Very happy with progress. Doing physio exercises about 5 times a day.
Pain relief still ok but I think the femoral block must have warn away completely now as the front of my shin in quite sore. This must be entry point for drill!.
Knee itself is fine. Stiff, but no throbbing pain which I had been expecting. Just taking paracetamol still.
Found a great link on youtube which shows the operation as an animated cartoon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q96M0jRqn7k
Also surfing around I came across an interesting new site called www.aclcentral.com which has been set up in the US. It is looking to share experiences with other ACL patients.
Thursday 21 May 2009
Tuesday 19 May 2009
ACL Reconstruction op
Saturday May 16th was the day agreed at The Manor.
BUPA efficiency and I was in theatre at 1030 and out by 1215.
The op fascinates me and full film clips can be seen on You Tube but basically they take your patella ligament with a bit of bone attached from your shin and a bit of bone from your knee cap. They then drill a hole through your upper and lower leg bones and insert this new ligament which they fix with screws.
You come out fully bandaged up and after a couple of hours see a physio to start straight away with muscle strengthening exercises and getting circulation going.
You then progress to sliding your leg towards you to flex the knee gently.
On day 2 I was out of bed on crutches and hobbling around and no problem putting weight on the knee.
Day 3 and I'm now back home and have been generally resting and getting better on the crutches.
Great thing has been virtually no pain or significant inflammation of the knee. Just taking paracetamol. I have bought this expensive cryo cuff knee ice pack on the basis that although it is £130 its worth it for a better knee but am sure ice packs would do.
Sleeping is the only real issue as you have to lie on your back to ensure you don't twist your knee
Hoping to get knee flex beying 45 degree in the next day.
BUPA efficiency and I was in theatre at 1030 and out by 1215.
The op fascinates me and full film clips can be seen on You Tube but basically they take your patella ligament with a bit of bone attached from your shin and a bit of bone from your knee cap. They then drill a hole through your upper and lower leg bones and insert this new ligament which they fix with screws.
You come out fully bandaged up and after a couple of hours see a physio to start straight away with muscle strengthening exercises and getting circulation going.
You then progress to sliding your leg towards you to flex the knee gently.
On day 2 I was out of bed on crutches and hobbling around and no problem putting weight on the knee.
Day 3 and I'm now back home and have been generally resting and getting better on the crutches.
Great thing has been virtually no pain or significant inflammation of the knee. Just taking paracetamol. I have bought this expensive cryo cuff knee ice pack on the basis that although it is £130 its worth it for a better knee but am sure ice packs would do.
Sleeping is the only real issue as you have to lie on your back to ensure you don't twist your knee
Hoping to get knee flex beying 45 degree in the next day.
Shaggy Knee story
I always thought I was lucky....for the last 20 years I have always played hockey for 6 months of the year (Sept-April). Very little has kept me from playing and my wife, Kate, and I even agreed it was a good release for me to get some time off at the weekend when the kids arrived. Basically Saturday became a write off whilst I travelled the globe (or home counties) with the glorious Oxford Hawks 4th XI. Training in the week never got in the way as we never did any. The only thing that troubled me was the odd muscle pull and astro burns.
Then in Feb 2008 everything came crashing down. On a family ski trip to Andorra I was innocently guiding my daughter Charlotte back down the slopes. She was 5 and she was skiing between my legs - very cute stuff and lots of fun - until we slipped on a patch of ice and my right leg went outwards and Charlotte fell onto it. Her body weight was on my knee and my binding didn't break - but instead my knee gave way with a slight popping sensation and then we fell. I got up and knew I had done something to my knee but could put pressure on it and we skied off again. That night I put ice on it as it was a bit swollen and we flew home the next.
I decided to rest hockey for a couple of weeks.
3 weeks later I went back skiing armed with a tubi grip and skied hard for 4 days without a problem with the exception of a mad dancing injury when my knee gave way as I was pogo-ing.
A week later I was having a muck around game of basket ball when I twisted and turned and got a knife sharp pain in the knee. But rubbing it better seemed to sort it out. I decided to see my GP about it in case and was referred to have an MRI which was inconclusive and I did a bit of physio and retrained gently.
Throughout the summer of 2008 I played the odd game of hockey or football and kept just nicking my knee.
In September 2008 in the first training game of the season I played a full 50 minutes hard-ish hockey and then when chasing for a ball I checked and turned direction at a good speed and my knee just went - sort of wrenching sound and a sensation that your leg has moved more than it should and then falling smack on the ground with explosive knee pain. Having studied knee symptoms in some depth now I think I can safely say that I ruptured my ACL. The knee swells instantly and stiffens quickly and is painful . I managed to drive home -just and get some ice on it and then went to the pub and found I couldn't move. In the morning I was driven to A&E and after an X-Ray proved nothing was broken I was sent away with a pair of crutches.
Luckily also playing that day was John Black and A&E specialist from the JR and he suggested I see a chap at the trauma unit at the JR called Richard Keys. Another MRI scan ensued but nothing conclusive showed apart from minor cartilage tears. The ACL was still intact but stretched and lax but difficult to pick up. I went away with a course of physio booked and advised to try and strengthen the leg again and see how things progressed. So off I went again and from October to December started to rebuild knee strength.
Frustrated at not playing hockey I decided to do an umpiring course to get me out but during the course of the practical I was jogging backwards when my knee went again. I was also having pain fully flexing the knee
So back to see Mr Keys and this time we agreed that an arthroscopy would enable him to investigate the knee better. So, in late January 2009 he had a good look around and nibbled away at a tear in my medial meniscus and also found that my ACL was completely 'floppy'.
The reluctance to operate straightaway and give physio a chance is standard stuff as there is a chance things will improve and invasive surgery I guess is not always best.
Mr Keys went through the options and suggested if I wanted a passive existence I could survive without the ACL but to play active sport again then the option was the ACL Reconstruction.
I had had a bit of scan through YouTube and found various clips showing surgeons with drills and chisels. More Black and Decker than key hole but success rate of 90% for a full recovery.
So we agreed to go ahead but in the meantime went on a family ski trip to Morzine in early April. Mr Keys confirmed that I might as well try this with a knee brace.
Having researched knee braces you soon discover that the range is wide and the ones recommended (Don-Joy) are about £400 for ACL sufficient ones. I did a bit more web reserch and came across physioroom.com and got a Don Joy ACL brace which was only £175 for a bit of neoprene, velcro straps and two bits of aluminum. With a week to go I proudly went to my phsio and showed her my prize purchase to be told it was not the right thing. But determined I decided I shoudl try it out and play in at least one game of hockey that season. I played 15 minutes, scored a goal and then got a bit more involved and turned my knee, so I guess the physio was right!
Skiing though was fine and I used the brace and had no problems.
Then in Feb 2008 everything came crashing down. On a family ski trip to Andorra I was innocently guiding my daughter Charlotte back down the slopes. She was 5 and she was skiing between my legs - very cute stuff and lots of fun - until we slipped on a patch of ice and my right leg went outwards and Charlotte fell onto it. Her body weight was on my knee and my binding didn't break - but instead my knee gave way with a slight popping sensation and then we fell. I got up and knew I had done something to my knee but could put pressure on it and we skied off again. That night I put ice on it as it was a bit swollen and we flew home the next.
I decided to rest hockey for a couple of weeks.
3 weeks later I went back skiing armed with a tubi grip and skied hard for 4 days without a problem with the exception of a mad dancing injury when my knee gave way as I was pogo-ing.
A week later I was having a muck around game of basket ball when I twisted and turned and got a knife sharp pain in the knee. But rubbing it better seemed to sort it out. I decided to see my GP about it in case and was referred to have an MRI which was inconclusive and I did a bit of physio and retrained gently.
Throughout the summer of 2008 I played the odd game of hockey or football and kept just nicking my knee.
In September 2008 in the first training game of the season I played a full 50 minutes hard-ish hockey and then when chasing for a ball I checked and turned direction at a good speed and my knee just went - sort of wrenching sound and a sensation that your leg has moved more than it should and then falling smack on the ground with explosive knee pain. Having studied knee symptoms in some depth now I think I can safely say that I ruptured my ACL. The knee swells instantly and stiffens quickly and is painful . I managed to drive home -just and get some ice on it and then went to the pub and found I couldn't move. In the morning I was driven to A&E and after an X-Ray proved nothing was broken I was sent away with a pair of crutches.
Luckily also playing that day was John Black and A&E specialist from the JR and he suggested I see a chap at the trauma unit at the JR called Richard Keys. Another MRI scan ensued but nothing conclusive showed apart from minor cartilage tears. The ACL was still intact but stretched and lax but difficult to pick up. I went away with a course of physio booked and advised to try and strengthen the leg again and see how things progressed. So off I went again and from October to December started to rebuild knee strength.
Frustrated at not playing hockey I decided to do an umpiring course to get me out but during the course of the practical I was jogging backwards when my knee went again. I was also having pain fully flexing the knee
So back to see Mr Keys and this time we agreed that an arthroscopy would enable him to investigate the knee better. So, in late January 2009 he had a good look around and nibbled away at a tear in my medial meniscus and also found that my ACL was completely 'floppy'.
The reluctance to operate straightaway and give physio a chance is standard stuff as there is a chance things will improve and invasive surgery I guess is not always best.
Mr Keys went through the options and suggested if I wanted a passive existence I could survive without the ACL but to play active sport again then the option was the ACL Reconstruction.
I had had a bit of scan through YouTube and found various clips showing surgeons with drills and chisels. More Black and Decker than key hole but success rate of 90% for a full recovery.
So we agreed to go ahead but in the meantime went on a family ski trip to Morzine in early April. Mr Keys confirmed that I might as well try this with a knee brace.
Having researched knee braces you soon discover that the range is wide and the ones recommended (Don-Joy) are about £400 for ACL sufficient ones. I did a bit more web reserch and came across physioroom.com and got a Don Joy ACL brace which was only £175 for a bit of neoprene, velcro straps and two bits of aluminum. With a week to go I proudly went to my phsio and showed her my prize purchase to be told it was not the right thing. But determined I decided I shoudl try it out and play in at least one game of hockey that season. I played 15 minutes, scored a goal and then got a bit more involved and turned my knee, so I guess the physio was right!
Skiing though was fine and I used the brace and had no problems.
Kneeding Help
I thought I would set up this blog in the hope that my knee experience might be of interest to others. There are lots of web sites dedicated to knee injuries and I have now come across lots of people who have had ACL reconstructions, but it is fairly daunting stuff and I wanted to put my experiences down on a blog especially regarding the recovery process.
One minute your happily playing hockey or skiing and the next your off games for a long time but I hope there is light at the end of the tunnel....
One minute your happily playing hockey or skiing and the next your off games for a long time but I hope there is light at the end of the tunnel....
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