I had my 2 week post op over a week ago. Nurse Rachel was not impressed. She said I need to make her look good at my next visit by having a visible knee cap. My knee was swollen to about the size of a cantaloupe. And boy did it hurt. Rachel said that my knee should not be that swollen. And I thought back to my other surgeries and the swelling that I had. I told Rachel this one felt way better and I realized my last surgery I messed up by taking the wrap off my leg so that I didn't have anything too tight while I slept. But that left me with severe bruising all up and down my leg. It was horrible. At least this time I kept it wrapped and minimal bruising in comparison.
Where did I go wrong? Elevation. I probably never in the 2 weeks of recovery kept my knee above my heart properly. It was usually parallel. So now I'm tasked with raising it straight up in the air and trying to rub the swelling out of it. Rachel said to lay up against a wall and tap my heel. I find the sensation of shaking my leg helpful.
Then I was talking to another doctor friend of mine about my new remedy and he said "make sure to push the swelling toward your foot while doing that." Huh? I would think I want it to drain down into my heart not up to my toes. What good would that do? Then he realized we were talking about me laying down and said, "Yes, when sitting push toward your foot. When laying down pull toward your heart." Now I'm so confused I just rub in circles.
I finally got back to the gym 18 days after surgery and rode a stationary bicycle for 10 minutes. Yesterday I made it to 14. Today I finished 20 minutes and nearly made it 5 miles. But I kept it on an easy setting as Rachel warned me about adding any resistance. Feeling better by the day and my knee only looks like a citrus instead of a melon.
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