Mein fuhrer! I can walk!
Feb. 1st, 2009 21:44![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
torquillI got my Dr. J appointment today. Hurray!
My knee was sufficiently misaligned that I could tell the foot wasn't directly under the knee joint; my leg wanted to fold inward, I couldn't bend it to even 90 degrees, and straightening it carried the distinct threat of hyperextension. Very bad. I was leaning heavily on the cane and trying not to aggravate it too much, but I still had to take narcotics to sleep.
Needless to say, I was very eager to get in today. He took a look at it, determined that it was out the opposite way we expected (it had slid to the lateral side instead), and went to work.
It was moderately painful, which most such sessions aren't. He pushed it a little too far and it spasmed again, but I confessed afterward that it was nothing compared to the 90 minutes of spasm it was in after the initial injury. That was after he scraped me off the ceiling. ;)
When he was done, it bent to a 45 degree angle or better, there was a bit of lateral wiggle (which meant it was seated well), and I could almost completely straighten it without trouble. It's still swollen, but as that recedes I should get full flexibility back. It's a little squidgy and a little weak, which is to be expected... he told me to baby it as much as it wants, especially for the next few weeks, and that I should not try anything that would be hard on that knee (such as twisting or side force) for eight months. He said that in his professional opinion, my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) isn't badly damaged, if it is at all, and so long as I'm careful there won't be any trouble with it. I'll see what the sports doc says in two weeks, but Dr. J's opinion is good enough to put my mind at ease even without an MRI.
I'll look into getting a knee brace with hard lateral struts, for times when I have to go out onto broken ground or when I'm dealing with muddy paths. Insurance may pay for that, once I determine which hoops I need to jump through. (No shoveling holes in the mud this spring, though!)
I expect that I'll have enough flexibility to climb on the bicycle by Tuesday, assuming I arrange the soft brace to let me bend it enough. Gentle bicycling should be wonderful for it, being a low-impact exercise which strengthens the side muscles of the knee. It will also let me get back out to work, where there isn't much for me to do before the plant material arrives, but my prof will feel better seeing me there.
I'm taking tomorrow off to baby it a little more, with the added reason that I haven't had any opportunity to prepare for the coming week -- I have no food and no clean laundry. Better that I get myself together and feel ready before plunging back in.
My knee was sufficiently misaligned that I could tell the foot wasn't directly under the knee joint; my leg wanted to fold inward, I couldn't bend it to even 90 degrees, and straightening it carried the distinct threat of hyperextension. Very bad. I was leaning heavily on the cane and trying not to aggravate it too much, but I still had to take narcotics to sleep.
Needless to say, I was very eager to get in today. He took a look at it, determined that it was out the opposite way we expected (it had slid to the lateral side instead), and went to work.
It was moderately painful, which most such sessions aren't. He pushed it a little too far and it spasmed again, but I confessed afterward that it was nothing compared to the 90 minutes of spasm it was in after the initial injury. That was after he scraped me off the ceiling. ;)
When he was done, it bent to a 45 degree angle or better, there was a bit of lateral wiggle (which meant it was seated well), and I could almost completely straighten it without trouble. It's still swollen, but as that recedes I should get full flexibility back. It's a little squidgy and a little weak, which is to be expected... he told me to baby it as much as it wants, especially for the next few weeks, and that I should not try anything that would be hard on that knee (such as twisting or side force) for eight months. He said that in his professional opinion, my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) isn't badly damaged, if it is at all, and so long as I'm careful there won't be any trouble with it. I'll see what the sports doc says in two weeks, but Dr. J's opinion is good enough to put my mind at ease even without an MRI.
I'll look into getting a knee brace with hard lateral struts, for times when I have to go out onto broken ground or when I'm dealing with muddy paths. Insurance may pay for that, once I determine which hoops I need to jump through. (No shoveling holes in the mud this spring, though!)
I expect that I'll have enough flexibility to climb on the bicycle by Tuesday, assuming I arrange the soft brace to let me bend it enough. Gentle bicycling should be wonderful for it, being a low-impact exercise which strengthens the side muscles of the knee. It will also let me get back out to work, where there isn't much for me to do before the plant material arrives, but my prof will feel better seeing me there.
I'm taking tomorrow off to baby it a little more, with the added reason that I haven't had any opportunity to prepare for the coming week -- I have no food and no clean laundry. Better that I get myself together and feel ready before plunging back in.
