Mar 2003 knee surgery

by Gerald Oskoboiny

I had ACL reconstruction surgery with Dr. Don Johnson at Riverside Hospital on Mar 31, 2003.

Activity log:

Sun June 2 (2002)

Tore my right ACL playing Ultimate. (On June 20, I reinjured it again playing catch, then again at the beach on Aug 25. Then I had to wait for surgery for a while...)

Mon Mar 31

Hospital at 7am, surgery at 8am; partially sedated, then nerve blocks done in groin, then fully sedated within 1-2 mins? Woke up in recovery room with leg in CPM machine around 10:30am, initially quite groggy, cleared up around 11:30am, completely alert and ready to go home by noon. Worked a couple hours later today. :)

Wed Apr 2

Nerve block finally wearing off today, was kind of worrying. Took 2 tylenol 3's a few times a day today and yesterday, as well as 1-2 Vioxx/day.

Thu Apr 3

First physio; took off tensor for first time. Measured flexion (unassisted): 80 degrees. (or was that mon apr 7?) Exercises: ice knee with heel on rolled up towel for 10 mins; towel stretch (loop towel around bottom of foot, pull it towards me, lean forward, hold for 15s, 5 times); flexion/extension while sitting, assisted with other leg. Stopped taking drugs after one last Vioxx this morning.

Mon Apr 7

Physiotherapist says "crucial" to wear splint as much as possible, even when sitting around at home; puzzling since clinic handouts seem to indicate otherwise. Chatted a lot with another girl at physio who had both knees done, got a few good tips but some bogus ones (e.g. need to take Vioxx for at least a week, important to avoid infection; Johnson said not true, no need to continue drugs.)

Tue Apr 8

Saw Dr. Johnson (one week checkup), saw arthroscopic pics of ligament before and after surgery, quite cool but didn't get a copy since I forgot my digital camera at home. He took tape off my wounds; looks like only one of them will have a noticeable scar (bottom/hamstring one.) He said no need to keep wearing the splint around home, probably should outside if icy/snowy. No need to wear tensor unless swelling comes back.

Wed Apr 9

At physio today, tried the stationary bike for the first time; half-circles at first, but eventually got all the way around. Measured flexion: 101 degrees. (unassisted, post-cycling.) Two new exercises: inner thighs (pillow squeeze) and outer thighs (leg lift); bought an ankle weight, adjustable from 0.5 lb to 10 lbs in 1 lb increments. ($55+tax) Now completely mobile, able to walk without much of a limp, able to walk up stairs comfortably with only one foot on each step. (but slowly/carefully) Knee hurts when I flex it past 80-90 degrees, not much pain any more otherwise.

Fri Apr 11

New exercise: leg lifts, with my back on the floor. (hold for 3 seconds, 2 sets of 15 reps each)

Mon Apr 14

At physio today, able to ride stationary bike quite comfortably; rode for 20 mins, first cardio in weeks. Talked to a girl who had hers done a week ago, seems to be recovering well (didn't wear her splint in, tsk.) She injured hers 7 years ago; said she has been snowboarding without much trouble (doh). New exercise: squats while holding on to table/bench. Now able to walk normally; very comfortable going up stairs, still quite awkward going down.

Wed Apr 16

Almost 2 hours at physio today, did 15-20 mins of biking with lots of tension, and stairmaster for the first time. Measured flexion: 122 degrees. (physiotherapist said "wow" when I got to about 110.) Also, now able to hyperextend my knee (lift my heel up with therapist's hand under my knee, while sitting on the bench.) New exercise: standing on toes (flexing calves, then relaxing), as many reps as possible.

Mon Apr 21

New exercise: going up and down one step, 15 reps. (not sure if it was added today, sometime around here)

Wed Apr 30

Measured flexion: 135 degrees (after pulling my leg in as far as I could with my hand.) Still just barely able to hyperextend. Leg has felt very comfortable for the last week or two, almost as good as it was before surgery, but I'm still unconsciously babying it most of the time, so muscle mass has dropped a lot. Still not allowed to start biking or swimming or anything.

Fri May 2

Woohoo, got permission to start riding my bike! (on flat stuff only, no difficult trails or big hills)

Sat May 3

Went for a bikeride, felt great to be doing something active outside after a month of sitting around indoors.

Fri May 16

Allowed to start swimming now (usually allowed to start after 8 weeks.)

Sun May 18

Went for a 3-hr bikeride each of today and yesterday, hucked a disc around with Chris a bit in the eve, leg felt great: felt the same as my good leg while biking.

Tue May 20

Started doing Pilates again; able to do everything in the beginner workout comfortably. Leg doesn't seem to be locking up as much after I straighten it now.

Thu May 22

Watched video of various parts of the surgery. Pretty nasty stuff; glad I didn't watch it before my surgery.

Fri May 23

Did 1000 steps in a row (before biking.)

Mon May 26

New exercise: squats with back against wall (replaces other squats.) Did 1000 steps and 20 mins biking.

Tue May 27

5-week (actually 8-week) checkup with Dr. J, he checked my extension, then measured ligament displacement or whatever, said it's the same as my good knee. I asked if my faster than average recovery means I can start doing sports sooner than average, he said it seems to take 10-12 weeks for the bone thing to set, so should be careful until then. OK to do straight ahead stuff, and best to stick with individual style sports in the meantime. No problem to travel for 3 weeks next month.

Mon June 9

Did a strength test on the orthotron today, my legs are about the same strength. Physiotherapist gave me a list of exercises to start doing at a gym.

Wed June 11

Woohoo, last day of physio! Normally I would start three months in the gym now, but I'm going to Europe next week so I'll hit the gym when I get back instead. I am supposed to come in for a strength test in about eight weeks (after going to the gym for a while), or sooner if I want.

Tue Sep 30

I went to the carleton sports clinic today for my six-month checkup (was originally scheduled for a few weeks ago, but got rescheduled a few times due to docs being called into surgery etc), was examined by a doc whose last name sounds like "pickle". (I dunno what his name actually is, and I don't see any names like that on their web site.) Anyway, he asked if I have been having any problems, compared my knees' degree of separation or whatever, examined flexion/extension, compared my quad muscles; said everything looks very good, and I can return to sports now. He said I should wear a sports brace for anything with pivoting for the next 6 months, otherwise anything goes. I asked if there's anything I can do to prevent reinjuring it or doing the other one, and he said not really, it's basically just a fluke thing, but having strong leg muscles and decent flexibility always helps. Oh, he asked that I get a strength test done on the orthotron at physio, so I went there afterwards, and my right leg (bad one) tested slightly stronger than the left one, so that's good. (I don't know how that's possible, since I have only hit the gym maybe once/week or less instead of 3x/week that I was supposed to.) Anyway, woohoo!

Oct? 2003-Apr? 2004

Went to the gym about 3x/week, am now in better shape than I have been in in years. Mostly concentrated on upper body, cardio, fat burning, a few leg workouts here and there, lots of 1 hr sessions on the bike.

Wed June 9 2004

I went to the carleton sports clinic today for my one year checkup (it has actually been 14+ months but they never contacted me so I finally did because I wanted to ask about various things); saw the same dude as last time, told him everything's well but I feel a bit tentative when playing ultimate, not sure if it's a mental prob or what, he said most people seem to get over that after 2 years, so don't worry about it much. Went for a strength test on orthotron before seeing him; right (bad) leg tested at 106% the strength of left one, even after doing it a second time to confirm. Pretty surprising since I thought the right one felt weak, but I think it's actually just sore (esp. hamstring), not really weak. Knees are pretty sore whenever I squat, but forgot to ask about that. Didn't notice that until after I started playing ultimate; not sure if it's related.

Last modified: $Date: 2006/12/05 02:25:40 $
Gerald Oskoboiny, <gerald@impressive.net>