Day 58 since surgery, almost 4 weeks post distraction
An update on my progress:
* I am still using a cane. I can get along without it for short distances, but my walk is much more natural with it so I maintain use for now. I don’t need a ton of support from the cane so hopefully I’m getting close to dropping it.
* I will be getting an X-ray in a few days to check on the bone growth
* PT has revealed just how much I have compensated with my “good” leg for so long. My gluts especially are very weak...this is definitely slowing my recovery. Quads and hamstring strength coming along.
* My knee flexion is about 140 degrees... more to go but functional
* I tried to stand on one leg at PT a few days ago... I’m definitely not ready for this. My balance is not good on the Stryde leg and I get a shot of pain kind of from the knee up. It took me a few days to recover from trying this, I just took it easy with no formal exercise
* I still have consistent pain in the quad when I do certain things. I’m not sure if it’s just generally strained/tight and needs time to heal or if it needs more strength or what. My PT doesn’t really know either.
* I’m not consistently on Advil or Tylenol now. I probably average about 2x a day, usually at least one of those is around bedtime
* I ride a stationary bike about 3-5 miles a day. It’s my favorite exercise, feels so much more normal than boring leg lifts :-)
Overall, I will admit to being a little down about my progress this week. Honestly, it’s hard to know what to expect but I wanted more. It’s hard to see daily progress but looked at over a couple of weeks I can see the small improvements in flexibility and strength. Did I expect to be walking without a cane by now...yes. In the grand scheme of things, a few weeks more won’t matter.
I was reading an daily reading/devotional from the Bible and was reminded to count my blessings. There is an old hymn that says to count your blessings and “name them one by one”. I did just that today. The mental battles don’t stop with distraction, easy to get down without the right focus...there’s so much to be thankful for!
Diary: 1" LLD Femur - Stryde - September 2019
Day 58 since surgery, almost 4 weeks post distraction
An update on my progress:
* I am still using a cane. I can get along without it for short distances, but my walk is much more natural with it so I maintain use for now. I don’t need a ton of support from the cane so hopefully I’m getting close to dropping it.
* I will be getting an X-ray in a few days to check on the bone growth
* PT has revealed just how much I have compensated with my “good” leg for so long. My gluts especially are very weak...this is definitely slowing my recovery. Quads and hamstring strength coming along.
* My knee flexion is about 140 degrees... more to go but functional
* I tried to stand on one leg at PT a few days ago... I’m definitely not ready for this. My balance is not good on the Stryde leg and I get a shot of pain kind of from the knee up. It took me a few days to recover from trying this, I just took it easy with no formal exercise
* I still have consistent pain in the quad when I do certain things. I’m not sure if it’s just generally strained/tight and needs time to heal or if it needs more strength or what. My PT doesn’t really know either.
* I’m not consistently on Advil or Tylenol now. I probably average about 2x a day, usually at least one of those is around bedtime
* I ride a stationary bike about 3-5 miles a day. It’s my favorite exercise, feels so much more normal than boring leg lifts :-)
Overall, I will admit to being a little down about my progress this week. Honestly, it’s hard to know what to expect but I wanted more. It’s hard to see daily progress but looked at over a couple of weeks I can see the small improvements in flexibility and strength. Did I expect to be walking without a cane by now...yes. In the grand scheme of things, a few weeks more won’t matter.
I was reading an daily reading/devotional from the Bible and was reminded to count my blessings. There is an old hymn that says to count your blessings and “name them one by one”. I did just that today. The mental battles don’t stop with distraction, easy to get down without the right focus...there’s so much to be thankful for!
An X-Ray update. Bone healing coming along!!
1. Pre-surgery xray. Easy to see the discrepancy by looking at the top of the hips. The top of the left hip is not even on the xray since it's so much higher.
https://imgur.com/NNyxe5w
2. X-ray from 11/18/2019 - Angle 1. Good bone growth 4 weeks post distraction.
https://imgur.com/cnye5JK
3. X-ray from 11/18/2019 - Angle 2
https://imgur.com/k776qlT
An X-Ray update. Bone healing coming along!!
1. Pre-surgery xray. Easy to see the discrepancy by looking at the top of the hips. The top of the left hip is not even on the xray since it's so much higher.
https://imgur.com/NNyxe5w
2. X-ray from 11/18/2019 - Angle 1. Good bone growth 4 weeks post distraction.
https://imgur.com/cnye5JK
3. X-ray from 11/18/2019 - Angle 2
https://imgur.com/k776qlT
Day 83 since surgery. Almost 8 weeks post distraction.
* I am back to work full time as of Dec 4
* Bone growth is excellent, i’ll Post an X-ray from yesterday when I get a chance
* I’m starting to feel daily progress rather than weekly. I really feel like the muscles are healing so strengthening can take place. Pain in certain muscles has been a barrier but I feel daily improvement in that. One exercise I could barely do last week I can now do with ease.
* I am still carrying a cane but mostly walk without it. If I walk longer distances, I definitely still need it.
* I go to PT 1X a week. I get guidance and then I’m on my own. I’ve never had more than 1 PT a week
All in all, I’m far from back to normal yet but have no regrets! I’ll continue to post periodic updates...
thanks for the update! congrats and don't forget to keep doing PT 
r u able to run ?
Hi Hamza-
I can certainly light jog a little if needed but I’m not ready for running. It’s been 4 months since surgery, about 3 since the end of distraction. I can easily walk miles at this point, my main cardio and repetitive motion is a stationary bike and an elliptical. All my other rehab is still focused on strength, balance, and flexibility. I work out about an hour a day and do little exercises throughout my day impromptu. Most the time the average person wouldn’t notice my walk is in any way abnormal...but walking for me is still pretty deliberate so I wouldn’t say I’m back to normal walking yet. My knee was in stable before the surgery so that is definitely a challenge in rehab. Muscle tone on the leg is looking/feeling good. I just keep plugging away at strengthening...long answer to a short question...my goal is to be running by March.
Quote from: bgreeneee on January 20, 2020, 04:19:08 PMHi Hamza-
I can certainly light jog a little if needed but I’m not ready for running. It’s been 4 months since surgery, about 3 since the end of distraction. I can easily walk miles at this point, my main cardio and repetitive motion is a stationary bike and an elliptical. All my other rehab is still focused on strength, balance, and flexibility. I work out about an hour a day and do little exercises throughout my day impromptu. Most the time the average person wouldn’t notice my walk is in any way abnormal...but walking for me is still pretty deliberate so I wouldn’t say I’m back to normal walking yet. My knee was in stable before the surgery so that is definitely a challenge in rehab. Muscle tone on the leg is looking/feeling good. I just keep plugging away at strengthening...long answer to a short question...my goal is to be running by March.
We r almost on the same track. I ll contact u in March to compare both progression.
wish u all the best
Hello all-
It’s been quite a while since I’ve given an update. This Covid thing has not been great for my recovery with no access to PT or a gym. So I’d say I haven’t made as much progress as I would have liked. But I am certainly moving forward, I’m mostly doing biking for therapy, about 50 miles a week or so. I’m not running much yet...but I didn’t run too much before :-) I’d say I’m 75-80% of my presurgery condition with room for improvement with more work. No one who sees me walking would have any idea I had a surgery but I can still tell. I deal with some pain still in muscles as I work them...I need to do some more stretching...again part of the consequences of me not hitting the gym like I was before the covid shutdown.
See the video here of me last weekend at the Grand Canyon. If you listen to my wife breathing hard while holding the camera, you’ll see that I’m in better shape than her now :-)
I’ll post another video in a few months...
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