I apologize for not being able to update the site as frequently as possible for the past few weeks. I have an excuse: I was busy rehabilitating my right knee, which underwent arthroscopic surgery on July 7.

The rehab was not grueling, but it was enough to remove my usual daily activities. The first two weeks were difficult to bear. The muscles and underlying tissues around the operated area were still painful and moving them laterally rang up the pain notes up my nervous system.

The exercise set was simple and designed to regain mobility in the affected area as quickly as possible. But the frequency – five times daily – was too time-consuming for me to offer me any other recourse except to deal with them in most of my waking hours.

There were knee-joint presses while lying on my back. Then there were the simple leg raises. Again, while lying on your back, the hip raises require both knees to be flexed.

Another routine involved bending the aching knee as far back as possible while my legs dangled over the bed’s edge.

While seated, I have to bend my hips towards my affected knee with the affected leg straight up and the unaffected leg flexed.

A challenging routine involved bending both knees bent, my back against the wall, then moving the hip joints up and down. It was painful.

Some exercises required using a rubber tube (for resistance) attached to the ankle of the good leg. The excellent leg propped me up and involved moving the affected leg in all four (4) directions as far as possible. One exercise involved trying to walk as straight as possible on a 3″ wide by 8″ long piece of wood.

And finally, there was the one that required me to move up and down a flight of three-step stairs — backward.

They all stressed movements on the muscles around the affected knee to drain any accumulated fluids in the knee joint areas. When used up after a rigorous exercise, the myofibrils (tiny fibers that comprise the muscle) tend to ‘drink up’ any fluids around them.

Much like the way we crave water when we’re exhausted.

—links:
www.healthatoz.com
www.kaiserpermanente.org
www.arthroscopy.com