replace it in the morning.
In the morning! Dr and I agree best to stay another night to be sure to be sure, i guess being 2 hours from this hospital it is a good idea to be fairly confident prior to discharge.
My beautiful sister and husband visited and I remember this visit somewhat better than their first but i still say sorry as my eyes didn't want to stay open.
As we live on the farm my husband headed home to the kids and animals and would return to pick me up tomorrow...yay...i hope!
The physio returned and took me for a walk for the first time with canadian crutches, the ones that have a support just below your elbows.
The Stair Challenge...3 stairs up 3 stairs down and repeat ....as the physio chatted away about children and work i didn't realise, i had passed.... up and down yay yay yay!! with no issues.
I have a 2 story house, bedrooms and bathroom upstairs, 1 toilet downstairs, a step into the back of the house and a few steps to the front. So i needed to be able to do steps!
I must say when the dressing came off  i was suprised to see such a great incision site. When the Dr visited he said it had been very extensive and he had some pictures to show me at my post op visit. I don't mind the scar, that will fade but it actually gave me a better understanding as to why i had so much pain. I had watched plenty of MPFL and TTO videos on utube and I shouldn't have been suprised the amount of work that was done in that old knee of mine, it wasn't going to be happy for a while.
As i settle in for another night i am pleased to say it was a much more pleasant experience than the night before and as the sun rose that morning i did feel confident about going home. I was up showered, nibbling on breakfast, a big bag of discharge medications and waiting for my husband to pick me up.
The 2 hours trip home in the car was pretty uneventful and i made my way into the house with ease, i was doing OK. I settled in to start watching some videos my sister had kindly sent home and netflix was set up.
Relying on other people is hard when you are so independent, how do you carry your cup of coffee over to the lounge room when you are on crutches?? Its the simple things that you take for granted.
Learning to ask without being annoying, there has to be a way. Watching everything going on around you and not being able to help is difficult.
Where was that bag of discharge medication i was needing them, sleep came easily that first night at home. I slept on the lounge and with pillows between my legs i could prop myself up onto my side and rest my back into the back of the lounge. It isnt restful sleep as when you roll from side to your back and vice versa you have to wake and physically lift the leg, which seems to be a dead weight.
I have asked my husband to attach one of the shower heads that are on cord that you can hold onto and asked him to bring in a plastic chair for me to sit on, looking forward to my first shower at home in the morning, just have to get up the steps!

My first look at my knee without the bandages on.

Finally enjoying a cuppa before my husband picked me up to take me home :-)

4. Pain medication vs nausea who will win?! Night 1 post MPFL and TTO

Whoa! my surgery is done and I'm back on the ward. If you think i am writing this directly after surgery you are wrong. I was flat out lifting my head off the pillow, 'I think i'm going to be sick' was a repetitive statement along with 'OMG that hurts'.
I have a drain coming out my knee, calf compressors going up and down my calves and I am sick of lying on my back...already!
I had some great nurses, pain relief...check, anti nausea medication...check, knee iced and elevated...check, and they would do it all again and again without question, i'm not sure what face they pulled as they left my room or what my handover report would have sounded like but these nurses tried to fix it, they tried to get the balance right between pain medication which is important but being able to tolerate oral fluids is also important. I ended up staying an extra night in hospital as the balance was tricky, i would sit up and have like a feeling of this isn't going to end well to being asleep in 2 minutes. The body has amazing measures to try and get you to rest.
Interesting as a nurse myself i have been under the misconception that just because you are asleep doesn't mean you don't actually have pain, sometimes i just had my eyes closed because i couldn't keep them open and other times i think i was asleep but was woken by pain. I cant describe the pain but throughout all my knee complaints this is the absolute worst pain i have ever had. I have had a normal vaginal delivery of my little boy 6 years ago and a caeserean for my little girl 8 years ago, I know pain but this pain, i don't think anything could have prepared me for this. The weird thing also though was i had a numbness all down the outside of my shin, the anaesthetist didn't mention doing any kind of nerve block so i was a little worried, i was reassured this was fine the i had a general anaesthetic and local anaesthetic block.
I think it is also important to mention that pre-op i really didn't have pain, occassionally yes, so panadol and nurofen ...every now and again was the most pain relief i have ever taken.
Pain score is a difficult measure and by all means your pain score compared to mine will be different.
But as much as I wanted pain relief to get my pain below the 4/10 that the nurses wanted, i was happy for it to be higher as i didn't want the nausea. You have to do what works for you and whilst i realised that i wasn't going to be up and walking about i took that on board, enjoyed the pain relief and the 'lost head' feeling and asked for anti nausea meds to combat the nausea.
It is a shame that for my 2 nights in hospital i had all meals prepared and i could hardly bare to look at it.
My husband and sister visited after surgery...i think....yes they did, I felt even worse as i couldn't even hold a conversation with them, but it was lovely to know they were there.

There was another issue on night one, i normally sleep on my belly, well if you don't normally sleep on your back this is very uncomfortable and i just wanted to get off my bottom for a little while. Those nurses again to the rescue and whilst i wanted to go up on my side they explained their concerns, the main one being i hadn't had a brace fitted and they weren't keen to move the leg. Ok i played the nurse card and threw out my concern i had been at least 8 hours on my back...pressure sore concern. So we compromised and put 2 pillows between my legs and rolled me onto my unoperated side...oh bliss!! THANK YOU NURSES!!

I was checked , rechecked, offered pain relief, offered anti nausea medications all night and i'm sorry to the nurse i upset as i only wanted dry biscuits and ginger ale as a post op meal, i promise that is all i wanted, it was all i felt like.

This post is a shout out to some amazing nurses on the orthopaedic floor of the hospital, your compassionate care and observation throughout the afternoon, evening and night, meant my almost unbearable night was bearable. THANK YOU xx

I wonder what is under the bandage and I hope i pass the physios crutches stair test to be able to go home....
Liss xx

3. Booked in and getting ready for surgery! 35klm walk first though :-)

It takes time to get organised prior to surgery but i thought i would do at least one thing, get used to crutches!!
Oh this isn't going to work i couldn't get from one end of the kitchen to the other without putting my foot down and i didn't even attempt stairs. I kept reading other people blogs and practice was the common thread and also non-weight bearing for 6 weeks! I googled how to use crutches safely watched videos learnt the phrase.. good leg goes to heaven bad leg goes to hell.
 I started to question how this was going to work as i couldn't do it pre-op so i had buckleys of getting it right after surgery, i was likely to end up with a broken ankle as well.
So as you learn everyone's experience and instructions post op are very different, luckily for me i confirmed pre-op that i could be weight bearing with crutches for 6 weeks post op...WOooHOoo happy dance, I could do that!!

So my booking to the hospital was complete, I was contacted by the anaesthetist's nurse to answer some health questions and a few weeks later we were driving 2 hours from home to the hospital.

I had one thing i wanted to complete prior to that trip to hospital and there is nothing more satisfying than saying I did it. I had entered a 35klm Charity walk from the beautiful Byron Bay to Ballina in NSW to help raise funds and awareness for the Westpac rescue helicopter. So 5 weeks before surgery I strapped my knee up, took some pre-emptive panadol and set of with a fabulous group of people that encouraged me to continue to reach the very end. Amazing that you can have such a 'dodgy' knee but determination is so powerful. I credit my determination and strength to the gym which i have been training at Ultimate Strength and Conditioning. I have done that walk twice before but this one meant alot and 51/2 hours later we all got to the finish line and it was awesome!

Me (in the middle), husband and sister with i think about 12klm to go!


It felt like i was about ready to have a baby the week before surgery, what i mean is when i was due to have my babies i nested, i threw things out, i cleaned, i washed, cooked meals to go in the freezer and made lists. 'Stuff' that absolutely had to be done, in hindsight it was me just keeping busy so i didn't have to think about it.

As we parked the car on the day of surgery it is hard to imagine the last time you will be able to walk for 6 weeks,is the steps that you take into the very hospital you will have surgery in. A cute little hospital buggy pulled up and asked if we wanted a ride up the hill, my husband said ' nah mate its ok its the last time she gets to walk without crutches for 6 weeks, she'll enjoy the hill' haha he thought he was hilarious, I didnt want to walk up the bloody hill i was happy to hop right into the hospital buggy, ahh well.


All checked into the hospital, my armband and legband is correct and a nurse calls my name. I'm up my turn to go, no turning back. Some goodbyes to my husband and niece and away I went into the land of sterility. As i changed into not so fancy hospital underwear and put a oversized paperish gown on, you feel very exposed without being exposed, no bra, no makeup no family with you and they took my belongings to be sent up to my room, WHAT ABOUT MY PHONE!! no access to the world how would i cope for 2 hours in a waiting room with people that looked as fashionable as me. Chatting with a lovely elderly lady sitting beside, I say thank you to her she was great value.

Questions on repeat, name, date of birth and surgery you are having, this was real. A quick hello from my surgeon and my anaesthetist asked if i have any further questions...Bam light's out and i wake saying 'Why dont I have a brace on?!' oh that poor recovery nurse, this nurse woke from her anaesthetic tired, cranky and in pain...oops! He thought he would keep me quiet with a lemonade icypole, he was wrong, I didnt sleep well last night did i mention that. Sorry Mr recovery nurse but I was disappointed that you didnt know more than just 'she had knee surgery' it was more than that it was a MPFL repair.....anyway clearly i needed rest and food and pain relief.

That's it.... surgery complete, easy right, sure, kind of, nope not at all..... night one i will never forget it was very very unpleasant.

Liss xx

2. GP appointments , orthopaedic surgeon appointments and scan results- all part of the process!

All part of the process is arranging and attending Gp's appointments, the following up with scans and then waiting for results, revisiting GP's, getting referrals and seeing the specialist.

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting!! an annoying part of the process of getting injuries sorted and a part that sometimes seems unnecessary in a world where everything is so at your fingertips electronically. Patience when you just want to get on with things can be very hard to muster.

Being a registered nurse i understand the process all to well and whilst i work along side Dr's i think it remains important to utilise your own GP.

However, Gp's can be difficult to get into so i attended an appointment with a GP that was not a regular GP but was easy to get into. All i was requesting was a referral to an orthopaedic specialist and MRI request form. I know this must be annoying to the GP ...a nurse arrives basically with her own diagnosis in her head and isnt interested in going down the path of 1. wait and see 2. physio 3. panadol and nurofen pain relief.

The wait and see approach i was already well past my post 'injury' time that it normally resolves in itself, physio completed as mentioned in previous post and i had no pain so didn't need pain relief which i explained.

It wasn't recommended I have an MRI by the GP as it was too expensive, i should wait until i see the specialist- you would think that would be my decision to make, if i have money and i'm willing to pay than i don't see an issue. Again that waiting thing if you see an orthopaedic specialist and you don't have appropriate scans than that is another appointment...more time. See the specialist yes that's a great idea...according to my not regular GP she was  unsure as to what they could offer me so she really didn't see the point. OHHH i should have just asked one of the Dr's i worked with for a referral!! and did i mention i wanted to see someone who wasn't a local specialist, disappointing i know that i didn't want to stay local, my choice as a private patient and this was also the Dr who did my original arthroscopy many many years ago...continuity of care rings some bells.

A nurse always gets what she wants though, i left that GP office with a referral to my Orthopaedic Surgeon and and MRI request form!!

So my MRI results are in and a subluxation of the patella, a floating ossified foreign bodies MPFL injury and advanced degenerative arthropathy at patellofemoral joint, and a moderate joint effusion.

In a way i was glad that there was so much wrong with the knee. I know that sounds awful but it was kind of one of those childish moments of 'see i told you so'! Also it is difficult for people to see and understand why every now and again when your tired you limp and every now and again you wince in pain as the knee caught as you turned too suddenly. Its not an external injury that can be seen so it is difficult to explain and understand. 

I rang to make an appointment with my OS and happened to get an appointment really quickly so a few weeks later saw him.

It all happened quite quickly from there and i was filling in paperwork to have a right knee arthroscopy, MPFL reconstruction with +/- tibial tubercle osteotomy +/- lateral release +/- foreign body removal.

I think trust is a big part of saying yes to any surgery and i knew that my surgery was necessary because it was explained in a way that totally made sense for the reasons for my symptoms,and that the outcome if i leave the joint to its own devices isnt in my best long term interest. It was an environment that i was free to ask questions and make contact at any time to confirm any information.

Yes... i said yes to surgery on the spot- i went there for his opinion and his option of surgical intervention seemed like my best chance at preserving my joint for long term and being able to get back to normal functioning in life without thinking about my knee every time i stepped.

There was a lot of pluses and minuses on the consent again this actually gave me the confidence knowing that only what needed to be done would be done. The TTO became my greatest concern as it involved bone being 'shuffled' to a better spot! 

This led onto my research, i wont lie i had googled my MRI results and had already read a few things on the above procedures so i already had an idea of what he would say, but i knew researching after my signing of consent forms wouldnt have stopped me asking more questions. It didnt matter though all of the questioned had already been answered.

I was asked to have a CT scan as a TT-TG measurement couldn't be gained from the MRI, this was to determine if the TTO part of the operation was necessary. I think the measurement had to be less than 20 and mine was 25 so you guessed it the +/- TTO became a definate after a phonecall from the Dr.

So from my first symptoms 24/1/2016 to my surgical date 1/7/16... 5 months to get it sorted.

With kids, work, family, husband and farm.... things do take time, priorities!

Alot of things went through my head now, 

* how will i use crutches- im so unco-ordinated

* NO driving - its never going to work

* 6 weeks off work- organising sick leave

* how will i go going back to work

* what if there is complications

plus so many more how will i look after kids, is it better to do it over school holidays, should i wait until kids have 6 weeks over xmas off, summer would be hot with a brace on so i should do it now in winter.....blah blah blah my head was full of the pre-surgery to do list!

Things all work out and there was a solution to every part of the list i was making!

Therefore SURGERY IS BOOKED AN CONFIRMED!!

Heres a copy of my MRI result

And a pretty picture !!

Its time to move that patella back to where it needs to be ....

Liss x

1. The history of my knee

Hi and welcome to my blog on my personal journey to having a Medial Patello-Femoral repair and Tibial Tubercle Osteotomy.

A little background on my knee to give you an idea as to what caused me to proceed to the surgical option for my knee.

Most people assume a knee injury must mean a sporting injury but as a young teenager my ultimate dislike was sport! So i would love to say yes it was a sporting injury and sometimes it is easier to agree, my actual first knee issue was playing touch football at school, running forwards and my first knee 'give way' feeling resulting with me on the ground. See it was sport!!
I am not sporty so it seems wrong to blame a sport on an injury which i played as a one off game, a few games of indoor netball and a season or two of playing backs in hockey.
I was 15 at this time and i dont remember any Xrays or MRI's but a limping leg a few weeks later lead to  look and see arthroscopy. The results of this i dont remember but mum thinks a partial meniscal tear that was tidied up.
Standing scrubbed for a 3hr operation as a theatre nurse , i was working with a 6ft 3inch surgeon and as i am only 5ft 2inch the result was me standing stationary on a stool for a long period then when i needed to turn , step and get something my knee didnt follow. Here was my next knee complaint, I was 24. This lead down the workcover road which in itself is a journey and a half. It was deemed clinically i had a partial posterior cruciate ligament tear a little time of work and i was back to normal.
Somewhere else following i had a ram bunt me up the back of my thigh again the feeling of 'giving way' following this incident, 6 weeks with RICE and i was back on track.
Funny how easily you lose track of time but again at work in recovery ward and sitting on a stool a side twisting action as i stood lead to that same familar feeling my knee just didnt follow. Again workcover related and a clinical diagnosis of partial posterior ligament tear.

3 years ago i noticed that knee feeling was becoming more common with simple things mainly walking down slopes and down steps, me worrying alot about whether it was or wasnt going to function properly and so sort a orthopaedic review privately, severe chondromalacia patella was diagnosed and i was advised that i had abnormal tracking of my patella. There was talk at this time of a partial joint replacement but as i was only 32 the recommendation for me was strapping and anti-inflammatory medications and to wait as long as i could before surgical intervention.

It always seemed post an injury 6 weeks of taking it easy, a little physio and strapping did the trick until the injury this time.

What injury- not sure 100% what happened 3 days before this issue i was doing CPR on a gent and i put my bad knee up on the bed and the natural rocking motion to do cardiac compression put alot of pressure on my knee, i have been doing new exercises at the gym - haha yes times change i found a 'sport' i love... strength and conditioning training and i had been preparing for a 35klm charity walk, so a few knee stressors there.
So on Australia day long weekend as we are about to pack the van and head to the beach i wake with a 'lock knee' alot of pain behind the knee mainly this time. Interestingly while we were away not wanting to miss out i attempted a bike ride and the knee felt somewhat better afterwards, swimming in the pool somewhat better afterwards....6 weeks later and i am still having issues which isnt normal. My physio at the time said there was no need for any surgical intervention and that the knee was good to keep strapping, it didnt feel right, it wasnt right.
So this is the beginning of my journey down the path of having a medial patello-femoral repair with hamstring harvest and tibial tubercle osteotomy.

A subluxing patella....a knee cap who has made its own decision to sit where it want to sit when it wants to sit there! Amazing how one little bone can be the cause of such grief!!

Off for an MRI, XRays and CT scans, i'll let you know how that goes,

Liss xx