I have not updated for awhile now. I tend to forget when I feel like nothing new has happened. But a lot of new things have happened. Lets go back to September. In September I was in my best friends wedding. She bought me and the other bridesmaids tom wedges to wear for the wedding. Unfortunately I was having a very hard time walking in them, and to add to the difficulty the wedding was outside on a farm. I tried very hard but I could not wear them. My legs were so shaky in them. I had just not built up enough muscle to wear these shoes, especially outside on the grass. Luck for me my friend was not a bridezilla and she did not care at all that i could not wear them. Thank goodness!
By the end of September the weather changed fast in Oregon. It went from 90 degrees to cold and rainy, My knees began to KILL me! so much pain and very swollen. I almost had to call into work (If you forgot I work at the hospital, walking around for twelve hours), however I pushed through. I was icing my knee almost every day. And was continuing to use my muscle stimulator along with the icing. I was very discouraged by this set back! I would take one step forward in recovery and three steps back. I met with my physical therapist and she guessed my current problem was due to the fast change in weather. A lot of the people she worked with was complaining about being in pain too. That made a lot of sense to me. I didn't even think about that.
It took awhile, probably close to a month or slightly over, for my knee to get use to it. As frustrating as that has been I can say it is finally doing better. I do not see PT anymore (stopped after sept) and I have given up my muscle stimulator. I used it for about 2.5 months.
The one thing that has really helped me over anything else was stretching. Stretch stretch stretch! I honestly never though about stretching, they didn't "seem" tight. And if it was painful I thought I could fix it with medicine. But my doctor and my PT said stretching will fix almost all that pain. And they were right! Anytime I have pain (I'm suppose to stretch 2 - 3 times a day, but of course I get busy with life and do forget) I just stretch and most if not all pain is gone.
My doctor works for the UofO football team. He said he has football players complain that their knees hurt, even though they have never had a knee injury. He simply tells them to stretch and if they keep up on it they have no more pain. Apparently the tight muscles pull on the knee cap, this does not allow the knee cap to glide smoothly like it should.
I almost can completely kneel on the floor without the pain too. My doctor said that I may never be able to kneel again, but the high sensitivity is slowly going away. May never, but at least I can usually tolerate it.
I think that is all for updates now. Please ask me questions, if you have them. I try very hard to always respond back! Besides not being able to wear heels yet (I still feel like a new born baby giraffe) I am slowly starting to feel like I have normal knees again. Pain here and there, shakiness here and there. But otherwise pretty dang good.
2/2/2015: I recently have taken up yoga. I have never been a yoga girl. I was a sweat it out and go until you drop on the ground kind of workout girl. But yoga has been AMAZING for my knees. As i said previously stretching helps so much! The yoga is amazing for this. ALSO yoga helps me focus on once leg at a time. A lot of times when i work out and become tired my right knee (the stronger of the two since it had the first surgery) takes over. I tried to focus on not letting the right leg take over but ultimately it always would; even if i did not feel like it was.
I started using the stair machine at the gym to help with this. The bike was nice when i first started working out again because I didn't have my body weight on my legs; but again my right knee would take over once the left was too fatigued.
The stair machine was great; but started feeling too easy. However, lunges still hurt so those are out; and every other exercise i could think of usually worked both legs at the same time. Thats when i finally gave in to trying yoga. OH MY GOSH am I sore! Right now Yoga has been my workout of choice. I highly suggest Yoga to help keep up with the stretching and to target the muscles that are still weak from surgery.
I can't wear heels either! My legs does the same thing, just gets all shaky! I have to say I totally understand now why you go for so long without updating your blog. I find when people have had a good experience after any type or surgery, they move on and don't worry about going on the internet to talk about negative experiences! What kind of screws did your surgeon use? Mine used biodegradable screws (they are apparently supposed to dissolve into the bone in 2 years) and I am wondering if that has anything to do with my leg not being sore from weather changes.
ReplyDeleteI am now 6 months post op (holy cow! time flies!) and honestly I am doing really great. I never have any pain in my knee...probably haven't had any pain since end of July. My leg muscles get pretty sore after working out but that is it! I still go to physio once a week because I have a bit of a extension lag so we have be doing some dry needling...sticking needles into my inner quad muscles to try and wake them up! It's actually worked great and my physio and I have noticed a significant difference in my muscle definition which has helped my knee extension lag. The kneeling is slooooowly getting less painful for me, I can't kneel on a hard floor but I can kneel on like my bed or a couch on a certain angle without it being too uncomfortable. I think that is going to drive me crazy if I can never kneel on that knee again so I hope it gets easier.
Well I am glad everything if going well with you :) And I also want to thank you so much for all the questions you have answered for me this past year. I loved having your blog to help me along in this whole process!
I have permanent screws placed (metal). I am glad you are doing so great! I feel like a baby after how well you've been doing. HAHA Its crazy to see how everyone is different in the healing process. Heck, even my legs had different reactions to the surgery. :-)
DeleteOMG don't feel like a baby at all! You are on your feet all day at work and I have a desk job. I went on a shopping trip a few weekends ago and my leg was KILLING me after 5 hours of standing and walking so I am sure we would be in the same boat if I was on my feet all day everyday lol!
DeleteI have to comment again because I went shopping today and after about 3 hours of walking around my leg getting tired and sore. Does yours ever give out on you when you have been on it for too long? I always compare it to when someone comes up behind you and pushes the back of your knee so you stumble! Well at least that's what it feels like for me lol
DeleteHi Heather,
DeleteSorry It has taken me so long to write back! My knees do not give out anymore. But YES they use to alllll the time after surgery. Luckily I never actually fell but it was pretty funny. Just walking along then WHOOPS I do a big ol dip and then I'm back to walking normal again. It was hilarious. But I'm glad they are strong enough now that that doesn't happen anymore (very very rarely will it).
Do you ever have any clicking or grinding when you bend your knee? I am told that as long as there is no pain associated with the clicking/grinding then there is nothing to be concerned about but I can't help but worry! Hope all is well!
ReplyDeleteI use to complain about the grinding before surgery; but I'm trying to remember if i had any grinding after surgery. I am pretty sure the grinding stopped after surgery. Do you think it might be scar tissue that might need to still be broken up? Sounds like that to me. Have you worked on massaging that area? Or has your PT ever used those metal tools on your knee (looks like a butter knife)?
DeleteI've never found anyone who sounds so similar to me. I'm around your age and my knee caps have been fully dislocating since I was 12. I finally got mpfl reconstruction and a fulkerson osteotomy on my left knee in november which is the worst of the two. I'm planning on getting the right one done this june. I'm doing pretty well with recovery so far and I go to PT twice a week. It took me 2 months to be off my crutches lol but now I can walk around and just experience some stiffness if I sit for a long time. I had TERRIBLE pain with the first one so I'm thinking maybe my nerve block stopped working too? you've given me hope that my second surgery will be easier on me because the first month after was really bad. I hope you continue to recover and congrats on having both surgeries finished :)
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it feel nice to finally find someone who understands!? haha until I made this blog i had never heard of anyone having the same problems as me... and i had to go through several doctors before anyone knew what to do! It's like come on there has to be someone else out there with the same problem! Which is also why i started this blog, I wish i could have known what I was getting myself into before my first surgery but i couldn't find anyone else who has had it. But yes i highly suggest sticking with it and finishing the other knee! As you read, even though I had the same surgery on both knees each knee responded differently. It also helped knowing what I was getting into when I had the second surgery. I was much more prepared. Oh man having a nerve block is AMAZING... unless if it leaks and the pain hits you all at once. OUCH. I can't imaging going through surgery and not having one. Once your surgery knee gets a little closer to normal it'll feel so much different than your other knee. It was so weird having one "strong" knee compared to the other. I felt wobbly in the non surgery knee when i would step down. And completely stable in the surgery knee when that foot would take a step. Felt so weird! Good luck on your recovery! :-)
DeleteHello! I'm not sure if you are still on this blog. I'm an athletic 25 year old woman also from Oregon with knee tracking and dislocation problems that started at age 11, both knees. I've never had surgery but was told last week that I've got some chronic damage and pain problems now and more instability that only a Fulkerson and MPFL surgery can fix at this point, for both knees (R first, L after). Who did your surgery and where did you do your pt recovery? It sounds like you had a good team and overall strong recovery. Recommendations?
ReplyDeleteDr. Hoellrich in Eugene, or. He works for slocum. And he's a doctor for the uofo football team. So I figured he knew what he was doing haha. I highly highly suggest him. So many doctors didn't know what to do for me and he knew right away. He's extremely nice too. If you're willing to drive to salem I have a GREAT pt place to suggest too. I've been to a lot of different pt places and this is the only one that knew how to help me.
DeleteWhat kind of knee pain were you having? I spoke too soon lol I have been having some knee pain the past 2 months. The pain is like a sharp pain above my kneecap whenever I do squats, kickboxing, lunges..etc. I see my surgeon next week for a follow up but I am hoping it is nothing serious!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! Had the same surgery in August 2013 after an arthroscopic procedure in May 2012 did next to nothing. This year, 2016, my knee finally started to feel better. I constantly had pain/fatigue even after doing all of the PT for close to a year. As a former college basketball player (I am 25 now), I wanted to play again and was not able to/didn't feel comfortable until June 2016. I noticed that the PT just was not enough as my leg strength deteriorated significantly due to atrophy. My doctor recommended I avoid squats, leg extension, and leg press machines and that is what I did until January 2016. This is when I started crossfit and exercising with various olympic lifts. I knew it was a risk, but it was honestly the best risk I have ever taken. Nothing made my legs feel better than the effects squats had on them. I wanted to share this info. with anyone else experiencing something similar and to recommend maybe giving these types of exercise a try (just make sure you start with a light weight). I truly do feel the key to a knee regaining its former self in these types of situation is to regain that strength/muscle back and as stated previously…..STRETCH.
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing! Did squats hurt to do at first? My knees still go in and it of pain and squats really hurt them. I can't decide if I need to push through the pain or listen to my body and not do them.
DeleteAlso do you every get pain in your shins, almost like extreme shin splints?
Squats didn't hurt when I first started them because I actually began with bodyweight squats about 3-5 times a week for the first month. I definitely recommend doing this (air squats). From there, I gradually added weight that I felt comfortable doing.
DeleteIn regards to shin pain, YES. I get this a lot actually when jumping rope and doing box jumpes. Basically whenever I need to jump high or in volumes. I find that rolling out my calves with a lacrosse ball helps with this. Also, if you freeze water in a small dixie cup and peel back the cup when frozen, it feels great to rub along your shinbone after a workout. I cant believe I failed to mention the shin pain in my earlier post because that is actually the only pain I every really get. Because this surgery is so uncommon, its tough finding answers online about why the shin pain comes. Any idea?
man squats have always hurt me. lucky you! My doctor told me that the screws could hurt me, and that some people have them removed. So i wonder if the shin pain is from the screws? Good idea on rolling out the calves, I'll have to give it a try. Thanks!
DeleteJust stopping by to say I am now 2.5 years post op from my fulkerson and it is like I have a brand new knee! Hope all is well with yours :)
ReplyDeleteA high tibial osteotomy is usually considered a method of extending the time before a knee replacement is essential because the benefits usually fade after seven to ten years. This procedure is usually reserved for younger patients with pain resulting from shakiness and malalignment An osteotomy may also be executed in conjunction with other joint protection procedures in order to permit for cartilage repair tissue to grow without being exposed to excessive pressure.
ReplyDeleteSo, the kneecap provides leverage, and the fulkerson involves reducing that leverage. They reduce the pressure by reducing the power. They measure success by measuring reduced pressure.
ReplyDeleteI saw something about Eugene... I was up at Nike last summer teaching the Nike Sports Research Laboratory about Reactive Biomechanics, it's the other side of biomechanics that we learn from working with amputees. Take out the muscle component to learn about how the reactions happen. Newton said nothing about "identical" when he said "equal and opposite". I had never heard about TTO until last month. I was blown away at how obtuse their justifications were and shared the experience in a LinkedIn post.
Hope you are still doing well! Truly. If not, I hope my comments provide you insight to advocate effectively to get you the help that you need.
I came across this blog when searching for recovery from Osteotomy alignment surgery, as I'm getting ready to have it done in about a week and a half. I'm pretty nervous, and just looking to get some tips on what to expect as far as after surgery. I'm 43, and my ortho dr has told me that he feels that I'm too young for TKR (don't remember the last time i was to young for anything else lol), so he wants to do a proximal tibia Osteotomy. I am overweight and this worries me some. I have very bad arthritis in the insides of both knees. We are doing the left one first as it's the worse, and then hopefully if all goes well next spring i can get the right one done. Exercising has been hard for a long time, so I'm really hoping this helps and i can get some of this weight of too and i know that will ease some of the stress as well. But anyway i just wondered if you were still on here and if you had any words of advice to give me as to what to expect when i come home. Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteHi jennifer! I am sorry I am just now responding. I hope your surgery went well. Advice would be KEEP moving. It is painful, I will not lie. But keep moving, walking is the best (or crutching/ walker), but if you can not ask for a knee mobilization machine. The more that knee stays stiff the more painful you'll be and moving also helps keep the fluid down. Fluid was a big problem for me. Using the tiger tail to help move the fluid really helped.
DeleteHi Osteotomy Girl!
ReplyDeleteI just found this blog and it is so amazing to finally be able to communicate with someone so similar to me with the same situation!
Here is my story: Dancer since 4 years old. My first dislocation was at 15 years old in the left knee. In a matter of two weeks, my right and left knees dislocated, one time and 3 times respectively. It was crazy, from one day to another I couldn't keep dancing because I was at risk for more dislocations. Recurrent Patellar dislocations at that time were treated with full knee replacement, so I just stopped dancing, because that was what usually caused it. I kept having small dislocations with time, but learned to manage them well on my own. Until the last one on July 2015, I was 20 at the time and just walking when it happened. I had the worst dislocation I had experienced and a PT recommended Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction. After a few months I found a surgeon who would take my case and actually recommended tibial osteotomy as well. My surgery was summer 2016, so it's been almost 2 years since the surgery. I am still experiencing some type of superficial numbness in the site of the surgery, like I can't feel a caress or an ant walking on that area, but a slap hurts like crazy like deep in the skin. I also can't kneel on the floor, even thick yoga mats don't work because it hurts too much. I don't know if that pain is due to the screws or what but it limits my ability to exercise and strengthen the knee. I guess what I'm asking is if someone has had the same problem, what did you do or if it healed how long it took? I don't like the idea of going into surgery again just to remove the screws, there is no warranty that will resolve the issue.
My recover sounds a lot like yours! I am so glad you commented! I still have the problem of sharp pain and numbness in certain areas. My doctor said the numbness will most likely never go away, since nerves were cut during the surgery. I found Yoga to really help alleviate some knee pain. I was never a yoga person, and even though my knee does not feel tight, I've notice the more I do yoga the better my knee feels. Give stretching a good honest try. Do you have issues with running? Any jumping up and down (as with running) causes a sharp pain in my shin bone. I am to the point that I think i need to just push through the pain and I am hoping the more I force myself to work through it the sharp pain will start to diminished. That's what my PT lady though would help. But unfortunately besides my theory I am no where closer to not having that sharp pain. I am sorry you are dealing with the same thing; but it comforts me knowing I am not the only one. Sometimes I think I am lazy and need to just push through everything. That I am making it all up in my head. Thank you for sharing, I immediately called my mom upon reading your comment. I said LOOK someone else knows my pain! haha.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBow4lXmTpc
This video helped reduce my knee pain. In fact I stopped doing it (lazy me) and my knee pain started to get bad again. I dont know about you but my leg muscle are VERY weak since surgery (even this many years out). Every exercise I try to do to build muscle in my legs causes my knees to hurt. This video helped me start to do lunges again. He also has other great videos! He is a physical therapist turned personal trainer and his videos are great!
"Do you have issues with running? Any jumping up and down (as with running) causes a sharp pain in my shin bone."
ReplyDeleteOh my god I do! Just like that! For me right now, pushing through is not even an option. My pain threshold is so low and I find it excruciating, so I just stop whatever I'm doing. It gives me hope knowing you can push through, maybe its the time factor. People closest to me still don't understand that, they think that just getting the surgery is a magical fix and that I should be just fine. So yes, I do know your pain and it also comforts me to know I'm not making this up, because you went through this as well and you understand. Thank you soooo much for replying so quickly!
Relating to the workouts, I had done yoga previously but I have been working on that again for a few days and I am starting exercises to strengthen the knee. Before, I had only worked on that until my PT was done, but my doctor said this is order of the day from now on, that I should keep strengthening my quads and knees. So I understand you when you say you feel you got lazy, because I did as well.
Thank you for the video! I am definitely going to give it a shot. Hopefully we can get in the habit again, for our own benefit!
I send you best regards, all the way from Puerto Rico!
Went on a small hike today. My knee stared hurting half way through. I consciously reminded myself to use my muscles (if that makes sense). I focused very hard on contracting my muscles with each step. I was amazed by how much it helped my pain. It gave me hope that if i really focus on making my muscle contact that some day i won't have to anymore!
DeleteNot sure if you still use this blog, but I’ve just come across it and wow it’s amazing to find so many people on one thread that have the exact same issues I have had! I am currently 11 days post- Fulkerson’s Osteotomy, I also had some lateral release done and a snapped tendon replaced, plus they shaved my knee cap to smoothen the surface a bit. So happy to have found this blog so I know what it coming my way and recovery continues so thank you for sharing your thoughts and your experience!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much
I am amazed by how many people have written me! It's great, because i barely found any information on my surgery before i had it. Hope your recover goes well (and fast!) !
DeleteHi, thanks for updating your blog. I am about 5 months post tibial tubercle transfer and microfracture. Post surgery, unlike most, i was unlucky enough to experience fat pad impingment which makes stairs a nightmare. Ended up w a cortisone jab and was feeling a whole lot better. 2 wks post cortisone injection, i felt i overstressed my knee and the pain keeps coming back. Most days i regret having this surgery but I hope better days to come! :) hope all is well with your knees too.
ReplyDelete