Week 4
Hey,
One month down and to be honest it has flown. It's good to look back at this stage and see the improvements since week one. They have been small and slow but in comparison to post surgery I'm a new person :).
I started back in work on Monday, which has been a blessing in itself. Some people had mentioned that once you start back in work that it becomes harder to make time for rehab exercises. I knew that wouldn't be an issue of mine so Monday morning I set the alarm for 6.15 to get a good run at the day (small limp). I started with my regular exercises, then did my little bike session (can now do full rotations with feet in the pedals - minus the two butter tubs kindly secured by my brother to aid my efforts) and then headed to work. I wore a compression bandage on my knee in work as I had gone from spending most of the day sitting down and icing to moving a lot (teachers do be flat out :)). It helped a lot, and it was really nice to get back into a routine and teach again. The school I work in has five stories so I decided that I would make good use of the lift but that I also wanted to get my legs working and use the stairs... This proved to be a challenge, going up is ok. As in I needed the bannister for support but I could walk up normally. Going down however was not as straight forward, there's more pressure on the knee so I had to put two feet on each step, while trying to avoid causing a traffic jam in the corridors :). According to reports received my efforts were in vain as congestion levels rose considerable in the last number of days. Anyway, after school I iced as normal, exercised again and all was going great... until Wednesday.
It was about fifth class when the tiredness hit, I had a substantial migraine....like spots on the whiteboard that I didn't put there! I finished the day off and had to go home to bed for a few hours (sad smiley face). I got up and did my exercises, but I really didn't want to. I was bate! Thursday followed a similar routine. Enough energy to get through the school day and then crashed. By Friday I was flying it though! I had a gym session with the Clare camogie team that evening. I must admit it's great to feel part of a group. ACL recovery is a long and lonely road (big tear) and it requires a lot of discipline and self motivation. When you have a planned session though it takes away the need to boost yourself up. You just have to go and do it. I really enjoy that!
Physio went very well this week, my ROM in bending is improving (refer to picture) and extension is almost straight. My knee is still locking at times though which is frustrating, if I sit down on a chair my knee could lock into a certain position and then slowly unlock itself. It's happening less often so I'd assume it will stop in time. I now have four new exercises to add in with my previous exercises which is great :).
New exercises:
1. Leg raises.
2. Large towel under leg leg raises.
3. Bridge with towel between knees (more weight on injured knee).
4. Leg raises lying on front.
Achievements of the week:
1. Back to work.
2. Improvement in walking up stairs.
3. Cycling a stationary bike properly.
4. ROM improved again.
Naomi
One month down and to be honest it has flown. It's good to look back at this stage and see the improvements since week one. They have been small and slow but in comparison to post surgery I'm a new person :).
I started back in work on Monday, which has been a blessing in itself. Some people had mentioned that once you start back in work that it becomes harder to make time for rehab exercises. I knew that wouldn't be an issue of mine so Monday morning I set the alarm for 6.15 to get a good run at the day (small limp). I started with my regular exercises, then did my little bike session (can now do full rotations with feet in the pedals - minus the two butter tubs kindly secured by my brother to aid my efforts) and then headed to work. I wore a compression bandage on my knee in work as I had gone from spending most of the day sitting down and icing to moving a lot (teachers do be flat out :)). It helped a lot, and it was really nice to get back into a routine and teach again. The school I work in has five stories so I decided that I would make good use of the lift but that I also wanted to get my legs working and use the stairs... This proved to be a challenge, going up is ok. As in I needed the bannister for support but I could walk up normally. Going down however was not as straight forward, there's more pressure on the knee so I had to put two feet on each step, while trying to avoid causing a traffic jam in the corridors :). According to reports received my efforts were in vain as congestion levels rose considerable in the last number of days. Anyway, after school I iced as normal, exercised again and all was going great... until Wednesday.
It was about fifth class when the tiredness hit, I had a substantial migraine....like spots on the whiteboard that I didn't put there! I finished the day off and had to go home to bed for a few hours (sad smiley face). I got up and did my exercises, but I really didn't want to. I was bate! Thursday followed a similar routine. Enough energy to get through the school day and then crashed. By Friday I was flying it though! I had a gym session with the Clare camogie team that evening. I must admit it's great to feel part of a group. ACL recovery is a long and lonely road (big tear) and it requires a lot of discipline and self motivation. When you have a planned session though it takes away the need to boost yourself up. You just have to go and do it. I really enjoy that!Physio went very well this week, my ROM in bending is improving (refer to picture) and extension is almost straight. My knee is still locking at times though which is frustrating, if I sit down on a chair my knee could lock into a certain position and then slowly unlock itself. It's happening less often so I'd assume it will stop in time. I now have four new exercises to add in with my previous exercises which is great :).
New exercises:1. Leg raises.
2. Large towel under leg leg raises.
3. Bridge with towel between knees (more weight on injured knee).
4. Leg raises lying on front.
Achievements of the week:
1. Back to work.
2. Improvement in walking up stairs.
3. Cycling a stationary bike properly.
4. ROM improved again.
Naomi
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