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Post-Op Week 6

 Overall Feelings

If you read my previous post, "Post-Op Week 5," you know that my doctor told me he thought I would be doing straight leg raises by the end of the week last week. Well, after we left that appointment I asked The Lord to give my leg the ability to do straight leg raises quickly, and He answered my prayer favorably! I was able to do straight leg raises that night! It hurt, but I could still do them, and I was so thankful. 

I feel like I say this in every blog post, but I am STILL seeing improvements each day! Every day I find that there's something I could do that I couldn't do before. I often say to my friends who ask me how the recovery is going, "It's such a slow process." When in reality, it just feels like it's been a long time since my surgery because of all the milestones I've hit. It really has been a fairly fast recovery considering I went through a super tough procedure. 

Physical Therapy

 Exercises

I began doing new exercises while at physical therapy. I now do squats on a machine, the stationary bike, chair scoots, straight leg raises without any support, and bent knee extensions. The bent knee extensions hurt the most, but thankfully my PT is letting me use a rope to help my knee extend. When I use the rope it feels fine!

PT Appointment WITHOUT my Regular Therapist 

Oh. My. Goodness. What a mistake!!! My regular PT was out on vacation for one of my appointments this week. I was put with a much younger and less experienced therapist. He didn't even follow the plan my regular PT had laid out for me. He had me do all of these new exercises that REALLY hurt my knee...not the good muscle kind of hurt either...the joint type of hurt. I have a high pain tolerance, and I am willing to work through pain. So I knew that the exercises he was making me do were more harmful than helpful. I left PT in the worst pain I had felt in several weeks. My knee would get stiff just after sitting a few mins, and I hadn't experienced that in a long while. 

After having gone through that, I now understand why so many MPFL patients hate PT. I don't blame you! I also have even more of an appreciation for the physical therapist The Lord placed me with. I've worked with a few PTs during my very first knee recovery, and I can honestly say that the PT I am with now is the best I have seen! He is super knowledgable, a great coach/teacher, and he listens to what I have to say about how I am feeling. 

The Psychological Side of MPFL Reconstruction Recovery











At one of my physical therapy appointments with my REGULAR physical therapist, we started talking about the psychological side of MPFL reconstruction recovery. As mentioned in one of my earlier posts, my PT has seen two other MPFL patients in the last few years or so. He has told me time and time again that he is so 
impressed by how fast I am recovering compared to the other patients. Today, he said the reason behind this is psychological. 

The other patients seemed to have a mental block that prevented them from challenging themselves. For example, one of them continued using crutches for WEEKS after her surgery, even though her doctor told her to go full weight bearing. Sadly, I've read several recovery stories where this was the case for them too. When you have that mental block and your unwilling to push yourself out of fear of pain, your recovery will be much slower! One of my relatives had both of his knees replaced within the last two years or so. He gave me this advice: "Be patient. Keep pushing the limits. It's going to happen." 

To my fellow MPFL reconstruction patients in recovery- Keep. Pushing. The. Limits. 

Activity Level

Phew! I feel like I can do more now without needing to sit due to pain. I've been cleaning my house this week without feeling any knee pain, which is new for me. I feel comfortable walking around stores and other places too! 

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