 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| AndAnotherThing.. wrote: |
The worse one for discomfort is the standing up from a seat one legged. We upped the seat height to make it easier and it's a killer but really shows the difference in strength between the two legs. |
I'm off to the bar right now, so shall give this a go - I think the stools in there are just the right height 
still sounds like you are making great progress though - it's weird when the pros are telling you different things, I know.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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miranda, A bar stool would be about right for me too !
Hard to know about the progress, but both physio's this week seemed positive about skiing pre Christmas. We'll see.
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Hiya!
AndAnotherThing, I'm not sure how long it is since your op but I was told by NHS that I could attend their group physio sessions for as long as I wanted. Having said that, I went to the first one a few weeks ago and decided no to go to another! I was disappointed as the session is at a private hospital and they tell me their private patients get the same programme, but I felt it was really rubbish and have started seeing a private physio. Sounds like your best off at your 'broken footballers' session!
I'm six weeks now and struggling with it going stiff, is this normal? Its very stiff when I first get up in the morning, and then I sit in the office all day, trying to wander around the warehouse every 20 mins, very exciting, but it's very stiff every time I move.
Miranda, you're I think about 3 weeks on from me and it sounds like you're doing great!
Deb
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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debbiem, No group sessions for me, I get the feeling that the physio provision is quite varied depending on where you are. I do recall some stiffness and needing to keep moving around to combat that although it's not much of an issue now. I tried to do a rehab exercise of some sort every 30 mins or so in the office so that probably helped keep it moving. How's the swelling - maybe it's related ?
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UPDATE - Week 12
Half way there (ish) and the last 4 weeks have been a nice step forward.
Surprisingly (and disappointingly) my NHS physio has pretty much discharged me while on the other hand I've started a 'strength' program with my 'broken footballers' sports physio. These exercises hurt (!), the worse being standing from a chair on 1 leg but after a week or so the exercises are easier and I've gained a little muscle bulk on the bad leg. I'm trying to keep on one drill every 30 minutes. The new exercises can make the knee feel heavy and sore but generally the swelling is mostly constant and isn't too aggravated by exercise. I'm still icing when I remember, generally after walking.
I had the OK to walk our local hill as long as I didn't 'yomp' it. It's 250m vertical over about 1.2 miles on a rough road\track and makes for an excellent place to train. 2nd time up and my time was almost a personal best despite not rushing. Either my phone app is rubbish or there's a performance gain from taking it easy at the start - I really wasn't rushing. My moneys on an iffy phone app  Stupidly I forgot my sticks for the walk down, but even without them and going slowly it felt ok, and an improvement on the first time back on the hill a few days before. I'll try and do this a couple of times a week, time allowing.
The second highlight was getting back on my motorbike. It's a small super sports 250 which means that you have to ride it to get the best from it. I still don't quite have enough flexion to move around as freely as I need but it was nice to get out and the leg felt better than it did pre op.
Both physio's have spoken positively about skiing at the 6 - 7 month mark with puts me in the frame for a early season week in Tignes. I think a trip to Manchester before hand, say September time should be cool.
I'm not running, hopping, skipping or climbing yet but I'd say that the knee is now better that it was immediately pre op. I guess it's now a case of diminishing returns, but easy skiing again in the next few months feels a realistic goal.
The real trick I think will be to manage my return to rock climbing.
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AndAnotherThing.., When are you gonna get out climbing? I did my first two routes of the year at Worlds End this week.
PS. I feckin hate midges!!!
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Scarpa, At least the weather is better for the job. I'm good to belay and would be up for very easy climbs so give us a shout next time you are going up. I can be a belay bitch!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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AndAnotherThing.., all sounds brilliant. Well done!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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debbiem, hope everything went ok with your bone scan. I didn't really suffer too much from stiffness but that's probably because I don't do an office job so am generally moving around a fair bit or lounging in bed/on the sofa and so able to sit comfortably at all times. It's also been fairly warm and dry here since I had the op - not sure if that makes a difference?! Plus I haven't really been doing any activity and so have no swelling at all getting in the way. I was visiting some friends this weekend, and they asked me if I could bend my knee fully. I replied "oh no, not yet, I can only bend it this far..." and then proceeded to fully bend my knee, with only about 1 or 2 cm max difference from my 'good' leg, which was a total surprise as I have been following doctor's orders and made no effort to bend my knee or indeed do anything at all. So, yes, I do feel that things are still going really well. I'm sure once I'm allowed to start building up the muscle again in September, my day will start to fill up with all those boring rehab exercises and some consequent swelling, so I'm just making the most of the freedom at the moment! Going to make a point of getting out on my bike this week though, as the lack of hiking is finally starting to needle me a bit and as I've been back and forth to London, I've not done any exercise at all. AndAnotherThing.., you are very lucky to have got the go ahead on the hiking! Went to my favourite spot for lunch last week - fortunately you can get up there by car, but I CANNOT wait to walk up there next year! I know patience has proved to be a good thing for recovery so far, so it would be crazy to give up on that now, but sitting up there and looking out over the view, I just had the urge to run down the hills (fortunately a glass of wine over lunch made me feel suitably sleepy so I lost the urge fairly swiftly after that!)
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miranda, lovely photo - glad it's going ok too. What are the hills in the back ground ?
Turns out the phone app deals in fiction. The stop watch told a very different story yesterday !
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You know it makes sense.
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AndAnotherThing.., ah well, it's still brilliant that you can go hill walking. I'm very jealous!
On the left of the picture the hills are part of the Aravis range, the middle section is the Mont Blanc range and the right is the Beaufortain range. One of my favourite walks... alas, not until next year! (unless winter comes very late this year, which is obviously not what I want really)!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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O-o-ohhhh, what a view. I love London, but sometimes I do wonder what I'm doing here...
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Poster: A snowHead
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I have my operation tomorrow morning to fix my ACL!
Very excited to get back on the road to recovery, but am also terrified at how long and hard its going to be haha!
Anyone have any comforting words? Im hoping that my age will pull me through with a nice speedy recovery so I can go powder skiing late season!
Harry
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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hazamadcow, I know what you mean - when I did the injury and read all the stuff on the internet, I also felt scared at the prospect of how long and hard the rehab process would be. But you can see from the above posts that it's nowhere near as bad as it's made out to be. I think there must have been quite a lot of progress in the last few years - which the internet info sites haven't caught up with - because the general aim now seems to be to get you back to completely normal after 6 months - well in time for you to get some skiing in next season.
Best of luck and please let us know how you got on if you feel like it x
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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hazamadcow, good luck!
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hazamadcow, I was operated on in 2008 on 14th August for a complete revision of a messed up ACL recon and a lot of other work! I was back on my skis 5.5 months to the day after my op. The operations and rehab are nowhere near as bad as some people make out. It will hurt like buggery the first few days maybe, but then it is a fairly steep upward climb in improvement. I've had 5 ACL recons/revisions (because I'm a clumsy Klutz I suppose and keep busting them ) since 1989 and each one has been easier than the preceding one!
Good luck today and see you on the slopes in January 2013
BTW I did not have youth on my side (sadly! )
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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hazamadcow, Good luck, keep us posted on your progress ?
The initial period post op is the worse but things rapidly improve. Be sure to follow your rehab protocol and no doubt you'll be back in no time. Unless something goes badly wrong I fully expect to be in the Alps at around 6 months and in a dome before that. I'm currently about 14 weeks since the op.
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Samerberg Sue, you've probably said somewhere earlier but I can't remember.... how have you busted one of your AC ligaments 5 times? All skiing?
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miranda, right knee busted in 89 - artificial ACL replacement put in - busted within a year, then another added, also busted then in 1992 a patella tendon autograft was put in and it is still working well despite all my best efforts! Left knee slipped on ice in 2006 - ACL reconstruction using patella tendon autograft - incorrect placing and surgeon missed a fractured fibula head, and rupture lateral collateral ligament and 2 meniscus tears! All sorted out with a revison by a much better surgeon in 2008!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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hazamadcow, good luck I am sure it will be fine.
Coincidentally I saw my surgeon and he is still unhappy with my knee because it is still swollen with an effusion after 4 and a half months. He is going to do an arthroscopy and "tidy" up my damaged cartilage to try and allow better rehab and later decide whether to repair or not. Sadly I don't think I will be skiing in the near future.
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AndAnotherThing.., Well you certainly haven't missed much climbing. We got out to Worlds End, I led two routes but we got bitten like hell by the midges even through copious amounts of DEET based repellant  And that's been it for this season LOL
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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ianmacd, sorry to hear it's being a slow process for you - at least they are offering some form of treatment in the form of the arthroscopy to try to speed things up. Are you happy with your surgeon and his assessment? I think Samerberg Sue has said that she has used kneeguru.com a fair amount and that it's a good place to get surgeon recommendations for a possible second opinion...? (I'm sure Sue will fill you in on the details whether I'm right or wrong in thinking that!)
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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miranda, ianmacd, it is a UK site and it has a phenomenal amount of up-to-date info from specialists from all over the world. The surgeons and specialists listed there are peer referenced they do not pay to to included, unlike many other sites.
The link is www.kneeguru.co.uk The site owner is a doctor and was one of the founders of the first-ever specialist Knee Clinic in the UK - the Droitwich Knee Clinic which now has the London Knee Clinic in its group.
Ignore the whining (sorry, but mostly from some mouthy Americans who believe if you throw enough money at a problem is HAS to go away - rehab is often a dirty word for some of them!) in the Forums and go directly to the Information Hub and start learning as knowledge is the key to getting the best treatment for your knee, especially if you have to work with the NHS.
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Thanks for the good lucks!
Operation went smoothly and the Surgeon said that he was very happy with the condition of the rest of my knee and the cartilage was all in check! Which is good obviously, but I'm not sure it will speed up recovery, just makes things a little less complicated.
Knee is very sore now and im bed bound for a few days but very glad to have had it done so I can get on with recovery!
Harry
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You know it makes sense.
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hazamadcow, great to hear it went well. Keep icing it as it helps not just with swelling but the soreness too!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Samerberg Sue wrote: |
| go directly to the Information Hub and start learning as knowledge is the key to getting the best treatment for your knee, especially if you have to work with the NHS. |
Having just remembered your story of being told you were too old in your 30s and having to argue your case with the surgeon, I think that's great advice!
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Poster: A snowHead
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hazamadcow, Glad it went OK.
ianmacd, Glad they have something planned to get you fixed again. Keep reminding the surgeon how important skiing is
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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To everyone thanks for your responses. Sorry I was just feeling a bit sorry for myself. I have total confidence in the surgeon and I have had very good treatment so far. He is quite prepared to operate on my knee buti Haven't yet recovered to a point at which he would consider operating.
Good luck to all.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| ianmacd wrote: |
| He is quite prepared to operate on my knee buti Haven't yet recovered to a point at which he would consider operating. |
That is a real key phrase and it sounds like you have a really good one there!
Maybe talk to someone about getting lymph drainage to help get rid of the swelling. I know it is not normally part of the NHS or British system but it is amazing. You can clearly see the differences between my UK treated knee and my German/Austrian treated, which I put down in part to the reduction in swelling post-op achieved by daily Lymph Drainage massages.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Knee is still bloody painful and I cant really move it, is this still normal? Its day 3 since the Op.
Also woke up feeling a bit feverish and rough but Dad reckons its the codeine.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=88075&start=120#2043228
hazamadcow, I made a 'week 1' update in the link above, and further up the page are some comments a day or two post op. It hurt for sure !! You did well to get the good stuff, I only had paracetamol and ibuprofen.
For the 1st couple of weeks I tried to stay off my feet as much as I could, but did the rehab exercises periodically through the day.
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hazamadcow, keep it elevated, supported under the ankle heel NOT the knee itself and play at ankle pumps as if you life depended on it! If you also ice for about 15/20 minutes every couple of hours it will slowly start to go down in size.
You can also gently engage your quads while doing the whole RICE thing by just tensing them holding and releasing.
It does settle down quickly when it starts to quieten down and the swelling is reduced a far bit. But until that point I have always found it a complete bitch.
While you do not support the leg under the knee you are actually helping passively to regain extension which is essential if you are going to walk without a limp quickly. Don't obsess about flex just yet as the swelling will not let you do much there anyway!
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Im on day 6 and I havent really put any weight on my knee at all.
AndAnotherThing you mentioned in your link that you were walking and able to get up stairs but I really havent been off my back bottom since the op!
When I stand up all of the blood runs down my leg and it hurts a fair bit, especially at the wound where they took the hamstring from. For that reason I've been a bit too scared to try putting weight on it let alone walking!
Am I doing something majorly wrong? I occasionally support under the ankle to allow full extension and its a bit sore but I can manage it, but most of the day im just on the sofa with my leg up!
Im sure I could put weight on my leg it just hurts whenever im in an upright position!
Thanks
Harry
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When I stand up my foot goes purple!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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hazamadcow, that blood rush pain is a bitch but once you start moving around it lessens quite quickly and then disappears (until you do something you shouldn't when it comes back and bites you in the backside with a vengeance )
When do you start your physio?
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I am organising a physio session for later this week, and then I get my stitches out later next week and then I guess its more regular physio after that.
I havent done many exercises yet but I find it easy to tighten my quads which I guess is a good sign!
Should I be doing more than I am right now? The information pack the surgeon gave me is great full of exercises but I'm not really sure when I should start them!
Thanks
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FAQ
