It’s been a quite a while since I last blogged. Whilst I was in the midst of the ilizarov treatment I found committing my thoughts and progress to the blog was quite cathartic but now I’m on the mend it’s much harder to find the time.
My last leg update at the beginning of March concerned my knee bend, or lack of. That is still the over riding issue albeit I can now achieve almost 90 degrees range of movement at the knee.
It has been very slow progress with twice weekly hydrotherapy inter mixed with a weekly visit to a private physio. The cost has mounted up and as the operation to lengthen my leg was elective, my medical insurance won’t entertain covering the costs unsurprisingly.
The knee itself is much stronger now but it seems to have stuck at almost 90 degrees. It would seem I am unlikely to enjoy any great improvement past that mark without undergoing another operation to free the stuck tissue that, it is believed, is preventing further bend.
All very disappointing considering my knee was fine pre-op and such complications were never explained fully. But I am still glad I underwent the procedure and the knee issues are a small price to pay now that my leg is the correct length once again.
So where now? I have continuing physio and an appointment with my consultant at the end of May. If a further operation is the only option I will probably delay it until after the summer in the hope that, as my leg gets stronger, I can get it to bend further on my own. I don’t fancy an op just before the summer which may have me back on crutches and would affect holiday plans!
If I have not regained full movement after 6mths then I guess I have little option but to agree to a further op to get the knee bend fixed.
As it is now, I can negotiate stairs without too much difficulty. I can’t kneel down and as I found out this week, a theatre seat where room is limited is extremely uncomfortable to the point of pain.
But I do want to regain the full movement, I want to be able to ride a bike again and so there is still a very long way still to go.
You might want to investigate getting shorter crank arms for your bike. They allow the knee to have to bent as much. This might allow you to build up your range of motion.
I haven’t actually tried yet. It may be that I can manage it by raising the seat but i doubt it.
I’ll dig the bike out of the shed and see. I hadn’t even considered such a thing as shorter crank arms so thanks!