July 27th - Recovery Day 10

I had my post operation appointment today. Dr Richmond told me that everything looked good! He showed me pictures of the inside of my knee which just looked like a 4 year olds finger painter to be honest - I didn't know what was going on. But he told me my range of motion was excellent and that I didn't need to use both crutches and the brace - he recommended the brace for everything except small distances

My range of motion is up to around 110 degrees today I think and pain isn't bad (6-7) so continuing to impress. I also went for a walk today - a little over a mile with just the brace and it felt great! 

July 26th - Recovery Day 8

Woke up in agony a few times during the night so had to stop the elevation and eventually take off the bandage - but it feels surprisingly good this morning - no problems getting up which is always good news! 

I've increased range of motion today too - just past about 90 degrees with a pain level of only about 6 so that's more good news! 

Really pleased with how things are going so far! 

July 25th - Recovery Day 7

One week since the operation and the recovery seems to be going to plan. I have about 90 degrees range of motion on my own and the full range of motion that the CPM offers (-10 to 120 degrees) when I'm using it. I had physio again this morning. I think I was a bit more prepared this time - I got the bus there and taxi back and I've been taking my Ibruprofen and Oxycodone every 4 hours (2 Oxy tablets) to try and stay ahead of the pain. 

The physio confirmed that the pain was just a reaction to the therapy and over-exertion and as she put it 'It's going to get worse before it gets better'. She said it looked like it was improving - the colour has faded a bit to be fair. It feels good today - I can bear nearly all my weight on it. She put me through the same routine today: Ultrasound, Laser and Stimulus. 

Around 4pm it started to get sore but now at 8pm the pain has eased off quite a bit. 

Rob Kramer showed me how I should bandage up my leg. He said the best way to do it was have it elevated and iced for a while and then bandage it - that way the blood is cooled and not flowing into the knee. Then starting down at my ankle wrap it around in crosses - essentially wrap up the leg, then in the same direction go back down, then go up further etc. The further you go up the looser the bandage should get. This also aids blood flow - he said you don't want it too tight around the knee, you don't want blood to get trapped there. So it should be tightest down near the ankle - but also not too tight that it restricts blood flow to the foot - swelling will occur if it's too tight. 

Here's an example of the bandaging:

You can see the crossing as the bandage goes up the leg. 

Today:

Range of motion in CPM: -10 - 120. Pain level: 3/10. 2 x 3 hour sessions

Range of motion on own: 5 - 90. Pain level 5/10. 4 x 45 min sessions

July 24th - Recovery Day 6

Most painful day yet!!! 

Was in agony today - couldn't even get up to go to the bathroom for most of the day. It wasn't too painful lying in bed - elevation was very aggravating and as soon as I stood up and the blood rushed down my leg the pain was unbearable. So I just pretty much stayed in bed all day and drank smoothies! I guess that's the importance of staying ahead of the pain with the painkillers. I'd really slacked off taking them. 

I'm presuming it's the physio work kicking in...along with the exercise I did on it yesterday - a lot of movement between going to the physio, cooking and hanging out playing poker with the lads. We'll take it easy for a few days and hope the pain subsides. 

Range of motion on CPM: 5 - 90 (in the am) -10 to 110 (in the pm). 2 x 3 hour sessions. Pain level: 6

Range of motion on own: 10 - 60, 5 - 75. 3 x 45 min sessions. Pain level: 8

July 23rd - Recovery Day 5

I went to the physio this morning. His name is Robert Kramer. He said I was doing very well in terms of ROM and swelling. I was able to walk without crutches this morning, although I try and use them as much as possible. He introduced me to one of the girls there - Lena, who worked on me. First she gave me laser treatment - this is primarily to remove bad blood cells and regenerate new ones as far as I understood. Next was ultrasound which heats the inside of my leg and promotes healing. Again trying to remove the bad stuff which slows down the healing process. Finally there was electronic muscle stimulus which gets the muscles working around the knee. 

I walked home from the physio - a little over half a mile. I used both crutches but still bore a lot of weight on my leg. It felt really good. I hit a wall around 4.30 in terms of energy so went to sleep for a few hours. I woke after a couple in pain - I took my leg down from being elevated and it's a little better. It's quite painful now though - going playing poker with the lads - I'll try and keep it as elevated as possible but it's quite painful! Some drugs should do the trick! 

July 22nd - Recovery Day 4

July 20th - Recovery Day 2