Here we are on day 6 after anterior cruciate surgery and my ligament reconstruction is going well I guess because I have no clue what to expect or what should be a normal recovery period. Today was not a normal day as we had to visit my brother and help him deal with his insurance agent after his loss.
Ligament Reconstrution Hurts
I spent at least 4 hours on my feet today and whenever I stopped moving all the blood would rush to my calves and ankles and it caused a great deal of pressure which was very uncomfortable. We left my brothers house and I spent the next hour doing some of my own physical therapy inside Winco. If you don’t know what Winco is just think of it as a Big Walmart store that only carries food. There prices are right and you have to bag your own groceries.
Ok, my physical therapy included trying to walk on my reconstructed knee as best I can. I started walking on my toes because I cannot extend my knee completely because it hurts. The pain is pin point directly on top of my tibia towards the medial side. It’s basically right beside the patelar tendon. Anyhow I managed to walk the whole store with my wife and eventually walked on my entire foot. However, I could not walk with my leg straight and by the end of our shopping experience my ribs hurt from the crutches hitting them all that time.
I would say about the last 15 minutes I was able to walk completely on my injured knee without support. No, I didn’t throw the crutches away but I would move them to the side so they would not touch the floor.
While my wife paid and bagged the groceries I found a place to sit and place my entire leg on the bench. I would then allow my leg to straighten to the point of pain and then I would back off a bit and hold it there. I did my leg lift exercises until fatique and then rested before walking out to the car. By the time I sat in the car I was tired or should I say my leg. We broke some ice for the trip and I used it once we started driving home.
Ligament Reconstruction Needs Rest and Ice
When we returned home I did not place ice on the knee, instead I used heat to try and soften the blood or swelling around my knee so it could drain towards my hips instead of my ankles. After 30 minutes of heat I used ice for another 30 minutes. Remember I use the polar machine that is starting to die on us. Tomorrow morning we will need to meet our contact to get a new ice machine.
My wife had to go to school to take care of grades so I was stuck at home with 3 dogs that live inside the home. They are constantly running out and in so I can to be a door handler. Thankfully they only went out once and when I went to the door to let them back in I walked on my leg with crutches under my arm pits but out of the way. I am gaining confidence now in the leg and by walking again or should I say placing the weight of my body on that leg it has really helped. In another 5 days I will visit the doctor and get my stitches out. Then he will give me my physical therapy papers so I can get started with the real professionals.
That’s it for now, talk at you tomorrow.