8 1/2 Months out

I was looking for a specific post for someone and ended up reading some of my own blog. I'm glad I wrote it, since I think a few people may have found it helpful, but also because I would have forgotten a lot of this.

I saw my massage therapist (MT) again this weekend as my shoulder and upper back have continued to give me problems. It seems like the discomfort starts to build up over about a month before it becomes very bad. It makes sleep difficult because no position is really that comfortable. I'm going to start seeing him for 30 minutes every 2 weeks now to try to stay ahead of the building discomfort.

While I was there, I had him go over my knee to break up scar tissue. It's pretty unpleasant and difficult to do an adequate job on yourself. My MT suggested using a topical analgesic, such as Biofreeze, to dull the pain while using quick, short strokes to break up the scar tissue. It's a good suggestion and helps dull some of the aches too.

The knee gets stiff still and often I will feel pressure in it until I get a good pop out of it. (It's audible, so sometimes it catches people off-guard, which is highly entertaining.) I think that is due to the brace though since it pushes things out of a normal position. I've been walking up to 2 miles at a time, and the increase in distance may be one of the factors that have helped the knee feel smoother lately. Well, sometimes anyway. I am still quite aware of the knee but my limp has gotten noticeably better in the last few weeks. It's almost gone.

I added a new link on the right to the Chester ACI Rehabilitation Guide For Femoral and Tibial Articular Cartilage Repair, that someone shared on the knee geeks forum. It's a great find! It covers both the surgery and the rehab in one document. I was reminded again by reading that document that Dr. Trice is keeping me on a very slow path. Perhaps ACI is easier for some others? But then again, I don't seem to have any complications so it can be harder for others too. Anyway, it's a good reminder to mention to any readers that I was really bad off before, so don't get too scared. My experience might be on the more painful side.