 Poster: A snowHead
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hazamadcow, I'm no surgeon but it sounds like you've some bleeding\fluid around the knee and gravity causes that to run downhill when you stand up. I recall another poster, Weathercam mentioned he suffered a similar problem where his ankle swelled and was painful due to moving around immediately post op. A link to his rehab thread is in this thread.
I think at 6 days I was moving around in a fashion but remember that everyone is different. The thing to bear in mind is that the op is fairly 'invasive' and includes the use of drills(!) so take your time and keep with the ankle pumps and the exercises the doc's gave you in your rehab schedule. I was icing with pea's 20 minutes in every hour at that point.
Of course don't be afraid to give your surgeon a call to reassure your self that all is OK if you are worried. They are the best ones to advise.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thanks for your advice Andanotherthing.
I was very frustrated that I seem to be younger than alot of people I have spoken to but Im still not walking at all. But I had my first physio session today which made me feel better. I got about 80 degree flex and can straighten it very well when lying down. Also I can put a bit of weight on it but when i try and straighten my leg the whole thing just wobbles like crazy haha. But I'm still just on crutches on my good leg. Much more clear with the exercises now which im thankful for.
The Surgeon told me 6 weeks no driving, how early were you guys back? Its my right knee and I drive a manual!
I have a ticket to Bestival on the isle of wight on the 6-9th of september, would you guys think its reasonable to still expect to go to that? Or is that pushing it?...obviously I'll be careful.
Thanks!
p.s. how do you type someones name in bold as éveryone seems to do?
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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,
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how do you type someones name in bold as éveryone seems to do?
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Just click on the name on the left hand side of the page.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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hazamadcow, Glad to hear the physio went well. I found there is a definite learning curve on the physio drills.
The notes that came from my surgeon said 2 weeks for driving and I was back in the car at 2 weeks. That said I didn't do much driving. The issue is that if your surgeon says 6 weeks there could be insurance implications if you drive before them.
Hard to say about the festival, I tended to ask the physio about specific activities, who then mostly said no 
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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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I don't know how many of you guys had a general anaesthetic for your surgery, but I think it's fairly normal not to be allowed (by insurers) to drive for 6 weeks after one.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Okay thanks, thats interesting that your surgeon said 2 weeks but mine said 6. I am fairly confident that I could be driving in 2/3 weeks as I was driving fine pre-op and I didnt have alot of movement or flex in my knee. As for insurance I have been given no paperwork saying that I have been signed off.
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hazamadcow, unfortunately, whilst you would expect a younger age to have a big role in these things, I do know an active (county level sports) player who had a much harder and longer recovery than I've had and they were 17. You never know how these things will work out and you might be a slow starter who suddenly makes loads of progress once this initial period is over.
See how you go with Bestival.... personally, I think from my point of view it would be pushing it. Uneven (quite possibly muddy) ground to be walking on and loads of people to potentially bowl into you and knock you sideways, even if you lay off the fun stuff yourself. Sorry, I feel like an old killjoy in saying that, but I would either suck up the cost of the ticket and wait right until the last minute to make a decision, and keep in mind I would more than likely have to back out, or try to flog the ticket now.
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Pedantica,
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I don't know how many of you guys had a general anaesthetic for your surgery, but I think it's fairly normal not to be allowed (by insurers) to drive for 6 weeks after one.
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The advice is usually 24 hrs.
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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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I had a general once and don't recall that I was allowed to drive home that day, but I don't recall any prolonged period of not being able to drive, so that concurs with T Bar, if that is any help to anyone.
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T Bar, not in my experience
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Well I was still high as a kite 24 hours later 
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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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Hi guys not been in "here" for a while, glad to see you're all being positive and progressing along as best as possible.
Like the idea of the football physio group thing, I ditched the NHS physio after two sessions and then went private and ditched her after a couple of months, as knee was ok and just concentrated on loads of balance ball exercises and cycling etc
The only worry I still have 10 months on, is that I have a pain down the outside of my knee , upper leg after serious heavy exercise, the consultant says it's nothing to do with the op, and is probably more of an alignment issue.
I've learnt to kiteboard this summer and can feel the knee when applying loads of pressure to the edge on my bad knee, though not painful, and afterwards it's ok, plus was skiing up on the glacier at Tignes (still using the brace) a month ago and felt the pain, but two days prior I had cycled the Etape (stage of the tour de France) so no wonder, still am a little concerned though. Have been cycling loads and mixing it up with Bikram prior to the Etape, and now just doing loads of steep Surrey Hills cycling in advance of an event next weekend, the steep gradients of the Surrey Hills cause more stress than the long Alpine climbs!
Mate is now three weeks post OP and he too has been suffering from swelling / fluid issues around his scar, and his upper leg is numb, so he's back in to see the consultant.
My game plan for preparing for next ski season, is to join a cheapo gym from Nov onwards and really work on building strength and muscle up, along with Bikram, as I think I need that as whilst the cycling is good, by then will be reducing the weekly mileage, and my operated leg is still way smaller from wastage compared to my other one, even now.
So to all of you, what's an hour of exercise a day, split into two sessions, squats and one legged balance work whilst brushing your teeth / washing up etc etc - I know it's easy to say, and I don't do it as much as I should, it's all too easy to play at it, that's why the Football Physio group thing is a good call, you need some discipline to aid your rehab.
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Weathercam, The footy physio guys seem to know their business much better than the NHS but the drills are much more intense. I was there on Monday and a lad was waiting for an appointment still the post op dressings on ! I'll ask next time what they would do at that stage - I assume he was a pro player sent by a club.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Mr Motivator wrote: |
So to all of you, what's an hour of exercise a day, split into two sessions, squats and one legged balance work whilst brushing your teeth / washing up etc etc - I know it's easy to say, and I don't do it as much as I should, it's all too easy to play at it, that's why the Football Physio group thing is a good call, you need some discipline to aid your rehab. |
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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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| Pedantica wrote: |
| T Bar, not in my experience |
If you mean after a heart op that is something rather different, being on bypass has quite a few effects that are nothing to do with the anaesthetic.
If it isnot for the heart op all I can say is that you have had some rather bizarre advice.
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Poster: A snowHead
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T Bar, different operations, not just me.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Have been doing my exercises, thought I often find myself achieving the same feeling when just about the house as I do when doing exercises, if that makes sense haha.
I managed to walk down the hall today using minimal weight on the crutches, something I'm sure I could have done a few days ago I'm just being a wimp. I think I could probably go without crutches, but my leg wobbles abit when I put all my weight through and im scared of it just collapsing! (some reassurance that it wont would be welcome ha!)
Its day 11, and I have my second physio appointment on tuesday, and am seeing the surgeon for an x ray on friday. I still havent got my stitches out so really need to crack on with that.
Everyday at some stage I go through very negative patches where I find myself realising that my birthday is in January, and I still wont have done any sport by that point, and its a horrible feeling knowing that theres so much more of this to come!
How did you guys stay positive? I find myself just watching endless ski films and wondering if I'll ever be able to ski as confidently again!
Harry
p.s. I understand how moany and whiney this post sounds, bear with me.
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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, your leg won't collapse on you - even if you hadn't had an operation, your leg would feel wobbly having not put any weight on it for all that time. I know what you mean though and I did ask my physios how I would know whether I was doing something dangerous or whatever and they did reassure me that it's much more robust than you think at this stage (in fact it's a bit later on that it goes through its weakest stage I think). Having said that... what's the X Ray for?
Much as I tease weathercam for the Mr. Motivator bit because we all approach these things differently... exercise does help (I know it's not sport) and although you can't do lots of stuff for a while, there is no denying that a good blast on the exercise bike or swimming (both of which you can do relatively soon in the scheme of things) gets the endorphins going and makes the world seem much brighter. Due to me having some weird rehab protocol that seems completely different from everybody else and also living up a mountain which means there's no flat ground to go walking or cycling on, those two things and some sit ups and hand weights are all I can do and yet they do really help. But assuming you don't live in the mountains and you don't have my weird surgeon's protocol, you will be able to go outdoor walking and cycling and keep yourself fit on top of the physio exercises.
You are at the worst stage now but it gets better and better.
I know what you mean about the skiing with confidence thing but there are loads of people on here who will tell you that they do lots of gnarly off piste stuff post op, no problem.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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oh and in the meantime, until you can do some exercise... learn to do something new (a new skill or language or something or just learn loads of trivia so you can rake it in at pub quizzes or something). I'm not going to tell you what new hobby I've taken up as it'll make me sound like even more of an old granny than I already do... but it helps!
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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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thanks for your help, i want to learn french so i can get a job in Cham!
....Knitting?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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hazamadcow, - that's a brilliant goal... 6 months from now, you want to be skiing in Cham, speaking French. Both take work, but it'll be so worth it, and you will then have turned a bit of a shitter of an injury into the positive kick up the bum you needed to make yourself learn French.
I might as well be knitting.... I am making quilts.... in a very sophisticated, cool, designery way obviously... 
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| Pedantica wrote: |
| T Bar, different operations, not just me. |
Well, all I can say is that I have never heard of this before and the advice you have been getting sounds most unusual.
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I am not knowledgeable about these sorts of things, but I read somewhere today that HGHs (human growth hormones) can speed up recovery. Dare I mention them?
Just looking for some advice on them, I know they're very controversial but I looked a few things up and saw very few side effects. Anyone had any experience?
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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.., I know I have a tendency to be rather boring on here, but even I won't inflict that on you!
hazamadcow, haven't HGH been linked to, er, mad cow's disease?* If you do decide to take some, you could change your name to izamadcow
Honestly, stop panicking. I milked so much sympathy when I first did the injury and then had the operation and then all that sympathy disappeared very quickly when it soon became apparent that, actually, it's just not that bad. It's a bit of bummer not being able to do all the stuff you want to do for a few months. But it's not like you can't do anything at all. It's a fairly boring rehab process following a routine knee operation. But it is only a few months and I personally feel that someone young and healthy, who's not a pro athlete, doesn't need to be messing about injecting themselves with stuff.
* I might have totally made that up.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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miranda, ah, go on. We were in Borth for the weekend and the posh cafe had some hung on the walls as art 
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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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AndAnotherThing.., they have actually been distributed around the apartments, which have guests in at the moment... but I have got quite weirdly into it having had to totally fake my smile when my (very lovely) MIL bought me a sewing machine - I couldn't even sew on a button at the start of the summer, let alone make things - another positive side effect of injury.
The pictures I'm really looking forward to seeing and posting are the first ones back on skis! Still 2 weeks for me before seeing the surgeon again and getting the next stage of instructions. I have got very used to not having to do any physio though!
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miranda, I was wondering how long it was until you see him again. Ski's is where it's at !
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You know it makes sense.
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Thought id give a little update. Im 2 weeks and 2 days post-op and I can walk without crutches now, upstairs, down stairs, no problems. Even went for a 'one-crutched' walk through the woods yesterday no problems at all. I have about 90 degree flex and can just about straighten my leg when its flat on the floor, but not when im standing.
Surprised at how quickly this sudden step has come about!
Going to give driving a go this weekend.
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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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hazamadcow, that's great news!
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Poster: A snowHead
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hazamadcow, good news
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Update - Week 17
Since the last update it's been a case of 'steady as you go'.
At the 14 weeks I had another appointment with the 'broken footballers' physio where they measured the relative strength between the legs. The good news was the hamstrings on were within a few percent, however the quads were about 35% down. Another set of rehab drills resulted focused on addressing that. All in all the physio seemed pleased and thought that it was about normal.
August being holiday season means that rehab exercises haven't always been front of mind but my hols did give a chance to do some more walking and indulge in a little 'rock hopping' at the coast. One thing that became apparent is that my calf isn't as strong as it was but over all I'm getting some confidence back in the knee.
Highlights have included a 5 mile coastal path walk, more motorbikes and return to indoor gentle indoor climbing. I'm walking my local 'hill' a couple of times a week and as of last week I'm about 10% down on the time I would have expected before the accident, although that was the first attempt at a time.
The knee\shin area is sore although it doesn't seem related to specific activities. Arguably at it's worse when on holiday! That said it feels that I'm working it quite hard with the drills and walking and at the end of each day I can feel it. There's little noticeable swelling, and again that doesn't seem to be affected by activity but I am still icing from time to time.
The only real 'iffy' moment during the last few weeks was a sideways feeling from the knee while on an uneven beach but there was no discomfort and it seems to have held together. Climbing was a difficult as it is very hard to know what's appropriate, so caution is the order of the day.
I still need a bit more flex as highlighted by the last ride on the bike. Although it was improved since last time I couldn't move around as much as I'd need to be fast.
The next few weeks should be interesting. I've an appointment with the surgeon, the possibility of a ski at a 'dome and another strength test and physio session - all within a week of each other. Fingers crossed.
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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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I'm just watching the news and Ben Quilter won a Bronze in Judo after snapping his ACL & MCL seven weeks ago 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| AndAnotherThing.. wrote: |
| I'm just watching the news and Ben Quilter won a Bronze in Judo after snapping his ACL & MCL seven weeks ago |
A true inspiration!
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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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Did he have surgery? Im guessing not
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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hazamadcow, Me too - seems doubtful. I wonder if he will.
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Absolutely amazing isn't it?
My superfit thirtysomething ski instructor who does all sorts of off piste routes that even the most competent of skiers would be unwise to do without a guide (she's lived here her whole life so knows the mountains like the back of her hand) has actually totally blown the ACL in both legs and hasn't had surgery. She has thighs of steel though (i.e. powers past you on her mountain bike up a black slope whilst you think you're hiking at a fair pace during a heatwave and can still manage to say 'hello, how are you?' whilst you're almost passing out). I think she will eventually have surgery though for the long term health of her knees rather than the short term performance.
I went swimming in the pool in La Clusaz today and was slightly distracted by having my nephews there and so automatically found myself doing breast stoke kick for a couple of lengths before remembering I shouldn't be doing that yet - no pain at all thankfully, but I did stop and change to crawl as soon as I realised!
Any men reading this who might go swimming there one day - yet another French swimming pool where you can wear surf shorts.
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miranda, Sounds like you are on the mend ? What's the issue with surf shorts?
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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.., ah, there was a thread on here recently about French swimming pools making men wear speedos! Until the knee problem, I was only swimming in the lakes so took it as read that this speedos in pools thing was true throughout France, but apparently it's not and just thought I'd mention it - I know British men are not fans of speedos!
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miranda, I'm not sure it's the blokes who object !
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FAQ
