Scheduled for nail removal + honest feelings on LL

Edit Post

Quote from: Microbe on May 10, 2018, 09:27:18 PMOne of the biggest affected regions with nail removal (along with nail insertion) is the hip region and unfortunately the abductor muscles are perhaps the most badly affected. The trauma and wound prevents proper hip abductor exercises, the best one being laying on the side and lifting the top leg. Laying on the side is still quite painful around the incision regions, and this causes the abductors to atrophy, leading to the waddling gait.

Couldn't agree more. I'm walking now without crutches now, about 4.5 months post-surgery, but waddling mostly because of weak abductor muscles. Been trying to strengthen them, but seems to take some time to rebuild the strength there. Microbe, do you remember how long it took you to regain most of your gait?

Edit Post

Quote from: bigdreams55 on May 11, 2018, 06:25:10 AMCouldn't agree more. I'm walking now without crutches now, about 4.5 months post-surgery, but waddling mostly because of weak abductor muscles. Been trying to strengthen them, but seems to take some time to rebuild the strength there. Microbe, do you remember how long it took you to regain most of your gait?

Post initial LL surgery, it took me around 6 months to regain most of my gait, but I would struggle after walking long distances. Post nail removal (2.5 weeks) I'm still waddling.

Edit Post

Thanks for the continued updates, despite the pains.

Edit Post

Quote from: myloginacct on May 12, 2018, 02:45:52 PMThanks for the continued updates, despite the pains.

No worries! I've been walking for couple kilometres for the past few days and I'm really happy to see my endurance increase. Waddling has decreased but still apparent. My pain from the incision has decreased except when I accidentally put pressure on it. Another thing I've noticed so far is that my left leg has not experienced the chronic pain I experienced before. I still think it's still quite early to conclude whether the nail removal and/or physio has actually helped. But I'll keep you updated on this matter in the upcoming months when it'll be reasonable to conclude whether the pain has settled or not.

Edit Post

Hope that your chronic leg pain stays away, thanks for the updates!

Edit Post

By the way, this is a quick summary (from 2011) of the much mentioned Alsberg (in this forum) and his research:

http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/008408.html

QuoteQuote    A lab discovery is a step toward implantable replacement cartilage, holding promise for knees, shoulders, ears and noses damaged by osteoarthritis, sports injuries and accidents.

    Self-assembling sheets of mesenchymal stem cells permeated with tiny beads filled with growth factor formed thicker, stiffer cartilage than previous tissue engineering methods, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have found. A description of the research is published in the Journal of Controlled Release.

    "We think that the capacity to drive cartilage formation using the patient's own stem cells and the potential to use this approach without lengthy culture time prior to implantation makes this technology attractive," said Eben Alsberg, associate professor in the departments of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery, and senior author of the paper.

He's been at it for longer than 6 years since this article.

The future of his research, and stem-cell derived therapies in general, will be of greatly help for LLers in the future.

There was also much talk of the recent Israeli treatment. We need to see how that one goes.

http://thenationonlineng.net/doctors-implant-lab-grown/


I think your body will take care of the rest for you now that nails are removed, but science will keep trying no matter if you are doing totally fine in a year.

Edit Post

Hi. If you don't mind, could you tell us your age at the time you did the surgery?
Or at least the range of age (like mid 20s, late 20s...something like a rough range)?

Edit Post

Quote from: Mtall on May 13, 2018, 04:21:41 PMHi. If you don't mind, could you tell us your age at the time you did the surgery?
Or at least the range of age (like mid 20s, late 20s...something like a rough range)?

In my 20s

Edit Post

I've finally managed to lay on my side with slight discomfort from the incision sites. As previously mentioned, my abductor muscles have become extremely weak and cannot raise each leg for than 15cm while laying on the side. My physio told me to first bend both legs while laying on the side and then lift the top leg while bent, resembling a shell fish. And then progress to straight leg raises.
After doing these exercises, my gait improves quite alot. However if I stay sedentary for too long then I regain my waddling gait.

Edit Post

Post 3 weeks nail removal

-Regained around 80% of normal walking gait
-Sitting, staying in one position or walking for prolonged periods makes my legs sore and stiff, leading to abnormal gait
-Haven't experiencd the chronic pain in my left leg, however strangely, I'm experiencing similar pain in my right leg atm (most likely due to muscle atrophy, especially the abductor muscles)
-still have scabs on my wounds with new scars, and area is quite sensitive, problematic for sleeping on sides and doing abductor exercises.
-positive on making full recovery in couple of weeks, however this whole experience is mentally and physically exhausting, more so than my lengthening phase when I looked forward to growing taller. I know it sounds weird but yes this removal surgery has drained me. I never ever want to be under the knife again.
-went to see an orthotist and prescribed me a custom insoles for flat feet and descrepancy between legs
-I'll keep you guys updated