3 Weeks Post Op + Good News!

[mwos]

Today I'm three weeks post op with acl surgery. For the last 2 weeks I've been working on strength (closed chain), balance, propioception training, and beginner/intermediate pilates.

I used crutches the first couple of days after surgery and ditched them on Sat. when I kept forgetting them. My OS let me ditch the brace when I saw him for my post op visit, 1 week later.

On Thursday, 1 week, 2 days after surgery I started riding the trainer (therapist approved) with platform pedals and gym shoes and a raised saddle.

I'm now up to 50 minutes, spinning 75-80 rpm with a decent heartrate and starting to lower the saddle.

My OS's protocol says I can use the stairmaster and nordic track at 5 weeks but no real bicycling for 13 weeks, which is the first of June. Also, no going for walks, hiking etc. so crosstraining is pretty much out.

However, my PT is so impressed with my quad strength that she's going to ask my OS if he will move the bicycling timeline up!

I know I'm not ready yet but I'd be so thrilled if I could at least ride around the neighborhood, it's flat, by the 1st of May. That sure beats all of May on the trainer or in the gym.

Anyway, even if my OS says "no" I'm pleased that my PT thinks I'm doing so well.

Kathi

[Sandy]

Wonderful news! It certainly appears that you are recovering remarkably well. You seem to be advancing at an excellent pace. Perhaps your PT will be able to influence the OS to shorten the process. Be sure to be patient and not try to do too much too soon.

Keep up the outstanding improvement.


Sturgeon Surgeon Sandy

[Bud]

Sounds like it's going well, Kathi. I'm glad to hear it. Keep us posted and June will be here before you know it. You won't miss the best part of our season around here!

btw I was at Vail the other day and thought of your story when I was skiing into the maze at the bottom of Game Creek. ;)

[mwos]

Thanks for the encouragement.

Bud, you didn't try it? I'm curious to know if a bigger person would have had the same experience but none of my friends are willing to try it out. :)

Seriously, I'm really glad I'm here in Denver for this injury. My OS understands cyclists, skiers, active patients much more than they did in Cincinnati. Even though I had a good ortho there the sports they understood was jogging, soccer, or baseball. Here you talk about RTR, or the Triple Bypass and they know what you're talking about, there a local ride meant nothing.

My ortho's protocol focuses on strength and cardio through the various phases of the healing process. Here, I was allowed to ride as soon as I had enough range of motion. When I had knee surgery in Cincy I was not encouraged to ride the bike, not even the exercise bicycle at the gym, even though it was the machine I used to warm up in PT. I was only allowed to do pool walking. I was only on crutches for 3 weeks and was back on the bike at 6 weeks but I lost so much of my cardio conditioning that I couldn't even ride for 1/2 hr.

I certainly don't want to go thru this again so whatever the OS decides I will grudgingly go with it. I still have some rooms to paint in the house and pruning to do outside so I'll stay busy for a while and my PT comes up with all kinds of creative things to do. But please understand if at times I come across as whiney or cranky.

Kathi

[Serpico]

:) glad to hear the recovery is going well :beer:

[Serotta PETE]

Glad to hear recovery is going great!!!. Does this mean we will see you at SMILEY's


Great work on your part progressing that fast. PETE

[mwos]

Maybe, and my Memorial day ride in Ky. and my new bike earlier. Oh, wow, this is so depressing after all! :)

[BumbleBeeDave]

Go! Go! GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! :beer:

Great news! But you ARE going to have to help me out--exactly what was it that you did to yourself? Did it have anything to do with riding with Serotta Sandy? :rolleyes:

BBD

[Keith A]

Kathi,

Wow, unfortunately this is one that I can say "been there and done that". I had ACL reconstruction surgery Feb 2001 after blowing out my ACL while skateboarding. I must say that this was a life changing experience for me as it gave me a new perspective on the good health that I have enjoyed all my life. It also made me realize that I needed to reconsider the risks that I take in the activities I enjoy participating in.

It sounds like your recovery is going very well. Mine was similar and the fact that I had very good muscle strength before the accident really helped. Even with this, it was a long road to full recovery and I was able to start riding outside much sooner than I could surf again. It took six months before I was back in the water and it took at least a full year (maybe longer) before I was comfortable again surfing. Cycling was much easier and I can't recall how soon I was outside on the bike. Like you, I started inside on a trainer first.

One of the biggest things to be aware of when riding outside (which you are probably are already aware of) is clipping out of your pedals. I decided to go ahead and still use my cycling shoes and not use the platform pedals. At first I was extremely concerned about the twisting motion necessary to unclip, that I would take off my shoe instead of clipping out. Part of this challenge was that I always clipped out first from my right leg -- which is the one that was injured. So I had to retrain myself to use my left leg first instead. It was amazing how such a little thing made that big of a difference.

Sorry for babbling on about my situation -- but if you have any questions about cycling, exercises, etc, please feel free to contact me via eMail and I'll be happy to share my experiences. BTW, there is a great message board for knee related injuries which is Bob's ACL WWWBoard (http://www.factotem.org/cgi-bin/kneebbs.pl). I learned so much from reading and participating on this discussion group.

Keep up the good work :banana:

[Keith A]

Two quick questions for you:

● What method of repair did you use?
● Where is your story about what happened posted?

Thanks.

[mwos]

Keith,

Glad to hear you recovered so well. My repair was an allograft (cadaver)replacement so no hamstring or patellar tendon is involved. The OS considered this type of repair the best because it won't affect my cycling. I think that is why I'm recovering so quickly. How was yours done?

It was a skiing accident, pretty silly, I ran into a closed rope at the lift at Copper Mtn. I was catapulted backwards. My skis were in a slight snowplow so they tracked on the edges when I went back. Because I was on the edges I didn't stop until my legs could stretch no farther. My right leg was twisted underneath me and I couldn't get my skis to release nor straighten my legs. A ski patrol had to lift me to get me off the skis. It's posted under OT: On the injured list

At first, there was debate as to whether or not the ACL was torn, but the MRI verified it. Unfortunately, I had an MCL tear and that had to heal before the OS would do the ACL so I had about 5 weeks of pt before surgery.

I was concerned that I would lose all the conditioning I worked so hard on but that is not the case.

I've seen Bob's board and the Knee Guru.

I'm concerned about the clipless pedals and like you its my right knee and I clip out right foot first also. My os has sanctioned my speedplay pedals. I tried to retrain my left leg and fell off the bike, right in the street in front of a motorcyclist! :D I guess I'll use the trainer for retraining instead.

I've been though tough injuries before so I don't get as frustrated as I once did. So far my worst has been rotator cuff surgery, very painful and a much harder rehab than this.

I decided to go ahead with the surgery now so that I'll be ready for the slopes next winter and still get some biking in this summer.



Kathi

[Keith A]

Kathi,

My OS used my patellar tendon as he considered this to be the most reliable and strongest for the long haul. I also had a torn meniscus on both sides (medial and lateral), so this was a pretty invasive surgery. I am happy to report that I can do pretty much anything that I want with no restrictions, but my knee doesn't feel like it used to. I notice this more when doing mundane tasks such as walking and working around the house/car. It doesn't bother me at all when I'm riding.

It took me a while to retrain my brain as to which leg to clip out of. After a some time, it did feel more natural, but I still had to consciously do this each time. However, my hyper sensitivity to my knee kept this in the forefront of my mind.

BTW, even though I lifted weights before my surgery, I still lost a huge amount of muscle mass after the surgery. So much so, that my riding shorts no longer were tight around my quad :eek: So the fact that you still have this strength, you are definitely ahead of the game.

[mwos]

Keith,

You were in a lot worse shape than Iwas. I only needed some cleaning of the lateral menicus and underneath the kneecap.

In the two weeks between the injury and starting pt my quad got so little it was scary. You could almost see the bone. But by the time of surgery it was almost back to normal.

When I had knee surgery a few years ago I was on crutches for 3 weeks. I don't remember the quad shrinking but I couldn't believe how much strength I lost. Before surgery, I was doing cardio, no weight lifting because it bothered my knee. I didn't or wasn't allowed to cycle after that surgery and tried to ride at around 7 weeks and didn't last 1/2 hr. I did ski 8 weeks after surgery but not at 100%.

I think the pt and riding the trainer before this surgery really helped to come back quickly. Because my pain wasn't that bad I was able to continue with pt where I left off pretty quickly. My pt went over the basic exercises to do after surgery and I started them the next day. The only thing I'm not doing now that I was doing at the time of surgery is single leg squats, I'm doing double leg.

Kathi

[Keith A]

Kathi,

One more thing that I wanted to share...When I was several months into PT and strength training, I started doing single leg jumps under the supervision of my PT. At first I was shocked how I couldn't jump with my injured leg :eek: As you know, not only do you loose muscle strength, but also your proprioception and kinesthesia. The single leg jumping really helped with all of these elements and if you want, I can expond upon the details of this in a PM or e-mail.

[Serotta PETE]

Maybe, and my Memorial day ride in Ky. and my new bike earlier. Oh, wow, this is so depressing after all! :)


You are doing good!!! The glass is not empty but over half full as they say. Hope to see you in DC - - It was a great time Smiley and Karen are great host - - and they have SANDY!!!!


PETE