Sunday, April 27, 2014

Week 3

Well, almost week 4. Crazy how time flies! While physically I feel about as good as can be expected- not too much pain- mentally, I'm struggling. I've learned how to bend my knee and regain my quad strength so many times, so I know I can do that again. But, mentally, struggling through all the ups and downs and then hitting plateaus where you don't see much improvement, I feel weak.

At almost 4 weeks post-op, I am expected to be able to bend my knee to 90 degrees by this week. However, after much stretching, I'm only at 65 degrees and I just cannot push through the excruciating pain much more than I have been and I know I won't get to 90 degrees. It was also extremely demoralizing to have my physical therapist break out the neurostimulator machine last week. For anyone who's not familiar, this machine forces your quad muscles to fire, which helps try to "wake them up" and regain strength. After my dislocation, I used this machine in the latter stages of my rehab to get the last bit of strength back. So, having to break it out this early in the game made me feel defeated. My therapist isn't quite worried yet, but I can tell he's slightly concerned that my quad hasn't started firing yet.

The size difference in my quads are still quite noticeable:

However, despite these minor frustrations, I am counting down until May 5, when I see my surgeon for my second post-op appointment. I hope to be able to weight bear, bend my leg while standing, and drive. Those little things will go a long way to improve my outlook on this whole process. This week, I'm going to post my physical therapy routine as well. 

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