It’s been almost two months since my knee surgery and while the Doc told me it’s going to be a long process to recovery, my stubbornness would have suggested otherwise. Right about now, I’m realizing that my Doc is right, but I have made some progress, which comes unconsciously and in small doses. Here are some things I struggled with a few weeks ago that I have made progress on.
1. Bruising: I think the 4 weeks of surface bruising on my leg was much worse than the pain inside my knee. I thought it would never go away, but it has since disappeared. Now I simply have two small scars on my knee that are barely noticeable and I am not feeling the bruise when I take a step.
2. Knee Flexion: I have a lot more progress to make, but last week I had taken my shoe off to do some heel slide exercises and when I finished I unconsciously went about my business of putting my shoe back on and tying it. It wasn’t until I finished that I realized I had tied my shoe normally without changing how I bend my knee or reach my foot. It also dawned on me last week that I can now get up from a seated position without pulling myself up with my arms. A few little things that help keep me positive!
3. Anti-Gravity Treadmill Walking: When I started walking on the anti-gravity treadmill at 50% of my body weight 3 weeks ago, I could only go for 10 minutes at 1 mph, which left me completely defeated. Today, I am walking 30 minutes at 3.8 mph. For me, 4 mph was the speed at which I would want to break into a slow run, so I am getting close, but only in “space” on the anti-gravity treadmill.
4. Outside Walking: I started walking outside about 2 weeks ago. 1 mile was the maximum I could handle and I needed a nap when I got home! It took me 35 minutes to walk that mile. As a point of reference, I could have run 3 1/2 miles before surgery in that same time. Yesterday I did just over two miles of walking and I walked each mile at an average of 22 minutes per mile.
5. Biking: Well, I’m not doing that quite yet, but today I got on a spin cycle at the gym and actually got my leg to complete a full revolution. I haven’t been able to do that until today and I can’t put much downward pressure on the pedal, but at least my knee bends far enough to go around. I might be able to ride my bike in 2-3 weeks and I can’t wait.
With that said, I am headed out for a slow walk!
Run Shamelessly!!
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