Good to Know

I had my six week post-op appointment with my surgeon today. Evan, my physical therapist, had warned me that Dr. Tex might be hard on me. My scar tissue is kind of thick, and Evan expects Dr. Tex to tell me to work harder on breaking it down. (I am supposed to break the scar tissue down by rubbing on it.)

Dr. Tex gave the plan for the next few months. In the next few months, I'll be focusing on rebuilding my leg muscles. The knee is a dumb joint (so I've heard it called) and it needs the muscles around it to make it function. (I suppose this is true for all joints.) Next on the agenda is building up my endurance, and then my strength. I will have to ride the stationary bike for forty-five minutes with no resistance. After that, I will increase the resistance and begin interval training. Once I get my endurance up, I'll start building strength in my legs, where my surgeon Tex said I will life weights to the "point of failure." Hmmm.  Not sure I like that term, but I see where this is going.

I told Dr. Tex about my plum, or the bolus of fluid that makes it hard for me to bend my knee.

"The kneecap isn't tracking properly yet," he said.

Huh? I thought.

"All four of your quadricep muscles aren't working yet, and the muscles work together to move your kneecap. If they aren't all working together, your kneecap won't slide properly. This will take a while to get it back."

Good to know, I thought.

"Your knee will be sore for a few months," he said. "You'll need to keep icing it. Icing is low hanging fruit for making it feel better."

Good to know, I thought.

I was glad he told me my knee will be stiff and sore for the next few months. I am not thrilled about it, but it was good information to have. At times, I wonder if this stiffness is because I am overdoing the walking or standing, or perhaps undergoing the exercise and sitting too much. Now I know this is part of the deal, and I won't have to waste time trying to figure what's wrong. I was also glad to hear I should keep icing it. At times, it feels like I should be better than I am. It is good to know that I am on the normal track for recovery, and that track doesn't move rapidly.

It was good to get Dr. Tex's 30,000 foot perspective, as we would say in the consulting business. Evan is more focused on the day-to-day grind of my recovery and pushing me along. His job is at the other end of the range--the micro level: improving my gait and making sure I can do the millions of things people can do with a well functioning knee. His job is keep me in the present, do my exercises and make me come back twice a week. He needs to keep me closer to earth to get there.