Met with the PT and did some basic consultation and evaluation. It's a little tricky since I still have medicine in the nerve block ball, so I still have significant numbness and can't access all of the muscles I should.
I'm of two minds about this. I've turned down the pump to 4ml/hour, which means I'm getting some feeling and the pain isn't too bad, but it's not going to run out, today. On the one hand - Yay, because I'm all for keeping the pain minimized for as long as possible. On the other hand, I'd like to not be tied to the ball, and I'd like to, um, remove the catheter while I'm around medical professionals. And I'd like to be able to do the PT.
As for the PT:
We did some RoM activities. I got to about 45 degrees, and maybe I could have gone farther, but it was hard to tell with the nerve block. She said 45 is good, for now.
I did straight leg raises, and she was pleased that I was able to do those, given the numbness. I was a little worried about floppy knee, but I managed to do it, so, hey!
I did ankle pumps and quad sets.
I couldn't do the standing weight shifts or mini-squats which were on the list, because of the numb-knee, and we couldn't do the straight leg raises in other directions because of the catheter.
She's going to talk to the surgeon about whether he wants me to have a EMS (electrical muscle stimulation) machine. She's more of a fan of having people do it on their own, but sees the usefulness.
She also noticed my, uh, flexibility.
The only thing we did that was, um... unpleasant, was the innocuous sounding "Patellar Mobilization", which involves putting fingers on the patella and moving it around. Ow.
Good news: I can do minimal weight bearing. Which is enough to make a difference for me being able to get around and take care of myself.
I have appointments tomorrow and Wednesday, and she says she can do some email consults in between then and when I can get back. Technically, I should be doing 2 - 3 PT appointments per week for 14 weeks or so.
I'm of two minds about this. I've turned down the pump to 4ml/hour, which means I'm getting some feeling and the pain isn't too bad, but it's not going to run out, today. On the one hand - Yay, because I'm all for keeping the pain minimized for as long as possible. On the other hand, I'd like to not be tied to the ball, and I'd like to, um, remove the catheter while I'm around medical professionals. And I'd like to be able to do the PT.
As for the PT:
We did some RoM activities. I got to about 45 degrees, and maybe I could have gone farther, but it was hard to tell with the nerve block. She said 45 is good, for now.
I did straight leg raises, and she was pleased that I was able to do those, given the numbness. I was a little worried about floppy knee, but I managed to do it, so, hey!
I did ankle pumps and quad sets.
I couldn't do the standing weight shifts or mini-squats which were on the list, because of the numb-knee, and we couldn't do the straight leg raises in other directions because of the catheter.
She's going to talk to the surgeon about whether he wants me to have a EMS (electrical muscle stimulation) machine. She's more of a fan of having people do it on their own, but sees the usefulness.
She also noticed my, uh, flexibility.
The only thing we did that was, um... unpleasant, was the innocuous sounding "Patellar Mobilization", which involves putting fingers on the patella and moving it around. Ow.
Good news: I can do minimal weight bearing. Which is enough to make a difference for me being able to get around and take care of myself.
I have appointments tomorrow and Wednesday, and she says she can do some email consults in between then and when I can get back. Technically, I should be doing 2 - 3 PT appointments per week for 14 weeks or so.