1 Month, 2 Days

We went for a day trip with friends yesterday, and I spent most of the day on my feet. It was leisurely pace walking, but nevertheless the knee felt sensitive and a little sore by the end of the day. I applied ice and the diclofenac gel, and decided to skip the exercises - today was meant to be a rest day anyway, so I just moved it a day ahead.

Today it's still a little sensitive, but better. I didn't walk as much during the day and I didn't have any problems when doing the exercises this evening. I went harder with the exercises targeting the hip abductors and skipped some of those that involve loading the knee, just in case.

I haven't mentioned it before, but in the last couple of weeks I've really made it a point not to sleep on my left side, to avoid putting pressure on the operated area. It doesn't feel bad when I first lie on the left,  but I've come to the conclusion that most of the time when the knee was swollen in the morning, it was because I'd spent most of the night on the left side. I think I've now come to the point where I avoid that side even in my sleep, and the knee is no longer swollen when I wake up.

Speaking of the swelling, I think the hematoma is really and truly gone and the red bump has disappeared. Left remaining is a general light swelling in the area that's most noticeable after I've spent done time on my feet, and that mostly disappears with rest and icing. But now that the swelling is mostly non-existent, a hard bump has become noticeable under the skin in the same area. I can't tell if it's some sort of deeper swelling, scar tissue, or something else; I'll see the doctor next week for a scheduled follow-up, so I'll ask him about it.

Day 18

I had a session with the new physiotherapist today. She started with massage, focusing on stimulating drainage of the hematoma and making sure there is no adhesion of the IT band around the area that was cut.

Next she had me do the following exercises:

1. Knee press: lying on the back, with her closed hand placed between the knee and the mat; push the knee down into the hand as hard as I can, hold for a few seconds, relax, repeat. Maybe fifteen repetitions, didn't count.
2. Heel pulls: still lying on the back, pull the heel back until leg fully flexed while she is providing resistance against the pull. Again didn't count the repetitions, but at least fifteen.
3. Leg raises: same position but with a hard pillow under the knees with an ankle weight. Extend the leg, then raise to 35-40 degrees; hold a few seconds, slowly lower down and relax, then repeat. Around fifteen repetitions.
4. Repeat exercise 2.
5. Repeat exercise 3.
6. Leg abductions with an elastic band: standing next to wall bars, straight leg abductions with an elastic band, around fifteen repetitions in two series.

To finish the session off, more massage focusing again on the swelling and on keeping the IT band free and loose. She told to me do the exercises 1. (against a pillow or a bottle) and 6. (3x10 repetitions) at home at least once during the weekend.

Day 12

I've removed the final bandage today. The incision hasn't healed completely yet, there's some scabbing and light bruising there. The picture is here for those interested, but I don't think it's presentable enough to be displayed directly in the post just yet.

I've been icing twice a day since the sutures were removed. The swelling/hematoma decreases noticeably after icing. It would probably have been a good idea to use the ice during the time the old thick bandage was off for showers.

There is a new sensation from the knee. I feel a distinctive longitudinal line of tension midway between the lateral epicondyle and the patella, like there is a thin band stretched there that gets tight when I bend the knee under load. Could be that they had cut the IT band away from the fascia along that line during the operation, or it could be some scar tissue. We'll see how it develops.

The functionality is still slowly improving, though maybe not as quickly as in the first week. It's good that I'm about to start physiotherapy soon, it should help to kick start the recovery and keep it on the right track so I don't develop bad patterns of movement.