March 18th - Back to the Grind

After spending the last 2 weeks on the couch trying my best to give my knee frostbite, it has finally come time to return to work.  It will be good to get back into the daily routine of getting up early and getting in a morning workout.  Today I stuck with 20 minutes on the bike after doing my strength/ROM exercises and I'm still pedaling at about 70rpm with a small amount of resistance.  I did notice some new pain today at the top of my kneecap that showed up when my knee is at full extension. 

The first day back went pretty well.  I was able to sit most of the day while the kids were working which allowed me to ice my knee a good bit.  I still have to wear the brace, but it is extremely annoying...it doesn't stay in place very well while I am walking.  According to the FMLA paperwork that I got back in the mail today, the doctor wants me to wear it for a full month.  That means that hopefully on April 5th I can ditch the brace for good.  We shall see...

I started my second week of PT today.  As expected Dr. Karyn introduced some new exercises and got rid of most of the old ones that were getting too easy.  I still have to do the bicycle motion exercises, which are the most painful ones (yay), but I will also be adding some wall sits/slides, modified lunges and I'll be increasing my single leg stands.  Interestingly enough I'm supposed to do those while I am brushing my teeth.  At the end of the PT session she massaged some of the spots that have been giving me trouble (top of the kneecap and top of the calf muscles, which have been cramping quite a bit lately), and she removed a few of the Steri-strips to clip some more of the stitches.  The incision seems to be healing really well, and as soon as it does I think it will be time to start heading back to the pool.  I plan to ask more about that at the next session or next week.  I still think it's a little ways off so there is no need to rush it.

Since my PT appointment was late today, I decided to make this a rest day.  No core, pull-ups or push-ups today.  I'll be back to those tomorrow and I may add a few more minutes to my morning ride.