The past few days have been a bit rough. Quite honestly, getting out of surgery and coming home wasn't that bad. I didn't realize how much local pain medication the doctors had injected into my knees. I was able to walk around the rest of the day without crutches from time to time. However, the next day when I woke up, it was quite different. I wasn't able to stand up and get out of bed without reaching for my crutches. But the rehab has to start, and start right away.
The first week of rehab doesn't really have a lot of hard work to put in, but it can be quite painful. I know I'm only a few days in, but it has been a bit tough. Getting used to walking around with and immobilized leg is frustrating. I'll forget from time to time, and go to take a step only to stub my toe. Or I'll slide my foot off the table where it's resting and wince with pain where the incisions were made.
The only exercises I'm doing are pretty simple. The main two I've been doing these first couple days have been letting my knee drop down so it can straighten out. The brace has it locked in about a 5º angle, so letting it drop down and straighten is pretty tough.
The other exercise is to lay flat on my back and with my opposite knee bent, I raise the hurt knee up so that my knees line up. Mostly concentrating on using my quadriceps for the work. The quads tend to be the muscles that lose the most after being cooped up in a brace for a long time.
Throughout the day as well, I constantly do calf raises and pump my foot up and down and side to side to keep my blood flowing. There's always a risk of blood clotting, especially early on after surgery. So, doing these exercises is crucial.
Most of this is pretty simple, but like I said, pretty painful. However, I wanted to keep up with my other training as best as I could. My wife and I decided to join up at our local gym, so I can continue to hit the weights and do strength training while I recovery my leg. Since I can't run, ride, or swim quite yet, I need something to keep pushing my body. Now having a gym so close I'll be able to get on the treadmill more often once I can return to running. Most of my running for the first few months when I'm cleared will be on the treadmill. It'll be safer and more controlled, so I can be more conscious of what's going on with my body.
It's also a gym run by one of my high school friends and track teammate, so it's good to see some familiar faces as well. These next few months are going to test me, but I'm looking forward to getting them done and moving on.
-Dave
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