After a few frustrating setbacks in my rehab, things are finally going well and everything is on track! If all continues in this direction, I will be skiing in a few short weeks. Until then, here is an update on how my rehab has been the last few months…
Things started off well right after my second knee operation. My muscles were engaging better than my right knee initially had and everything was looking really good. Unfortunately, about two months later, my left knee swelled up and stayed this way for three consecutive months. When 5 months’ post-op came around and my left knee was still swollen, we became concerned. We had tried every non-invasive technique to get the swelling down, but none of them were working. After a lot of thought and discussion, my rehab team and I decided to get a scope done on my left knee to figure out what the issue was.
Post-scope June 2018
Fortunately, my new ACL and meniscus looked really good and they were healing well! However, the Doctor found some build-up in the joint that was stopping my leg from reaching full extension and irritating my knee. He was able to clear this out. After the surgery, it took about a week to get back to full weight-bearing activities. Thankfully, the scope had worked really well! My full extension finally started to come back, and after a few weeks the swelling came down. My left knee was turning around!
Working on explosive jumps.
The swelling in my knee had put my left knee rehab months behind where it should be. So, we had to work really hard to progress it to where my right knee was. After a lot of hard work and many hours spent in the gym, we finally got both knees pretty equal in strength.
Fast forward to today, both knees are feeling really good and strong! There is still work to be done in the next few weeks before I get back on snow, but right now I am very happy with how everything is looking!
Check back in a few weeks to see how my back to snow camp goes!