A month milestone

90 days since injury
28 days since surgery

It’s exactly four weeks since the operation today, and with that celebration comes an extra 30-degree range on my brace.

In truth, I haven’t been wearing my brace much. Most of the day I am at home working or doing physio exercises. The brace doesn’t help me here.

I wear it when I go outside and when I sleep. I don’t want to start running in my dream and pull my leg at a strange angle.

Anyway, my brace is now set to a range of 90 degrees to 0 degrees. In two weeks, it will come off permanently and I will be off the crutches.

Yesterday was physio session #4 and a couple more exercises were introduced. I am still limited with the brace and range of movement, but I can now start doing clams.

The clam is an important exercise but was difficult to get right during my last recovery. My NHS-provided physio was poor at the beginning, and she couldn’t explain how to do a proper clam.

I have a good understanding now and I feel like I am locating the right muscles – Glute Medius and Minimus.

My quad sets are now done on a raised heel, pushing the range even further. We also introduced some hamstring engagement on a gym ball.

Here is my physio exercise sheet for this week:

https://bit.ly/backtofitness-physio-week-004

This is how the knee is looking four weeks after surgery.

The wounds are mostly healed, but apart from that it’s not looking much different to me. The swelling is still there and visible, and seems the same as one week after surgery.

But, it feels good, and all the signs are positive.

I am now on a countdown to ditching these crutches and the brace. I have a real desire to just move and walk, and that’s my first major milestone.