11 Months since the operation

 Date 2022-12-25

Update

On the face of things I am now pretty mobile and in less pain than before the operation on my right knee. I am able to walk reasonable distances and get my heart rate elevated climbing and descending our local sand dunes. According to my fitbit app I am doing on average 8.5 Km per day.

Whilst sailing on my yacht I note that I am not yet as steady as I was before the operation and the stiffness of the right knee makes it a bit difficult getting on and off top of the coach house roof. Much of this, I have no doubt, is a fear of flexing the knee too much.

The knee still shows signs of swelling to the outer side of the knee cap although these last few days I have noticed the swelling reducing such that I can feel all around the knee cap. 

Thoughts on pain

From about 5 months since the operation I have noticed a significant pain which develops below the knee on the inside of the leg although somedays I have no pain at all. This pain seems to increase when I: 

• Twist the lower leg in relation to the knee, 

• Go for long walks 

• Standing still for periods of more than 10 minutes. 

For a while it seemed that this pain subsides when I walk with my right foot turned inwards, so that I am walking ‘pigeon toed’ but now I am not so sure. This last couple of weeks I have been experiencing sciatica from my hip down the outside of the right leg but once I move around it eases. 

I am continuing with my physiotherapy exercises although I have been a bit lax lately and need to get back to a more regular programme. The exercises I still do are:

1. Flexing both legs at the knee lying with my legs on the peanut and then wiggling my ankles

2. Raising and lowering my hips supporting my ankles on the peanut

3. Using a wobble board

1. stretching my achilles tendon up to the back of the knee.

2. Balancing on each leg separately

4. Static bike for 50 turns of the peddals. This has become less difficult with the reduction in the knee swelling. 

Twice a day Catharine and I walk the dog for around 20 to 30 minutes which includes walking up and down sand dunes to raise my heart rate. I go for longer walks roughly 1 or 2 times per week. Typically we will walk around 8 to 9 Km per day. I wasn’t sure of the freezing temperatures of the last few days had increased the pain or not but having continued to walk through the river at low tide I rather suspect that the cold and then warm when we get home has been a benefit.

My balance on the right leg is not as good as the left leg but it is improving. My right achilles tendon was repaired when I was 25 with a carbon fibre and this has always been stiff. By flexing my ankle upward, bending the foot so the toes move toward the shin on the wobble board I feel significant tension through to the back of the knee. Additionally the tendons and muscles on the outside of the shin are very tight. I have been treating this with a vibrating massage tool, and getting this seen to in sessions with my sports injury therapist; who uses massage and cupping techniques to help separate the tendons to give the leg more flexibility.

Catharine and I are planning to return to Lithuania for the 1 year anniversary of the operation and I have asked for the surgeon to check me over. We had hoped to go earlier but there has been too much going on so we’ve delayed the expedition.