I had my 10 week post-surgical orthopedic consult with Dr. McKeon & Jason (his PA) on June 22. The conclusion is that the rehabilitation of my ACL allograph is going very well, probably ahead of schedule. I was given the green light to play golf, ( though I hit a bucket of balls the day before). I was also given permission to start running. I’m not a runner, per say, and prefer chasing tennis balls. I did my 1st run over the July 4th weekend. It was a walk/run and my knee felt great during and after! I will be gradually building up speed and distance which is the best way to build up my Vastus Medialis Oblique muscle (VMO), which was the 1st to atrophy after my injury.
Special thanks to my PT, Steve Crowell of Rebound Physical Therapy who has pushed me and gotten me to this point. There seems to be at least 2 ACL Rehab patient’s in the office whenever I have an appointment, though at my last appointment there were 4. I remember how at my 1st few appointments I was inspired by seeing how patients a few months ahead of me were doing. Now I am able to inspire the others since I was furthest along.
I continue to do my daily exercises which are progressively more challenging. One of the reasons this Blog and newsletter are late is because my whole life these days are revolving around my rehab exercises. It takes up a lot of my time, but it needs to be done if I want to resume the active lifestyle I had before my injury, and I do!
A big part of my rehab is cycling. In the beginning of June I got the ok to cycle outside. Inside cycling allowed me to watch more TV and Netflix then I have in the last decade but am now caught up too many movies & series. Being outside is much nicer. My preference is mountain biking, but I’m not ready to hit the single track trails I enjoy. Surprisingly I am enjoying the cycling I am doing. I’ve been exploring all the wonderful bike paths in the area including the Wellesley Aqueduct and both banks of the Charles River. We live in beautiful area and it is nice to explore many of the communities that make up Greater Boston Proper. I look forward to getting back into the woods, but until then look forward to exploring more bike paths.
This August I will be getting Biodex testing on my leg. Biodex provides a high-tech evaluation of my muscle strengths and imbalances which will help drive my rehabilitation exercises. Dr. McKeon also encouraged a stem cell injection to stimulate and promote healing. He is finding it to be very beneficial to post-surgical rehab and is building a suite in his clinic dedicated to stem cells. I’ll keep you posted.
Please enjoy your summers, get outside as much as possible, be active and remember to stretch before and after your activities!