Behave knee! It is my birthday!

Hi bak, I'm only one week behind you but I can't believe how much pain I'm still in . As you say specially after P T. I seem to go along ok ish then my knee really shouts & it's bad a few days. When it is SO sore I just can't do the exercises. Hope yours improves , mine too only a week in it . Take care

Gosh Aunt you are SO brave. I don't think I can take much more I'm the other end of age scale 78 , haven't had a nights sleep since January 21. I can't believe the pain is so relentles . I have driven short distances a couple of times.

AuntEG - when you say keep after that scar tissue, do you mean stretching it or massaging it, or both?  This probably sounds a really stupid question but if you massage it, does that mean just rubbing whatever you're using over the scar as it's as bent as it can be?

Hi Chris,

Its rubbing and lifting and pulling. Pushing one hand one way and the other hand/fingers the other way. The scar should move freely and the skin should move easily over the knee cap. I can tell, after 16 weeks, the difference between the grabby/numbness of scar tissue and the isolated pull/bite of a suture that the tissue has locked around. I use coconut oil when im doing this. Also all the rubbing helps desensitizes the skin so the sheets and clothes dont irritate it so much. I also will use the palm of my hand,or elbow, above the knee cap to rub deep like a tissue massage. Alls i know, is as bad as its been up front, once its broken, its done. I dont have to keep breaking up the same spot. I have full extension and over 130degree bend. Every time i got a new ouch, i looked ar anatomy of knee and realized i had to push thru the ouch because i needed to stretch or massage. I learned as long as my pain was no WORSE, i was doing the right thing. I take one day off a week, otherwise i stretch hips,knees,calves every day. So far. Ive experience no back pain and i think the stretches are what helped save me. Ive said all along, this is a crazy emotional rollercoaster with "what now anguish". We are ALL rock stars to endure this surgery. Im glad i did both at once. No way could i have gone thru it a second time!

:D

My physical therapist toned down our sessions in an effort to see if we can reduce my recovery after pt. Worse I had was 5 days down after a session with severe pain and swelling. I do take strong extra medication before each session and I do everything after- icing, elevating, resting and attempt to do as many reps of my home

At one point he even put me on a walking restriction to see if the extra rest will heal the inflammation faster. We have not found a solution yet. I try to focus on the lasting progress I have made. Needless to say I dread every pt session. We just have to have tons of patience and faith that it will all work out. Easier said than done. I cry all the time these days.