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
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