ACL reconstruction story: In the beginning

Great story about an ACL injury that happened while skiing. Bob did he know he had an ACL injury until he went to the doctor.

Since, it has been a month since my sugery and I have not been to the mall all that time. I figured it was time for me to get out a little. I was able to walk while using on clutch for support.  So off to the mall I went for a little exercise, which I know will help my ACL Recovery. I even had to climb a few sets of stairs to go to the food court; I had the option of the lift, but the ths is much better. After being on my feet for over 2 hours I felt good. The only part that is sore is my calf because it is so weak from inactivity this past couple of months.

You should try to get up and move about more as you make your way to an ACL REcovery. Tell me you story.

The doctored cleared by last week to start walking without my acl  brace. He even had the nurse pack my brace up in a bag and sent me home to start walking and doing light excercises.

About 2 days without the brace my knee started to swell up and I had to stop with the excercises. I was concern about possible scar tissues causing the swellness, so I went online to check and my research cause to to go back down to the doctor which is a $30 taxi ride away.

Well,after the doc examed me he told me that it was normal to have  this and sent me homes with some meds and told me to lay off the excercising for a week.

I am happy to report that my knee is no longer swollen and I have resume my excerises as of yesterday.  My calf is a little sore because it has not been used much in the last few weeks, so I am thinking about on and off days for the excercises.

Friday, March 20, 2009
ACL –> One year (+ 2 months) later

It has been a little over a year since I have had my ACL surgery to reconstruct the torn ligament with strands from my hamstring and what a year. This past Monday, I had my one year post-operative visit with Dr. Liew from the Ottawa Hospital - Civic Campus and am at a point where I can move away from using my ACL brace. In its place, I will likely use a soft-knee brace which I am getting from Kinemedics. Fortunately, it is classed as an orthopedic device and as such, I can collect 80% back from benefits.

Furthermore, the only sport in which I have been using my ACL brace was in Ultimate, the original sport that caused my injury. I have been at the game since middle of July and have to say that it has been definitely challenging to get comfortable with the game, but never have I given up on getting back into the sport.

Within the past year, as you all know, I have completed my first triathlon and am preparing to compete in my next triathlon on May 16th. I also hope to possibly do a couple more, but in light of all the activities that are open to me this summer, I will limit them to the few select ones that have a fun factor involved. I am not in their to win, but in there to have a challenge and to have some fun too. Although it is fun to win, it is fun to complete one.

What else is on the horizon for this summer? More golf, more extended weekend vacations to various places in Ontario, East Coast and the U.S. Northeast, along with enjoying the finer elements of life with my girlfriend.

Stay tuned for more blogs here and in Paul’s Garage, as I progress with the updates that I am about to embark on my project car.

That’s in for now….

Paul

a link to Paul’s site:
http://paulbrun.blogspot.com/2009/03/acl-one-year-2-months-later.html

Technorati Tags: acl inury

Super hero cat with ACL Brace

See there’s other uses for the brace once you’re fully recovered. I would recommend you use it if you doing anything that requires extra work for you knee. In between those periods, why not let your cat have a try at being a Super Cat. Cool huh?

After about 3 days in the hospital I was finally discharged and sent home in a case. I was relieved when I went back in for my post-op exam to have the cast taken out and given a Post-opt ACL Brace. I must admit this brace is wonderful as it allows for various extension degrees. It is hinged so that you can adjust the setting simply by rearranging the screws. At first the doctor adjusted to 30 degrees, after a week it went to 90 degrees and then I was free of the brace after a month. I still wear because it as it gives me additional support when I am walking a lot.

I would recommend that you get a brace even if you recently suffered an ACL injury. From my personal experience, I wasted too much money on those knee wraps that you can buy at Walgreens for a few bucks. I think I went thru like 5 of them, and being lazy I never realized that sooner or later I would need a real knee Brace. Had I known about these braces, I would have brought one and save all the trouble of running back and forth to Walgreens and Wal-Mart.

The brace as seen in the photo is excellent for giving your knee that extra support it needs before and after the ACL Reconstruction. Many people with ACL injuries are wearing these braces to give them additional support for all types of activities including soccer, football, skiing, and martial arts. As for me I have gotten back into these activities after a long time off. I continue to wear my ACL brace because I have heard of people injuring their ACL again because of not taking any precautions.

Technorati Tags: ACL Brace, ACL injury, ACL reconstuction, ACL tear, Meniscus tear

This is my ACL brace of choice. I really like it because unlike the ones that wraps around, this one allows the leg to breathe so my leg and knee doesn’t get sweaty when I go out for a jog.

Joe Namath's brace 1972

A picture of the famous baseball player’s knee brace. He must have made it himself. All I know is it is probably the most expensive knee brace in the world.

Happy dog once more

This dog blew out her knee and the owners were kind enough to get her a knee brace. I love seeing stuff like this.

Retirement with knee pain

I thought is was a neat little picture about retiring with a knee brace. I am too young to think of retirement, but when I do and if I still need a knee brace hopeful my friends will give me a cake like this one.