Vammapäivitystä:
So far, things have gone very well. I had my stiches removed last Friday (9 days post-op) and the incision looked pretty damn good. The think that the doctor did a very good job as the incision seems very thin and tight. He let me know that the surgery went as planned with the exception of me having the hardest bones he has ever seen. His excact words to my wife post-surgery were " ...he has bones like granite. It's unlike anything I've ever seen!" Hahahahaha...when I saw him to get my stitches removed I asked him about that he said "Yeah. Your bones are like marble. With most people, I am able to drill right into their bones zip zip zip. With you, there was smoke coming off the drill." I asked him if that was a good or bad thing and he said it's a great thing to have high bone density. So that was cool.
He let me know that I can begin rehab 4 weeks post-op but until then, the leg MUST be kept straight with no exceptions. He let me know that this is crucial as the tendon must be given the proper chance to firmly attach to the knee cap before any bending or weight bearing is performed. I asked him about flexing my quad and he he even warned against that "Treat it like a dead leg" was his advice. Granted, I'm incredibly anxious to begin rehab but I do NOT want to mess this up. I received a (very nice) message from Milos Sarcev where he warned me about going to quickly with rehab as he had the same injury, was impatient, began weight wearing with the leg too soon and had to have the surgery re-done. THAT I do not want.
So, currently, I have 2 or so weeks until I can begin rehab and am fortunate to have my long-time friend's physical therapy services at my disposal. I also received feedback from other who have sustained this same injury and one mentioned that the use of an "anti-gravity treadmill" was his greatest tool in the rehab process. Having never heard of this I looked it up and it's a treadmill that allows you to use anywhere from 100% to 20% of your bodyweight while on the treadmill. Don't ask me to explain it...just look it up...very cool. They are not very common but there happens to be one in my town at a University so I may seek that out and incorporate that into the protocol.
Since the surgery I have made nutrition my primary focus making sure to assist the healing process in any way I can. I will purchase a wheelchair either today or tomorrow that I will leave at the gym so that i can begin doing dumbbell work without being on crutches...the last thing I want to do is risk a fall and either re-injure my knee or create a new injury. At the same time, I feel it is crucial to increase my physical activity and limit atrophy where possible.
SO, that's where I'm at!