I met with the doctor this afternoon and had the sutures removed and reviewed a bunch of pictures from the operation. The mass of bone and cartilage looked pretty impressive! It was nice to see the shot without it there! At one point, the conversation drifted to the pain I was experiencing before the operation and I learned that knee-cap impingement can cause hamstrings to snag and fire poorly, which are a part of the symptoms I would have when the knee was acting up. So, it all appears to be adding up, I hope.
The best news of the day was I received a green light from the doctor to begin a bit of PT at home. 10 minutes of light spinning on the bike to start, adding 5-10 minutes every 4-5 days as the knee allows. The logic is that moving the joint in a non-weight bearing position promotes healing of the cartilage. He also recommended I take glucosamine for the next few months because it's a dietary supplement that acts as a building block for cartilage.
So, I spun for 10 minutes at home in a very low gear. The knee took a minute to get used to the motion but soon I was spinning relaxed and smooth. It felt so good to be able to do something.
Thursday, 2/25
10 min spin. Felt considerably better moving through the range of motion.
Friday, 2/26
10 min spin. The knee wasn't happy today but probably because of a bad step I took at on the stairs at work.
Saturday, 2/27
I took the day off from activity. Plenty of ice and rest.
Sunday, 2/28
20 min spin. Nice and light spin in a low gear. Iced after.
Week in Review:
- 50 minutes of spinning.
- ~8 hours of icing
- made it through a full work week
- at almost no pain in the ribs (3 weeks since the breaks)
- generally uncomfortable walking. Still using a crutch get around
- a lot of swelling persists in the knee. I'm told this is normal.
Goals for next week:
- 90 minutes of spinning
- ~8 hours icing
- no pain in ribs
- begin core work
- begin walking without crutch? we'll see... not rushing this one.
- reduce swelling in knee
No comments:
Post a Comment