When I fractured my tibia plateau in a ski accident 7 weeks ago, I had no idea just how long my road to recovery would be. I was under the assumption that surgery would be the hardest part, and that the following weeks would consist of ice-cream, Netflix, and lounging around on the couch. I soon found out that recovering from a major injury is both physically and mentally taxing. I have had several ups and downs the past 7 weeks, but have managed to stay optimistic and lean on family and friends for support. It's important to remind yourself that everything will be ok, and in the grand scheme of life this is just a bump in the road. Below is a quick recap of my recovery thus far:
Week 1 Post Op: I was in very minimal pain while laying on the couch (thank you pain meds), but was uncomfortable when I was vertical. My knee was extremely swollen- be sure to elevate the leg and ice! I needed help getting up from the couch- my boyfriend had to gently lift my leg and place it on the ground. He administered a Lovonox blood thinning shot into my stomach every morning for 14 days.
Week 2 Post Op: I became slightly more mobile and was able to get up and down by myself. Still managing pain with pain meds, but spaced them out and lowered my dosage. Rest, elevation and ice cont'd. On day 14, I had a 2 week check in with my surgeon. He removed my stitches, took an Xray, and said I should being to work on getting my range of motion back. He suggested sitting in a chair, sliding my heel back and rocking back and forth to loosen up the joint. (This is easier said than done- I later found at PT that the best way to regain ROM is to sit on a high chair and let the leg dangle over the edge. In hindsight, I also would have started bending the knee earlier. My knee was extremely stiff after 2 weeks of being stationary.)
Week 3 Post Op: By day 16, I was feeling a lot better and even made it out to dinner. I had to prop my leg up on a chair. It felt great to get out of the house- I was going stir crazy! The following day I flew back to the East coast. My flight was relatively easy and comfortable, I was able to prop my leg up on my suitcase. Once I was settled at home, I waned myself off of the pain meds and took an occasional Tylenol. My surgeon instructed me to start taking 2, 325mg of Aspirin twice a day to prevent blood clots. It was hard transitioning off of my pain meds and I was in quite a bit of discomfort for the first few days. My surgeon had me ditch the brace, and I slowly worked up to making it 100% of the day without a brace.
Week 4 Post Op: My pain was more manageable, I even felt up to hosting 2 friends over for a game night. I was still experiencing a lot of stiffness in my knee, and decided to start physical therapy to regain my range of motion.
Week 5 Post Op: I was in really good spirits and feeling great. I had my first PT evaluation- my ROM was at 38 degrees (not great) and I had trouble straightening out my leg. I had a muscle knot on the underside of my knee- it was bothering me for a few days, so I finally reached out to my surgeon. He said due to the nature of this surgery along with my post op flight, I was at high risk for blood clots or deep vein thrombosis. He suggested I go to the ER for an ultrasound. After a 7 hour wait at the ER, I learned that I was in the clear and did not have a clot.
Week 6: I had almost zero pain. I had 2 PT sessions and got my ROM to 60 degrees. My scar was healing very nicely. Then, at the end of the week, I had my first crutches wipe out. I slipped on a step and came down on my broken leg, then slid and fell on the leg in an awkward position. I had PT the next day, and they said aside from light bruising and swelling the leg seemed to be ok. I had no shooting pain, but the leg was pretty sore.
PT exercises at this point consist of dangling my leg over the side of the bench and lifting it up and down with my good leg, placing my foot on a block and flexing my thigh to straighten the leg...there is not much I can do at this NWB stage, but I've seen an improvement in ROM and it feels good to get out of the house.
Week 7: I made it to 67 degrees at PT- a 30 degree improvement from 2 weeks prior! I had a follow up appointment with a new surgeon. He took XRays, and fortunately everything looked good despite my wipe out! My original surgeon said I would be able to start walking at 8 weeks, so I was eager for approval to begin weight bearing. The new surgeon unfortunately said that I needed to spend the next 6 weeks completely non-weight bearing. This was a really tough pill to swallow- I had been counting down to walking for 7 weeks, and was devastated to learn that I would have to spend another 6 weeks off of my leg. I asked my original surgeon for a second opinion, and he explained that it's the freshly poured concrete analogy...meaning premature weight bearing can tamper down on the joint reconstruction. He agreed that it was best to remain NWB, and said my repair is likely more vulnerable at 6 weeks than post op.
In my research, it seems that others have found success in partially weight-bearing (ie. 25%, 50%) in the weeks leading up to FWB. My new surgeon said he would leave it to PT in 6 weeks to normalize my gait. I personally think that at week 10 or so I should start to partially weight bear to build up muscle- my leg and foot muscles are completely atrophied. Not sure how I will go from zero to 100 in 6 weeks.
Please feel free to comment with any feedback- would love to hear about your experiences.