I have some amazing updates! I have been running 2x a week for 5 weeks now. The knee has responded much better this time around, like the knee can't even tell it ran 24 hours later. Things are going well enough, that we are proceeding with an 8 weeks plan, where I will aim to get up to 5 continuous minutes of running (followed by 2 min walk) for 30-40 minutes by the end of August (hopefully 3x a week). I've already mapped out all my weeks and times. If I can do that, we can proceed to introduction to agility and plyometrics!!!! Only 30% of ACL patients returning to a Level 1 sport actually complete 3 months of an agility program. My PT is requiring it for return to skiing. Also my PT wanted a Biodex reading before any plyometrics start and said if I can get one soon that would be best. This is an isokinetic dynonometer test that measures quad and hamstring strength. My last Biodex test was over 3 years ago on May 2017. I was 12 weeks post op, with an incredibly flared up sore knee. The beginnings of my run away train pain. I actually thought we were going to begin running that day, but the tested me to make sure. I had already had 2 other tests (week 9 and 11?), but they decided to test me again so soon despite how sore I was. This is a rather pain provoking test in general, you are kicking out as hard as you can with your knee strapped in. My pain was so inhibiting that my scores came out LOWER than the other tests. It was this day that they decided to stop all my rehab and send me home to rest. I cried in this same chair, very sad tears. I was devastated they were sending me home (which ended up being for months, until I jumped ship at nearly a year post op). Ugh. Later I learned through my ongoing research, that it's really pointless to do this kind of test on a BPTB anywhere before 12 weeks especially with a patellar tendon autograft. In general, the numbers are going to be pretty low and depressing for most folks. Not a great moral boost. With patellar tendon folks, you're likely going to just tick off the harvest site and not get a true reading and will make things worse. Here they had done the test on me 3x by 12 weeks! Really unfortunate. So you can imagine the nervousness I had going in that day! I had all sorts of numbers swirling through my head. I was also mentally preparing myself should my numbers come out lower than I wanted. I was prepping myself to handle the disappointment too.
My results were shocking! I have not only met the magical mythical 95% LSI quad, I passed it!
I actually cried happy tears in this same chair that gave me sad tears 3 years ago! Get this, my quad improved 189% from 3 years ago. They wanted to frame the pie chart on the wall. I am just blown away. No way did I think I'd get these kind of numbers, and no way did I think it was even remotely possibly given my super uncomfortable knee! I did say to myself at one point well if you're going to have a janky knee for life, then make it the strongest jankiest knee. But on the flip side, I was also telling myself that not until you get as strong as you can be will you really know what your normal knee feels like. I can still get stronger, this isn't it by any means! While I am so elated with this news, I also had higher hopes that the knee would feel a little better at this stage than it does. I'm still pretty sore from the test 2 days later. It will resolve. I'm also not done with all of rehab. Soon up next are the agility portion of rehab and the sports specific training portion. Going by numbers alone, there isn't anything my knee should not do. But of course, it's not all about numbers alone. Other stages of rehab need to be completed.
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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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