I quit taking the pain meds about 3 days after surgery and only needed one when I cam back from PT.I had my first PT session yesterday and I was at about 120' extension and 99' bend. I guess that's pretty good but I still have a good bit of swelling and front of shin soreness even though I had an allograft. I still seem pretty unsteady when I am not on crutches.
I am getting pretty anxious to at least have the swelling go down and feel a bit more steady on my feet.
How is everyone else doing?
i too had an allograft about 3 weeks ago, have almost full range of motion about 5 degrees left, and am at 140 degrees right now. i too have some swelling still above and around my knee, but it is not that bad at all. i was off crutches in 3 to 5 days and out of the brace in 12 days. now my main focus is just gaining strenth back now, and getting to the oint wehre i can run. good luck
I am 12 days out, had a patellar tendon autograft. I'm 28 and had a complete ACL tear and MCL sprain, and I went to physical therapy for about 6 weeks prior to the ACL reconstruction.
On Friday (10 days out) I had a decent PT session. I warmed up on the stationary bike and for the first time was able to pedal a full revolution. My physical therapist then made me push for 50 painful revolutions. My flexion improved to 109 degrees (from 105 degrees a my prior session) and I did some leg presses with low weight. My goal is to ditch the crutches by the end of this week.
Shana, I feel the same with respect to the swelling and front of the knee soreness, as well as the general instability with crutches. The knee tends to swell up at night and has been affecting my sleep - last night I woke up with swelling at 2:45am and couldn't get back to sleep until 4:30am after icing it. So you are not alone there, and from what I understand the knee should continue to swell up for several weeks.
As for the painkillers - I used plenty in the days after the surgery (which I probably needed due to the tissue graft). I thought I was finished with them until my first follow up with surgeon. He prescribed me some more and recommended that I take them before my PT sessions in order to make the bending exercises more manageable.
My problem is that my surgeon wants me to wear the brace for four weeks after surgery! It's unlocked but it's still a pain. I have my 2nd PT session this afternoon so we'll see how far I can go today. I am looking forward to the day when I can get on the bike again.
Shana,
Wearing the brace was a pain, and I was told to wear mine for the four weeks as well. Of course I was stubborn about it and decided to take it off around week 3 while I was at work. I was walking down the hall and had my cane with me. My knee buckled as I pushed off with my surgical leg. I didn't feel any pain or pop, but it definitely scared me. Luckily, I had the cane with me, otherwise I would have fallen. I told my PT the next day and he did some checking and told me the graft was fine. I think the brace just gives you that little extra bit of stability until you've had enough time to strengthen up your muscles again.
I'm about 15 days out now. Got to 120 degrees today in PT. Walked without the crutches in PT for the last two sessions. The swelling has subsided. It's amazing how much muscle mass I lost in my leg - it is way smaller than my left now (I injured the right).
How's everyone else doing?
I got to 113' today in PT but that was pushing it! I was told to start weaning off of the crutches. I didn't realize how much I was using them the past 2 weeks as a safety net! I am still pretty swollen and if I do too much my knee gets pretty warm but overall things are going ok.
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