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Keith

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Hello Guys
Thanks for the good wishes, much appreciated.
Cortney - fantastic progress on the ROM and overall recovery. Great news too on the stairs I still find going up so much easier than coming down. It all seems very deliberate rather than a natural flowing movement. However, I'm just pleased to be able to do them unaided. Hard work in the gym definitely pays off, but it amazes me how easy it is to lose the muscle mass and tone and how freaking hard it is to regain!!!

Frank- great to hear from you pleased that you're able to do some rehab to try and get ahead of the game. I think every little helps in the early stages, it might not seem much at the time, but boy it makes a difference later. Fingers crossed for the 15th buddy and you can pick up where you left off with the amazing progress you made last time round. Very best wishes and keep us posted with any news.
Keith
 

J.Fry

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"Welcome" to the club. It sounds like you're making great progress. You can also find a lot of archived material here.

https://web-beta.archive.org/web/20...16/quadriceps-tendon-rupture-repair-and-rehab
Hello I just ruptured my quad tendon about three weeks ago. My surgeon won’t let me begin PT for 6 weeks but I have been doing some exercises in the brace. I’m walking a little better this week however, if I’m on it for more than a half hour it tightens up and swells a lot. Tell me what I’m in for. I really want to drive again and get back to work. It’s my right leg to.
 

Frank M

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Hello I just ruptured my quad tendon about three weeks ago. My surgeon won’t let me begin PT for 6 weeks but I have been doing some exercises in the brace. I’m walking a little better this week however, if I’m on it for more than a half hour it tightens up and swells a lot. Tell me what I’m in for. I really want to drive again and get back to work. It’s my right leg to.
Hello J. Fry … well as you know this is not a club one really wishes to join but here we are!!! I am not surprised by the swelling if you are putting full weight on the leg. Were you told to use crutches and if so did the doc tell you it would be OK to walk on the leg without them for some of the day. The swelling does seem to linger for awhile after surgery plus my foot was swollen for much of the time at the beginning. Most likely gravity as the day progressed.
If you will go back to page 11 on this thread you can follow my progress. Just read forward till you reach here :) To recap my experience It was week 6 I was allowed to start PT. From the first day April 5th until about 6 PT sessions over 3 weeks I was able to start driving. My tear was on left leg. My car is automatic so no shifting and right foot for gas and brake pedal no issue. My car is a sport's car so the real issue was my ability to actually bend my left leg enough to get in and out of my car since low to ground. I have seen a few posts of a person with a pick up truck driving pretty soon after operation. Apparently higher off ground and more space to get in straight legged. The key for you maybe when you are able to bend knee like to sit at a table with foot on flat on floor. Just guessing on this comment. I can say it does get better sooner than you think but not faster than you wish.
Now my story is not done...I was about 90% recovered on my ROM (range of motion) in rehab. On Friday morning May 17th had great PT session was up to 125 degrees ROM . That afternoon trip on low curb fell and broke kneecap in half on same repaired leg and broke 3 fingers on left hand :( . Operated on by same Doc on May29 this past marked 6 weeks, I see him Monday and hope to start rehab asap after seeing him. I have been doing straight leg raises (see my description in past post) daily for the last 3 weeks. They are the same ones I did the first day at rehab and had to do at all of my sessions prior to reinjuring the leg. I am hoping these will give me a great start to getting back to normal sooner! I will know much more when I see Doc on Monday.
Well that is it for now...just be patient and if you are doing any exercises be sure the doc has approved. I will stop in touch bases again in fact I may do a post after seeing the doc! I am hoping for green light to go to PT :)
Frank
 

Frank M

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Well the next phase begins for me soon I hope. Yesterday I saw the Doc and he released me to start PT. Tested the knee by having me sit on edge of table and putting leg over the side. Then with his help gradually bending the knee. It went 50 degrees of ROM. I meet with the Therapy owner Friday for evaluation and plan for rehab. I am anxious to get started. More after Friday's meeting at PT …. :)
 

Cortney Bowman

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Well the next phase begins for me soon I hope. Yesterday I saw the Doc and he released me to start PT. Tested the knee by having me sit on edge of table and putting leg over the side. Then with his help gradually bending the knee. It went 50 degrees of ROM. I meet with the Therapy owner Friday for evaluation and plan for rehab. I am anxious to get started. More after Friday's meeting at PT …. :)
Good news Frank ! Glad you're released to start PT again !! Keep us informed !!
 

Cortney Bowman

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Well the next phase begins for me soon I hope. Yesterday I saw the Doc and he released me to start PT. Tested the knee by having me sit on edge of table and putting leg over the side. Then with his help gradually bending the knee. It went 50 degrees of ROM. I meet with the Therapy owner Friday for evaluation and plan for rehab. I am anxious to get started. More after Friday's meeting at PT …. :)
Good news Frank ! Glad you're released to start PT again !! Keep
Hello I just ruptured my quad tendon about three weeks ago. My surgeon won’t let me begin PT for 6 weeks but I have been doing some exercises in the brace. I’m walking a little better this week however, if I’m on it for more than a half hour it tightens up and swells a lot. Tell me what I’m in for. I really want to drive again and get back to work. It’s my right leg to.
Hi J Fry !! Welcome to the club !!! Unfortunately, as we all know it's not a club which we wanted to join !!! My story is fairly indicative of the injury we all suffered ! I just slipped in the parking lot !! I was a bigwave surfer and a competent snowboarder ! A real bummer to have this happen !! As Frank said go back to page 11
Hello I just ruptured my quad tendon about three weeks ago. My surgeon won’t let me begin PT for 6 weeks but I have been doing some exercises in the brace. I’m walking a little better this week however, if I’m on it for more than a half hour it tightens up and swells a lot. Tell me what I’m in for. I really want to drive again and get back to work. It’s my right leg to.
Hello JFry !! Welcome to the club !!! Although, as all of us know, it"s not a club we would have wanted to join willingly !!! If you'd like to see my experience and how I progressed, go back to page 11. I was locked straight for 6 weeks also. Then it was slow BUT steady progress to get ROM (Range of Motion). A good attitude is ESSENTIAL with this injury ! My progress was slower than most BUT it has really accelerated since my surgery on Feb 19. DO NOT GET DISCOURAGED ! PROGRESS WILL COME !! It's been 5 months since my surgery and I have 130 degrees range of motion and my strength is about 60% of my uninjured leg. I hope to be surfing again in about 3-4 months (8-9 months after my surgery)
Good luck and keep us informed of your progress !! we all went through this and we are here to help with your recovery !!!
 

Tricia

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The tendon repair and rehab thread was one of the most visited threads on Epic and its good to see it thrive here, in the interest of helping people who are going through this kind of injury.
:thumb:
 

Keith

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Hi JFry, sorry you've become a member of possibly the worst club going
I can't really add anything to what Frank and Cortney have already posted. Patience and perseverance really are key with this injury.
Don't worry too much about the swelling, I'm 31 weeks post op and still have some residual swelling around the knee! Strength to you buddy for a speedy recovery
Frank - great to see you progressing to PT and ROM improvement too. Youll soon be making those impressive gains again
take care.

Keith
 

Frank M

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Hello All...It begins!!! Day one of Physical Therapy today. Begins easy then progresses to hard. This is my 2nd go round in 4 months for left knee rehab. First time was for torn Quad tendon reattachment.as some know it was going well with me at about 90% back to normal. Then disaster struck with me tripping and breaking the repaired left leg plus 3 fingers on left hand for good measure. So even though I technically do not have Quad tear I feel this one is close enough to be here. Happy to be starting the journey to regaining mobility. For me it is being able to drive and get out of the house, FYI --- Posting has proven to be helpful in looking forward to what I did before and will see how progress works for this injury. More as I do PT sessions with the next on 7/26.

Frank
 

Cortney Bowman

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Hi Keith !!
I hope all is going well for you !! I bet you're at 100% recovery now !! You're my inspiration !!
I'm now 21 weeks post surgery...
As for me 125-130 ROM.... Able to go upstairs unaided...Downstairs with a little help from the handrail.
No more cane unless I'm walking further than 2 miles and/or over uneven ground... Single leg (injured leg) press 175 lbs 8-10 reps 5 sets 3 days a week..
BOSU ball balance work ....single injured leg with a railing to hold if I start to fall or my leg feels unsteady and/or starts to give way...
OS and my PT said that in order for me to surf again, my injured leg strength needs to be 85%-90 % of my uninjured leg...
Still at about 55%-60% strength compared to my uninjured leg,,,,, PT once every 2 weeks to assess my progress,,,,
I've never ha such a damn slow progressing and devastating injury like this !! At least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel !!!
Take care and I hope all's well !!
Cortney
 

Keith

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Hi Cortney

Many thanks for the good wishes
Great to hear of your progress man, sounds to me like it's going well. You're only 21 weeks out but making some good gains. I would say you're ahead of where I was at that point.
I feel most of my real improvements have come from about week 25 onwards.
I wouldn't be too concerned about injured leg strength at the moment. I would say my injured leg is still only at 70% compared to the good one. Consultant and PT both say that 100% is very unlikely for me and 85-90 would be a real achievement, but this may take another 6-12 months to get there.
I'm real happy to be hiking again without any walking aids and managing 12-14 miles without discomfort.
Do you do leg extensions in the Gym? I'm still finding these cause me some real pain and have mixed feelings about them. Recumbent bike with plenty of resistance has been the difference for me
Take care buddy and continue making those gains.

Keith
 

Cortney Bowman

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Good Morning/Afternoon Keith,
Thank you for your insight !
You are right. , My OS and PT said that recovery to 85%-90% strength of the uninjured leg is considered to be quite a good outcome
Hiking 12-14 miles unaided is fantastic and would be considered by me as a 100% recovery ! Wow ! In fact I don't think I could have completed a 12 mile hike before I was injured !
Your protocol of the recumbent bike with progressing resistance has worked perfectly; getting you back to doing quite well !l Bravo !!!
My main aim is to get back to surfing. I surf goofy foot (left injured leg toward the tail of the board) so strength is necessary, albeit not the strength that I used in training legs in the gym be fore I was hurt.. I am somewhat unusual for a surfer, in that I am an amateur bodybuilder too. I combine functional and bodybuilding training (in the gym) so I can still surf large waves at 59 years old. Leg press, leg extensions, Hamstring curls have worked well for me to progress in regaining strength. I just started balance training also (BOSU..Balance Board..etc...) I do approx 10 sets of single leg press, 8-10 sets leg extensions and hamstring curls per week with 10-12 reps each set.
My OS and PT said that realistically, I won't be ready to surf until Oct-Nov... The last thing I want is to re-injure myself or not be able surf well because I started too early.
As for leg extensions they are still uncomfortable for me. I do single leg extensions still quite light at 15-20 lbs with an 8 second eccentric (negative..lowering) and 3 second concentric (raising). My OS and PT said it would uncomfortable for the foreseeable future but to take slow and incrementally increase the weight. They also said that as long as I go slowly (contractions and increasing the weight) that leg extensions are good as long as they're combined with leg press. I am used to leg extensions and in a real twist the recumbent bike causes me real pain ! It's probably the difference between our sports and what we like to do !
Thanks again for your help and encouragement !!
Cortney
 

Cortney Bowman

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Good morning Frank
I believe that you had a PT session this morning at APEX. How did it go ? Any assessment as too your new rehab; as it applies to the patella injury combined with your QTR? Your rehab progress was amazing with the QTR before the patella injury. Are you rehabbing just the patella injury now ? Or is it combined with continuing rehab of your Quad tendon rupture? Or a combination of both ?
Hope all is going well for you !!!
Cortney
 

Frank M

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Good morning Frank
I believe that you had a PT session this morning at APEX. How did it go ? Any assessment as too your new rehab; as it applies to the patella injury combined with your QTR? Your rehab progress was amazing with the QTR before the patella injury. Are you rehabbing just the patella injury now ? Or is it combined with continuing rehab of your Quad tendon rupture? Or a combination of both ?
Hope all is going well for you !!!
Cortney
Hello Courtney...I did go to rehab this morning at 8:00am PDT. It went well though really did not have me do much. I did the same 4 routines I had been doing on my own. They were the ones I started with the QTR. As I mentioned in earlier post I start those at home about 4 weeks before being released to "official rehab". Doc approved me doing then while I was in the straight knee brace. I think this was something that help when I went last week to my first session. From what I can tell the QTR rehab did what it was supposed to do and this appears to be an extension to get the knee movement going from the fracture. I will probably know more as my progress moves along and I am given things to do which are brand new to me. So as of now things are paraell to my first rehab for the QRT. So it was one week since I went to PT place as they no other openings this past week! Lots of hurt folks out there in the world at least in my area. The rehab place is called Apex PT...they do regular folks like me and are used by many of the local pro athletes for their choice of PT. The walls of the place are adorned with the shirts of athletes and signed to Apex thanking them for getting them back on the field of play. Athletes like Buster Posey, All Star catcher for S F Giants, Julian Edelman, Super Bowl MVP of the New England Patriots, Andrew Luck, All Pro,QB of Indianapolis Colts and Stanford All American, and many more must be 15 jerseys on the walls!
Any today they added coupe of more items: Foot/Heel up on large ball with strap to move foot/heel back and forth 2 x 10 set. Towel on table I am laying on with heel on towel again strap to pull so knee bends as it pulls toward me 2 x 10 set. Leg at knee over edge of table and good leg at ankle of bad leg lifting it up and then I bend it at knee down and back as far as it lets me! In the end the owner works on kneecap (patella) back/forth then measure my Rom. Today I went from 55 degrees last week to 70 degrees :)
My sense is this was a nice jump I will have to go back and see what was at similar stage when I had QTR surgery. So at this time so far so good! I was able to get into my car and start driving again...but is isn't an easy effort. I have a low sports car!!! That is all for now. Next week I have 3 appointments then go to 2 a week...more next week!
Thanks for asking me it does help the process...Frank
 

Frank M

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I have had 2 PT sessions the last two days (7/29-7/30) each about 1hr 15 min not counting the 1o minutes of heat to begin & 10 min of icing to conclude! Each day they added to the variety of items or increased reps. On Monday when done my ROM improved from 70 degrees to 77... then on Tuesday to 85 degrees. I was shocked it made that big of difference in one day. :) So good going so far and I have PT again Friday 8/1. I am pleased with progress so far but I am aware things can slow down with modest ROM gains based on the previous experience. Plus this is a different injury from Quad tear with now rehabbing Broken Kneecap. That is all folks :) !!!
Frank
 

Frank M

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Just back from today's PT session. A few new additional exercise add to my routines. When all was said and done I hit 90 degrees of ROM! :) Given this is my 2nd go round for knee rehab in last 5 months I am track my ROM from my earlier PT against current one. Interestingly enough I am at same ROM after 5 sessions as the one before! Happy camper here :)
I hope all others on this journey are working and improving as well ...we are all in this together---unfortunately :)
 

Cortney Bowman

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Just back from today's PT session. A few new additional exercise add to my routines. When all was said and done I hit 90 degrees of ROM! :) Given this is my 2nd go round for knee rehab in last 5 months I am track my ROM from my earlier PT against current one. Interestingly enough I am at same ROM after 5 sessions as the one before! Happy camper here :)
I hope all others on this journey are working and improving as well ...we are all in this together---unfortunately :)
Glad your progress is going well Frank !!
 

Frank M

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Glad your progress is going well Frank !!
Thanks Courtney and how are you doing? Your surfing requires strength and balance. Are you closing in on your goal of 85-90% of the good leg? I hope to get back to running and have not run in 5 months due to the back to back left knee injury. Frustrating to say the least! Keep working as Oct will be here and the waves are calling :)
 

Cortney Bowman

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Thanks Courtney and how are you doing? Your surfing requires strength and balance. Are you closing in on your goal of 85-90% of the good leg? I hope to get back to running and have not run in 5 months due to the back to back left knee injury. Frustrating to say the least! Keep working as Oct will be here and the waves are calling :)
Good morning Frank !
I appreciate your interest in my progress !! It helps tremendously !
My strength is returning quite well through traditional gym strength exercises i.e. Leg Press Leg extensions Leg Curls etc,,, There still remains troubling movements indicative to surfing that are not responding to just a gym strength protocol !!!
HOWEVER, I have sought out a PT establishment like APEX which is a sports specific rehab facility... Thanks to you, and how your progress is amazing !! This PT firm has a long time surfer PT that is well versed in patella tendon rupture and/or Quad Tendon Ruptures.... My consult with him is tomorrow... He comes well recommended !!
I appreciate your experience with a good rehab facility and it has spurred me into action !!
Thank you !
Cort
 

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