Discussion
Had some physio yesterday on my knee (had an ACL graft 2 1/2 weeks ago). Before the session I was thinking I could bin the crutches, but I woke up this morning feeling like I did a week ago, with kneecap pain and lots of stiffness (fnar) and an inability to fully straighten my leg and in full need of my crutches again!
Is this normal - will it get worse before it gets better, in this way?
Is this normal - will it get worse before it gets better, in this way?
Maxf said:
Had some physio yesterday on my knee (had an ACL graft 2 1/2 weeks ago). Before the session I was thinking I could bin the crutches, but I woke up this morning feeling like I did a week ago, with kneecap pain and lots of stiffness (fnar) and an inability to fully straighten my leg and in full need of my crutches again!
Is this normal - will it get worse before it gets better, in this way?
i wouldn't worry about it just yet. chances are they did something to increase blood flow to the local tissue which has brought about another fresh acute inflammation process. did they tell you to ice it after treatment?Is this normal - will it get worse before it gets better, in this way?
just rest, ice, compress and elevate it for now. i would expect a little stiffness for 2-3 days or so, maybe a little longer. any more than that i would start to worry. i had some treatment on my ilio-tibial band wednesday (although by a chiropractor...although for that i suppose the treatment is essentially the same as a physio) and it was a little sore, but now it's died down and is better than before.
no reason to panic just yet
just keep an eye on it, try to keep using the knee a little bit to stop it completely seizing up (but don't cause yourself pain).sorry to hear about the injury
Edited by E21_Ross on Friday 19th March 16:20
Maxf said:
Cool - thanks for the info.
I've got an ice machine thingy so will make sure that is on overdrive tonight.
Worst thing is it is my birthday party tomorrow, so I'm going to be a right grumpy f
ker all night!
ah that's a bit sI've got an ice machine thingy so will make sure that is on overdrive tonight.
Worst thing is it is my birthday party tomorrow, so I'm going to be a right grumpy f
ker all night! t. just try to enjoy it....it could always be worse! most of your mates will probably need crutches by the end anyway 
if it's a bit swollen still, you could take anti-inflammatory drugs too.
Ross.
Had all kinds of hell with my ACL graft (December 2008).
Do's and don'ts:
Do
- EVERYTHING your physio says
- Take it easy and be patient. To get back to pre-injury state can take up to 2 years.
- Listen to your body. Pain is not necessarily a bad thing but swelling is.
- Remember that the graft gets substantially weaker (1-9 weeks) before it starts to get stronger (9 weeks onwards)
- Walk as normally as possible with your crutches and beyond
- Focus on getting back the full range of motion. This should be aim numero uno. Don't rush it though (bit of a theme developing here...) and use your uninjured leg to assess what's normal.
Don't
- Get off the crutches until you can walk as you did before the surgery (here, I mean don't limp - I came off the crutches way too quickly and I'm still struggling because of it)
- Rush your rehab. Reinjury is more of a bugger to sort out than injury.
- Do any sort of twisting motion until your physio introduces it into your rehab
- Sleep with a pillow underneath your knee no matter how much more comfortable it is (again, set me back months)
- Get pissed and 'forget' (*cough* this may or may not be speaking from personal experience *cough*)
Happy to answer any questions you might have re what the future holds. As I'm there, if you get what I mean!!
Do's and don'ts:
Do
- EVERYTHING your physio says
- Take it easy and be patient. To get back to pre-injury state can take up to 2 years.
- Listen to your body. Pain is not necessarily a bad thing but swelling is.
- Remember that the graft gets substantially weaker (1-9 weeks) before it starts to get stronger (9 weeks onwards)
- Walk as normally as possible with your crutches and beyond
- Focus on getting back the full range of motion. This should be aim numero uno. Don't rush it though (bit of a theme developing here...) and use your uninjured leg to assess what's normal.
Don't
- Get off the crutches until you can walk as you did before the surgery (here, I mean don't limp - I came off the crutches way too quickly and I'm still struggling because of it)
- Rush your rehab. Reinjury is more of a bugger to sort out than injury.
- Do any sort of twisting motion until your physio introduces it into your rehab
- Sleep with a pillow underneath your knee no matter how much more comfortable it is (again, set me back months)
- Get pissed and 'forget' (*cough* this may or may not be speaking from personal experience *cough*)
Happy to answer any questions you might have re what the future holds. As I'm there, if you get what I mean!!
Thanks GG. I'm certainly taking it easier than I had planned pre-op. I'm walking without a limp, but still using crutches for my 0.75mile walk to work just to add a bit of stability and reduce pressure, aside from that I'm on either a single or no crutch - depending on how far I'm going.
Before the last physio I was pretty upbeat as I could strighten it, and was beginning to tackle stairs properly, rather than 1 step at a time.
Before the last physio I was pretty upbeat as I could strighten it, and was beginning to tackle stairs properly, rather than 1 step at a time.
i think aswell to consider how long you've had the injury for.. sometimes ACL can withdraw a little making it harder for the surgeon to repair, which in that case tend to use a thackery splint afterwards.
but my advice, Ice, Pain killers regular, even if you dont feel like you need them keeps your serums levels up, plus once your in pain harder to get out of pain.
but my advice, Ice, Pain killers regular, even if you dont feel like you need them keeps your serums levels up, plus once your in pain harder to get out of pain.
Petehall said:
but my advice, Ice, Pain killers regular, even if you dont feel like you need them keeps your serums levels up, plus once your in pain harder to get out of pain.
anti-inflammatory drugs will also keep prostaglandin levels down, among many things, these also deal with pain (although from what i've learned, mainly at spinal cord level) and of course, they are involved in the inflammation process. there are of course lots of different ones, each doing different and/or similar things.Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff