I saw the orthopedist who operated my knee for the second time after the surgery yesterday. It has heeled remarkably well and has full mobility. This is quite amazing since it will be only 3 months from the surgery tomorrow. So the recovery process has gone as expected, only a little bit better. My orthopedist, Hannu Miettinen, said that I can pretty much start to exercise anything I want besides the contact sports where there’s a bigger risk of twisting the knee, slipping or ‘landing’ badly so these would be football, tennis, squash etc. But I’m allowed to start running again! This is wonderful news, I was so happy. Of course I have to start very gradually and slowly and listen how the knee reacts but if the surface is flat and even, I can run. You cannot imagine how that feels. So as soon as I got home from the doctor, I put on my running gears and went for an easy, short, slow 32 minutes run. There were definitely very strange sensations on the knee, more so below the knee, not exactly pain but kind of ache. It’s hard to explain. But I did run for 32 minutes. And I was soooo happy and relieved and it was a beautiful evening.
So now I need to start building more strength and co-ordination and learn to trust the knee again. Although it’s much better day by day, this part is difficult. I realize that I’m still a bit cautious and have questions like why did it happen, what did I do wrong, will it happen again? But Hannu said that I shouldn’t worry or start to fear as these things happen and sometimes it’s only a small twist into the wrong direction or bad landing from a jump that can cause the ACL to torn. And it’s slightly more common for women to tear the ACL… Anyway, for another month I need to be very careful as the ligamentation process is not completed and it actually goes on for at least a year or so. Hannu also said that I shouldn’t for example sit on my knees for about 6 months as it stretches the reconstructed ACL too much.
Anyway, it’s all gone well and I think I’ll be ready for my performances in June.
Johanna
Glad to hear that your knee is doing so well. I guess it’s just the luck of the draw. I’m envious. D X
Thanks Daniel!
Yes, it’s amazing to be able to slowly function normally after the injury, surgery, recovery… There are moments that I actually forget the knee or that something ever was wrong with it. The full recovery will take more time but I’m pretty confident that I can do my performances in June.
Hope you are well!