I was delighted to discover that I had almost all movement back in my knee this morning. The exercises I had been doing to improve my range of movement were working. I was even more surprised that I had walked down the stairs to let my aunt into the apartment and back up the stairs without a second thought. (Granted, I was half awake, but still, this cannot go unnoticed.)
I was so happy to be able to walk the stairs again that I did it a few more times today. I worked on some quad exercises to improve its strength before the surgery as well. For now, I can only revel in the fact that my knee has recovered without an ACL. I know that in a few weeks, this ability to walk will be taken away from me again, so I'm taking advantage of it as much as I can.
Now that I think about it, it was relatively easy for me to tear my ACL. The day I had done it, I was practicing a 360 roundhouse kick at TKD. I had done several off of my left leg (kicking with the right), and my tiredness probably played a part in the tear. I can see myself getting lazy and not retracting my left leg all the way, so when I put it down, it wasn't lined up properly with my body. Then, POP, and I was down. In theory, my foot could have gotten stuck on the mat, but it was most likely my improper landing that did my leg in.
I'm hoping that I can start driving my car again (it's a standard shift with a relatively heavy clutch). I know that I'll be either walking or taking the bus to work tomorrow afternoon, depending on how my knee feels. I'm hoping I can walk to save the $1.70 ride.
I just need to keep up with my quad exercises till the surgery date. I can't forget to do them.
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I do not offer medical advice in my blog. My entries are only a recollection of my experience and reflections on my ACL injury, surgery, and recovery.
I tore my ACL on June 4, 2008 and had reconstructive surgery on July 22, 2008. Now, I reflect on how that surgery has affected my life and how I can move forward in Taekwondo and other athletic/well-being activities.
3 comments:
Definitely keep up with the exercises. The fact that you have full ROM back in your knee before surgery is a huge benefit.
I tore my ACL landing a jump. The floor was made of a soft mat material. I landed a jump and then as I tried to shift into proper position...my foot stuck in the mat.
I agree with Michele. Keep up the exercises, pre-surgery PT is just as important as post-surgery will be!
For me, I stumbled backwards diagonally during sparring, and tried to catch myself from falling. The sideways force did me in.
I am currently 6 months post-op, 7 months post-injury and doing great. Best of luck!
Just found your blog. Glad to hear you've been doing some quad exercises and ROM work. Michele and Hack are absolutely right. They are most important. One thing that might help is icing your knee for about 10-20 minutes before doing your knee work. There's a good chance it helps diminish the swelling, which helps wake up your muscles. Good luck with surgery. Recovery is no picnic, but the results are typically very good.
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