Knee Update : 50% and ALL!

Recent headline making scientific news is the discovery of a "new ligament" in the knee called the ALL (Anterolateral ligament).

A short summary is that majority of ACL injuries also tear this ligament, and this ligament controls the pivot shift or rotational torque which a traditional ACL reconstruction will not account for. Studies of NFL football players have shown those that have torn their ACL once, have a 50% higher risk factor of re-tearing it again. Even with a strong patellar tendon graft, the knee is still more susceptible to the pivot shift since it is not "fixed".

I brought this article to inquire with my orthopaedic during a follow-up visit, and, once again, confirms that doing the diligence to research helped me in choosing the BEST orthopaedic! He confirmed that the additional procedure of adding the extra-articular augment is in fact the ALL ligament. I am doing the limping happy dance!!

I have hit the 3-month post op mark, my 50% point of recovery. Rehab has been tough, especially with incorporating it with work and family schedule. Rehab is still painfully sore, but gets easier and the knee gets stronger every week. I do rehab EVERY SINGLE DAY. I think of it as not a choice, but something I have to do... just like brushing your teeth. It's hygiene... knee hygiene. I stand on one leg and do half squats while washing dishes, brushing my teeth, or.. yes.. even while I'm in meetings at work! I am not allowed to run yet, but I am allowed to incorporate light weight while doing squats now. I'm almost able to go down the stairs without assistance (hand rail or holding the wall). If I keep at this for the next 3 months, both the doc and PT thinks I'm on track for a 6-month recovery of 100%. That's the goal. If all continues smoothly, I can start light running and top-rope rock climbing in a month. I've been given the okay to do Pilates Reformer classes and easy weight-lifting (front and back squats).

For my future reference, this is my current exercise list for strengthening the knee and surrounding muscles:

EXERCISE LIST:
20min bike (L9) - incorporate 4x 1min intervals
10min incline walk (L10 @ 3.2)
20min elliptical (L10) - incorporate 4X 1min intervals
band exercise --> leg raises (4 sets x 30 reps/leg)
band exercise --> one-leg squats (3 sets x 5x)
wall-sits --> (5 sets x 60 secs)
250 body-weight squats --> (5 sets x 50 reps)
stationary lunges/dips --> (5 sets x 15 reps/leg)
side step-ups --> (5 sets x 15 reps)
side bridges --> (5x - hold)
bridges --> 5x @ 90sec, one or two legs
bolsa ball --> 1 leg stance/hold (3x)
bolsa ball --> squat fast wobble (3x)

50%!! The past 3 months, on one hand, seems to have passed by fast, though also feels slow. 3 more months... soon... very soon! =)

Shiny Happy People

The lil' girl has not been confined to a caged bed (aka crib) for a long while now... which means, the earlier she wakes up, the more unattended free range she has around the house! I have become somewhat resigned to the fact that there are mornings when things are not the way they should be. One of her favorite morning activities, other than snuggling (aka kicking/punching) with us, is "playing" on my desk.. swivel around on the office chair, tap on all the keys of the keyboard, etc. Ryan finally password protected my computer after finding she had changed short-keys and random settings that are still to this day, irrevocable. So far the worse and most memorable incidents have been:

1) Finding an open and empty container of travel sunblock lying around.. and then discovering too late, where all that sunblock went...on my toothbrush!
2) Sitting down at my desk to find a mass of papers all stuck and glued together with a half-empty bottle of glue dripping nearby.

Needless to say, I do get irate by these "surprises", but one evening as I was examining the damage from that morning, just as my temper was starting to flare up when I observed ink stains on my keyboard, I came across one of my mail letters with vandalism inked all over....

Nothing beats coming home from a long day of work and obligations, to have a reality check of what really matters... my lil' girl drew five smiling happy circles holding hands... <3 (An added plus --> the ink stains on the keyboard came out easily.. whew!)

Deck Progress

It's getting closer...