Wow, I have already completed four weeks of my running program!!! Phew! Lots more adapting is needed for sure! My last four weeks have consisted of 2 runs a week. By "runs" I mean 30 seconds of running, 2 minutes of walking, repeat 8 times. (Week one was only 4 times repeated.) The actual running part felt OK on grass, not any stabbing pains that I was kind of expecting. Just felt like I do hiking, that tight tendon feeling. However, there was definitely some knee aftermath! I need about 4 solid days of rest to recover from the runs. I had very hot burny kneecaps week two, so hot the heat they emitted under my sheets at night kept me up. They were achy too, so sleep was affected for a few nights. But that too resolved thankfully and I could continue with my schedule. Just could not do much on my off days. We had to lower my weights for a few of the lifting sessions as doing heavy load right after running was a bit too much load for the knee to handle. So I dropped the weights and just did higher reps. I just need to be very adaptable, even if it's per session, for these first few weeks while things get adapting. The goal is to underdose rather than overdose. Now I am in the start of week 5 in the running program. This week the goal is to continue that same pattern of 30 seconds of running, 2 minutes of walking, repeat 8 times but try it 3 times this week. I will aim for Tuesday, Thursday and maybe Sunday. Possibly a big hike on Saturday, but I don't know if my knee will be able to handle all those days. Wait and see! This past week I did not meet my rehab goals, only Tuesday was rehab and run. We were out camping for the solstice weekend. I did get in three pretty decent hikes and have a new weekend vertical gain max of 5620 feet of climbing over 3 days! One of the hikes was my biggest vert in one hike at 2750 feet. Still haven't hit the 7 mile mark, but I am so happy I am able to get to such stunning places by foot now. My PT says the goal is to get in another hike like that in the next 7-10 days so the body can start adapting. That is why I have a tentative hike on Saturday and it will be steep. Happy Solstice! I recently had an MRI at 2 years 4 months post op. I met my deductible and also I wanted to know if I was now dealing with structural changes in my knee, what the hot burny kneecap was about, and I also had a significant knee catching episode at the gym. Results: overall not much has changed in the two years. I have two cartilage fissures (aka cracks) that were there 2 years ago. No arthritis, no meniscus damage. Doc said maybe the early stages of chondramalacia.
However, it is very clear there is something inside my kneecap! I called the physician assistant first and he had a variety of theories (some were horrifying, like I could sue for that stuff!) but in the end said he did not know. I was not satisfied with that so I asked fr the doctor to call me. He felt it was a cyst that developed n the kneecap behind the bone plug area after packing the hole with shavings. There could have been a gap in the packing which lead to a cyst. I asked if it could have grown in 4 months? He thought so. He also said no need to monitor it either (really?). I didn't like that answer very much either! Given how much pain comes from that general area of my knee, I think it's worthwhile to get another set of eyes on this. It looks man made to me. I am seeing another doctor in a week to have him assess my MRIs and what could this possibly be. I cannot find any Google Scholar literature on cysts in kneecap after bone plug extraction. Nothing in my surgical documentation refers to it. Stay tuned! I should have a second answer in a week!
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AuthorA 45 year old active female who tore her ACL in January 2017 (at the age of 40). Reconstructive surgery in February 2017 with bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft. Archives
November 2022
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