Known Knowns

I got my stitches out today and have been cleared to go back to the gym, although I can’t swim until next week. As a self-titled “layman’s expert” on arthroscopic knee surgery, I’ve decided to write a Patient-to-Patient Guide on Survival. My mom and I always got a kick out of the lame tips that the local news was always giving out, such as “drink lots of water when it’s hot out!” and “wear a hat in cold weather.” Now I’ve decided to throw out some tips of my own. This is in no way medical advice, and may not apply to every situation; just mine.
1. Take your pain meds! If they make you ill, tell your doctor. Well-controlled pain is a hallmark to good healing. Try taking the narcotics with a large meal if they make you sick. Make sure you talk to you health care team (nurse, anesthesiologist, doctor) about your pain management right after surgery. If you have a history of nausea, let them know. We have drugs to help these kinds of things!

2. When elevating your knee after surgery, put the pillow under your ankle (not your knee) to regain full extension. Do it right away, while the anesthesia is still kind of in effect, to lessen the pain. This will help you regain the motion in your knee quickly, and is also key to getting off crutches and making a full recovery.

3. Listen to your body! This may be the most important thing. If you feel like you need crutches, use them. If you feel like you can go without, do so. Your body is an amazing communicator and will let you know almost immediately if you have overdone it. That being said, plan on spending at least two or three days on the couch with your leg up. Do not go back to work and try to move scenery 72 hours post op like I did the first time. Give yourself time. Your body will thank you.

4. Do your PT exercises. It definitely sucks during the first few days because of the stiffness and swelling, but if you concentrate on things like very slow heel slides and straight leg raises, just a few times a day will really improve your recovery and get you back on your feet in no time. If necessary, take your pain medications 30 minutes before you do your exercises.

5. RICE. I cannot extol the virtues of RICE enough. That would be rest, ice, compression, elevation. I felt that my compression stocking did a lot to reduce the swelling. I also slept with an ice bag on it, and I’ve already mentioned the minimum two to three days on the couch. If you’re going out, consider wrapping your whole leg in an ace bandage to reduce the swelling. Less swelling equals less pain equals more movement equals better recovery. Your knee will tell you when it can tolerate anything less than constant icing. Seriously.
6. Don’t forget to wiggle your foot a lot. You don’t want to end up with a blood clot in your calf, which can happen when there’s not much movement of the blood in your lower extremity. A good way to prevent this is to pump your foot up and down a few times an hour. It doesn’t even hurt.

7. Trust your team but don’t be afraid to ask questions. I’m not saying that there are never royal screw-ups, but for the most part, your health care team probably knows what they’re doing. They are there for you, to answer your questions and get you back on the road to climbing mountains, or whatever it is you need your knee for.

8. It will get better. It is hard to imagine that when you’re looking at a c antelope where your knee used to be, but pretty soon, you will not even remember what it was like right after surgery. The body is amazingly good at forgetting pain. Just don’t push your luck.