I broke my knee part II

I broke my knee on March 10 and since then, two months has passed. Some big highlights that have happened in my ever-exciting life as a temporarily-handicapped person:

Knee update

My main focus for the summer months is to rebuild my leg muscles, which have all suddenly disappeared or forgot how to do their job. It’s crazy to think that two months doesn’t feel very long, but if you don’t use it, the muscle is gone. Muscle atrophy is real, folks. Beware.

Visually, my injured leg doesn’t look much smaller than my other one, but if you squeeze my thighs or calves, you will feel the difference right away. One is hard and pulsing like a monster leg (the healthy one). The other one jiggles like it is made of pudding.

I feel comfortable walking and going up and down stairs slowly, but if I walk too long or go up/down too many flights, my leg does get tired and will start trembling. I notice my knee swells up pretty fast if I overexert myself, so I still constantly ice it.

Physiotherapy

This is my first time undergoing physiotherapy. I was referred to a local clinic by my orthopaedic specialist. For any of you who are interested to hear what physio is like, or is considering to see a physiotherapist, here are some of my thoughts.

It costs me $75 for each 1 hour session with my physiotherapist. This adds up, of course, if you don’t have full medical coverage or work benefits. I am one of these people who do not have 100% coverage, so I was upfront with my physiotherapist about my concern on how much this will cost over time. Together, we worked out a plan to maximize my sessions based on some of the following:

• My pain level is low. We figured this out after my first session where I was not sore at all after completing a week of activities. This means there is no need to meet too frequently.
• My knee brace was still to be on for another month. This limited the types and the amounts of exercise I could do. This means I may not be learning or moving onto new activities as quickly.

I see my physiotherapist every 1-2 weeks, depending on my status of improvement. In the beginning, I definitely felt like I was tossing money out the window because I didn’t feel like my exercises were doing much and they seemed quite trivial. I wondered why I didn’t just watch a 3 minute Youtube video and copy the exercises myself. Now that my brace is off, I am able to do more strenuous activities to build strength and flexibility back into my knees.

I do think it is important for me to do physiotherapy. If I don’t do it, it would take me much longer to be able to do the things I could do before my injury (jump, run, hike, etc.). This means reaching a full recovery.

It’s also reassuring to have someone who will know what is happening to your body if you feel pain and to guide you through activities that you can actually do.

In the end, money is money but your body is priceless.

My current state of mind

This headline makes me sound crazy, but I do want to write about what the last 2 months has taught me. Being immobile has made me notice a lot of things related to accessibility in my own home, city, and when I travel.

For example, I would never have thought that I would have a problem getting in and out of a bathtub until I was standing there naked ready to shower. I probably could have used a different example, but I hope you know what I mean. These are things that you wouldn’t notice unless it happens.

I ask myself – where are the ramps? Elevators? Where are the automatic buttons to open doors? Why didn’t I get a handicapped parking permit (seriously why)?

There are still many things that frustrate me as I continue my recovery – things I want to do but cannot. I promise myself that when I reach a full recovery, I will do all of those things and more.

Sincerely, Loewe