2 months post-op check point

My procrastination has officially reached epic proportions.  I have abandoned weekly retrospectives without formally saying I would do so, and I didn't follow through on my promise to do a large-scale retro on how things have been going since surgery.  This lack of discipline is abominable, and is not likely to improve very much in the coming weeks.  But it has been two months since the surgery, and so the least I can do is write an update on how things are going now.

I had a follow up with doctor Zarnett last week as well, at which he told me that the knee looks good, but I need to be doing more to increase the muscle strength.  I have been exercising, but have found it challenging to increase the intensity, and so I have been feeling weaker and somewhat stuck.  I've been trying to get more motivated to go to the gym, which also hasn't been easy with the arrival of the gorgeous summer weather.

How's the knee feeling?

Compared to a month ago, I have more stamina, and can walk more and sit in the same position longer.  Having learned my lesson earlier, I avoid long distance walking or uneven terrain.  I can sit cross-legged for a bit as well, and even find that it feels good to stretch the knee by dropping it sideways.  There is less numbness, and almost no swelling.  The knee looks almost normal, although the right (operative) leg is still somewhat smaller than the left one.  There is still lots of tension on the outside of the knee and in the patella area.  I still find it hard to straighten the leg from a bent knee.  In the last week I have been feeling more pain which is probably partially due to the fact that I slacked off for a few days and then did two pretty intense workouts in a row. 
The incisions are looking very good - one of the small scoping ones has almost become invisible, and the long one is also fading.  There is still a small hard spot in the very bottom where a piece of stitch is likely causing trouble, but it doesn't seem to be trying to come out anymore.  Dr. Zarnett said it will eventually dissolve altogether.  The whole incision is fully closed and healed.

What am I able to do?

I exercise 3-4 times a week.  At each session I do some combination of half-squats and lunges, one-legged dead lifts, step downs and step ups, hamstring exercises, leg presses, use the cable machine to do hip abductions and adductions as well as to workout the glutes and the quads with about 10-15 lb weights.  I also do cardio on the eliptical and the stationary bike.  Believe it or not, this is the minimum amount of exercising I need to be doing.  I should be doing a lot more.
In terms of day to day activities, I can do almost anything that doesn't involve heavy lifting, squatting, or stepping up with the full weight on one leg.  I have been catching myself trying to skip, or quickening my step almost to running without much regard for the knee.  This feels good, but I still don't have an ok to actually go jogging or to skip.
I can't really squat or kneel yet either.

What's next?

Since the frequency of my physio has now been reduced to once every three weeks, I am facing the challenge I was weary of from the get go.  As evident from my perpetual procrastination in updating this blog, I am not the most disciplined person, and this shows in my recovery as well.  I worked very hard in the beginning and reached a certain level, but have now plateaued and need to get unstuck.
I am still formulating the plan to deal with this situation, and I will write an update on some ideas I will try in the next few days.
I also need to schedule a strength test with Dr. Zarnett's team in the next 4-6 weeks which give me a good deadline to work towards.   And the ultimate goal should not be forgotten: winter is less than 6 months away and I need to get in tip top shape for skiing by then. 

2nd Post-Op Follow up (4.5 weeks)

I had another follow up with Dr. Zarnett on Wednesday, and he told me that everything is going really well.  Rather counter-intuitively, this means that I should be at the gym at least four times a week, doing a ton of new exercises.  I'm planning to have killer glutes by the end of this process.

  

The inflammation in the scar is spitting a stitch knot that didn't dissolve.  The doctor said its pretty normal, and will clear up by itself eventually.  No special treatment needed.  For now that thing still looks medieval, not to mention that it is preventing me from taking scar-selfies that would show off how well the incision is healing.  It was very painful in the beginning of the week as the abscess was growing, then it opened up relieving the pressure a bit, and now its just annoying that it won't heal completely.  I think its trying to get me to sponsor Polysporin and bandaids manufacturers.  

Overall, it was an uneventful follow up that could otherwise be described as "no news is good news".  The next follow up is in a month. 

I suppose it gets a bit boring if all I talk about here is how well things are going, but I honestly don't have any bad news.  Except for traffic: it always drives me insane.

1st Post-Op Follow up (Day 12)

Milestone 2 (walking without the splint): check!

I had the first follow up appointment with my surgeon, Dr. Zarnett, today.  Well, the good news are that I can start walking without the Zimmer splint, the incisions are healing nicely and don't need to be covered up anymore, and last but not least - I can start driving as soon as I feel up for it.  And the bad news?  There are none!  The next check up is in four weeks.

While waiting in the hospital room, I sneaked a peak at the operative report that the nurse pulled up on the screen (it was right there on the wall in front of me, I almost didn't have to lean over).  Not that I would ever want to have it again, but arthroscopic surgery is so cool!  The report talked about what happened during mine.  Apparently, they put some morphine into the knee, which might explain my rather mellow disposition afterwards.  Other than talking about funky drugs, it also said that all the other parts of the joint were examined and they were good and stable.  

At physio two days ago my ROM (range of motion) was at 99 degrees.  With this joyful piece of news I also got a bunch of homework:

• Balancing on the leg with eyes closed - trying to work up to 30 seconds
• Heel raises on one foot
• Leg lifts with theraband: inside, outside, backwards, forwards
• Seated hamstring curl with band
• Glute bridges (lying down with knees slightly bent raise bum squeezing glutes)
• Bicycle pendulums (sitting on a bike, use the good leg to spin the pedals slowly flexing up the operative leg - work to get through the whole revolution)

All of these were hard to do at first, but got a lot easier by next time. Today I was at 25 seconds for balancing with eyes closed, and at 20 bike revolutions.  I've been doing a lot of stretching as well - it helps relieve the tension that accumulates with flexing and with walking.  Stretching out the hamstring also helps to activate the quad, which is getting used to doing its work.  However, the muscles in the leg are still very weak.  My right thigh (i.e. the operative leg) is noticeably smaller.  Its the first time in my life when I'm not happy about loosing weight, but I think the muscles will come back soon.   Exercising is causing the knee to swell up a bit more, and it gets numb and very tense in the patella area.  It helps to ice it and give it some rest.

I'm still seeing lots of progress every day, and its encouraging.  I started keeping track of the exercises, so I should have some metrics soon.  And I still have another milestone to reach by the end of the week: 110 degrees
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P.S. They sure do give you good advice at the hospital.  Good thing I didn't have a cast, who knows what would end up in there?...