Background

Sports Related Injury at Age 16

To be honest, I was not your typical high school athlete. I wasn't on any type of team. I did dance classes here and there, but nothing serious. That's why this story is some what sad. My first patellar dislocation (when the knee cap comes out of place) happened in PE class of all places. It was also "free day" in gym. My friend and I decided to hit the volley ball back and forth just to pass time. On this one particular pass, I ran towards the ball. I decided to be cool and do a pivot move where my knees were supposed to go one way and my body the other.  As I tried to execute my movement, something strange happened. I remember a pop, my knee coming out from under me, and then landing on the floor. All the PE students rushed over to me, and the coach called the nurse. 

My mom and I spent the rest of the day in the ER. Evidently, my knee cap dislocated, and a bone chipped off from my knee cap. My orthopedic was concerned about the chipped bone being big and potentially causing more damage, so I was placed on crutches until my arthroscopic surgery (2 months later). During that time I experienced muscle atrophy, which made physical therapy much harder. 

My arthroscopic knee surgery didn't do much for me. They removed the chipped bone, which ended up being very small. They also showed me pictures of my cracked knee cartilage, but that was about it. I still had a funky knee cap that didn't work the same anymore. I remember one post-op visit where my "ortho" moved my knee cap back and forth like a salt shaker (I hated that). They did tell me that if this ever happened again, I would need a more intense surgery to "tie my knee cap down." 

Physical therapy came. It was good to get my muscle back, but by the time my 8 weeks were up, my physical therapist didn't think my leg was strong enough still. In my opinion, I think the reason behind that was because my knee cap was permanently damaged. I ended up doing another round of physical therapy, which didn't change the results by much. 

The end, right? I wish...but that's not the ending of the story God had for my knee! 

The Last 9 Years

Ever since my first patellar dislocation, I had always sought to be extremely cautious. I didn't do lots of jumping, running, or playing sports in fear that my knee cap would dislocate again. During college though, I began to experience patellar subluxations. This is where the knee cap slightly comes out of place. For example, I would just be walking, and then all of a sudden my knee gave out a little. I was able to catch myself and keep walking without pain though. 

Come to find out, those subluxations were doing more harm to my cartilage, and clearly my knee suffered from that initial injury at age 16. 

The 2nd Dislocation at Age 25

Fast forward, I'm in my house getting ready for a garage sale. I run upstairs to put something away. I begin trekking down stairs (not running this time). I take my first step down the stairs with my right knee (the previously injured one), and boom. Same injury as the one at age 16. There was a pop, my knee came out from under me, and I lost control. Praise God I didn't fall down the stairs. I just simply sat down on the first step and yelled for my husband to come help me.

Due to having two patellar dislocations and several subluxations while only now being at age 25, I knew something more intense needed to be done. Not only that, but I could tell my knee cap was far worse than what it ever had been. I could feel my knee cap riding even further on the outside of my knee...no bueno. 

After an ER visit, 3 orthopedic visits, and an MRI, I was finally put with a doctor who saw my need for MPFL reconstruction (the "tying the knee cap down" procedure my first orthopedic talked about). My surgery was scheduled about a month and half after my second dislocation. 

As I waited for surgery, I received my special "Don-joy brace" that allowed me to bend my knee at 30 degrees only. I was excited to finally have my knee fixed, but I had no clue what to expect after surgery. I honestly didn't even bother researching what the recovery would be like...oops. After reading several blog posts after my surgery, I have concluded that every person recovers differently and different doctors give their patients different directions. I have experienced similar things as my fellow MPFL bloggers, but there are also things that I am experiencing that I have not read about. That is why I want to publish my experience; so others can compare their MPFL reconstruction experience with mine, and, if you're pre-surgery, potentially gain some insight as to what MPFL reconstruction is like!