Hello everyone! As I mentioned last week, I am back after taking some time off after my knee surgery. Before I went into surgery and recovery, I watched a few videos from people who have been through it to see what their recovery was like. I figured I would write this post with a few tips that helped me through this first month of recovery.
I briefly
mentioned my
initial injury a while ago, but I didn’t know the extent of my injury at
that point. I completely tore my ACL (which is the thing that stabilizes your
knee) and had a complex tear in my meniscus (the thing in between your knee
joints to stop it from grinding). My surgery was for an ACL reconstruction and
meniscus repair.
Because of
the meniscus repair, it is going to take a long time to heal fully. I am on
crutches for the rest of the summer and into the beginning of September. For a
full recovery, it is going to be about a year.
I can do a
week by week process of my recovery is anyone is curious, so please let me know.
In the meantime, these are my tips for the first month of recovery:
1. If you are able to, avoid stairs.
My parents moved my bed down to the main floor so I could avoid the
stairs for a while. Stairs are SCARY on crutches, and this is my first
experience with them. In the first couple days where you’re shaky and drowsy,
it’s not easy to be on crutches. You also really can’t move much, so cutting down
the distance you have to move is entirely helpful.
2. Find something to keep you busy.
Positivity and distraction have been key for me. I started rewatching
Bob’s Burgers because it’s a show that genuinely makes me laugh, and I also took
an online course for school. It wasn’t my intention to do this course during my
recovery since I signed up for it forever ago, but I am grateful for it. It gave
me some structure and something to focus on for a few hours in the day.
3. Do your physio every day –
seriously.
This is how you’re going to see progress. There is a reason your surgeon
and/or your physiotherapist is giving you these exercises. In the beginning, it’s
tough because it hurts. With time, it will get to the point where the exercises
feel like really good stretches. This is how you are going to boost your recovery,
so do not miss a day!
4. Get comfortable asking for help.
I’m working on not feeling like an inconvenience. When you’re on crutches, you can’t do very much on your own. It was sponge baths and over the sink hair washes for the first couple of weeks. Now, I still can’t do things like make my own meals, so I have had to ask my family for so much help. It’s hard to have your independence suddenly taken away and rely on everyone around you, so getting comfortable asking is important.
5. Recovery is slow, so celebrate the
small progressions.
In these first stages of recovery, it is all about getting your range of
motion back. I still cannot straighten my leg all the way, and it is supposed
to take a while for that to come back. However, it doesn’t mean you won’t see
change. When I was able to move my kneecap again, I was thrilled. The night I could
sleep on my side without discomfort, I slept like a baby. It’s really about the
small progression because this is a long road of recovery.
Obviously,
this is personal to me, and everyone’s recovery is going to be different. This
is what has worked for me and helped me get to the wonderful place I’m in now.
Did I miss
something? Are you going through a knee surgery soon? Let me know!
-
Daniella
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