Last of Lin, Thanks for your input. I've been researching and there are so many options with reviews that vary from person to person. I'm going to discuss with the surgeon when I see him Monday.
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Quadriceps Tendon Rupture, Repair and Rehab
Last of Lin, Thanks for your input. I've been researching and there are so many options with reviews that vary from person to person. I'm going to discuss with the surgeon when I see him Monday.
Had an appointment yesterday and brace was set to 50 degrees. Next appointment is scheduled for January 8th, however was given the option to set the brace to 60 degrees on January 1st, which no question will happen. On the plus side after the appointment, wife and I went to a local restaurant and was our first time out since my fall other than for doctor appointments. Was a welcome break to feel some normalcy!
Hi everyone. Apologies as it's been some time since I've been able to get on here. Great to see some newbies benefiting from this great thread. Sadly it's the thread no one really wants to be joining!
I'm now 54 weeks post op and would say I'm finally 100% fixed. I can do everything I did prior to the injury without any resulting discomfort or pain. I would say that my damaged leg actually feels stronger when I'm climbing or in the gym. I'm now squatting 145kg and leg pressing the same, which I've not pushed myself to before. Mentally I think I'm finally there too and now have complete confidence in the repair.
There's some fantastic advice on here and I would say be patient and your recovery will come. I had a couple of unnecessary setbacks due to my impatience and wanting an instant fix.
Strength to all of you and have a peaceful Xmas and New year.
I'm now 54 weeks post op and would say I'm finally 100% fixed. I can do everything I did prior to the injury without any resulting discomfort or pain. I would say that my damaged leg actually feels stronger when I'm climbing or in the gym. I'm now squatting 145kg and leg pressing the same, which I've not pushed myself to before. Mentally I think I'm finally there too and now have complete confidence in the repair.
There's some fantastic advice on here and I would say be patient and your recovery will come. I had a couple of unnecessary setbacks due to my impatience and wanting an instant fix.
Strength to all of you and have a peaceful Xmas and New year.
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2017
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I still don't quite have full range of motion and I have to regularly stretch my knee but how often does someone need to put their heel to their rear end? Also, the quad isn't shaped the same way. However, I agree, for real world activities I'm 100% with no problems at all though I still look at potentially slick slopes or stairs and remind myself to be careful.
Just wanted to say how much I have appreciated reading the stories and the positive messages found in this forum. I am 44 days post-op after my surgery and trying my best to navigate this recovery. I’m amazed that everyone’s recovery progresses so differently when we’re all in the same boat! I am 3 weeks in to rehab and my ROM hit 60° about 10 days ago but no improvement since! No real pain it just refuses to give anymore bend when we’re working with it. That’s been a mental struggle for sure. Strengthen is still progressing, I’ve been allowed to work off of one crutch for a week and had no issues to speak of there and I can get stronger and more sustained contractions in the quad every day, but just no more bend! I’m absolutely frustrated! I’m not a skier like most of you, I live in Indiana, but once upon a time I was a professional basketball player and have always enjoyed any physical challenge that I could find, but this thing is a different beast all together! My rehab progressions and timelines were set out as aggressively as possibly by my surgeon, he wanted me to shoot for 90° at the six week mark, but I didn’t get it and still haven’t. I see him again Thursday though then it’ll be time to regroup and push on. I wondered if any of you hit any other similar plateaus with the rom but still progressed in other areas at the same time? I went from the 2 week completely locked in the brace post-op period to 45° degree rom at rehab within the first 3 visits and then that slow march to where I’ve been for the last 10 days. I appreciate all of you for sharing your stories and felt like I wanted to become a part of it too. This forum is helping me understand the marathon of it all more than I can tell you! Thanks again!
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I think 90 degrees at week 6 is pretty optimistic though you started rehab earlier than I did. My initial rehab evaluation was at around 45 days post op and I was at 72 degrees. Plateaus are normal and this won't be your last. Try working the ROM as often as possible such as on a recumbent bike. I'm used to physical exertion and working out but ROM training was the pits.
The good news is that you will eventually be "functionally" 100%
Hello fellow quaders. Unfortunately I’m back in this forum. Tore L quad tendon late 2010, repaired 1/3/11. Made full recovery, back to skiing, snowmobiling and triathlons. Recovery was similar to most of what you all have posted. Back then I thought I could never do this again, but now I’ve just ruptured my R quad tendon. It was the end of a glorious day snowmobiling in Idaho Monday when I hit a small jump which jerked my body back in the seat, I contracted quads hard to not get thrown off and felt R quad tendon just rip, you know the feeling! It was 9 years to the day from my last quad tendon tear. Scheduled for repair this coming Monday by same OS who fixed me before. I’m a 53 year old active man with apparent weak tendons. 20 years ago I tore L pec tendon in weight lifting accident. Anyway I’m about to go down this familiar road and appreciate following along with you.
Andy,
Sorry to read that your back in the forum under your circumstances. I assume as a returning member your better prepared than most. I wish you well on Monday and would think at this point you just want to get the surgery over with and begin to recover once again. I would be curious going forward to read about any differences in your process this time around as opposed to nine years ago.
The one tip I can offer that I received from several posters on this site was to opt for a "nerve block." . I had no prior knowledge of the procedure, but after reading about it here when I mentioned it in pre-op it was highly recommended. If it wasn't something you experienced the first time its well worth discussing with your OS.
Keith
Sorry to read that your back in the forum under your circumstances. I assume as a returning member your better prepared than most. I wish you well on Monday and would think at this point you just want to get the surgery over with and begin to recover once again. I would be curious going forward to read about any differences in your process this time around as opposed to nine years ago.
The one tip I can offer that I received from several posters on this site was to opt for a "nerve block." . I had no prior knowledge of the procedure, but after reading about it here when I mentioned it in pre-op it was highly recommended. If it wasn't something you experienced the first time its well worth discussing with your OS.
Keith
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Sorry to hear that. I think that's the fear most recovering quadriripaholics fear.
Ok, post-op day 2, surgeon said it went well Monday, said it looked like a knife had sliced my quad tendon right off top of patella. He drilled into the patella and wove that super strong suture wire in and out to lock the tendon back to the patella. He also sutured the lateral and medial retinaculum. Says it will heal up fine in time just like 9 years ago. He took a photo just as he started the repair, patella lower right and torn tendon upper left with gap in middle. Pain wasn’t bad first 24 hours, then worsened as numbing wore off. I’m still not sure if I had an actual nerve block. Pain meds and ice helping. Leg obviously braced and I’m hobbling around on crutches. Remembering from last time the first week is the worst, I’m getting thru it. Andy.
Andy I hope your recovering well as you make through these first few weeks! My surgeon sent me some almost identical images from my surgery as well and I look at mine first thing every morning before warming up to do my first set of ROM training and quad progressions. Just reminds me no matter how little the progressions seemingly feel in my mind I’m getting further and further away from those pictures daily.
Just dropping in where I’m at in recovery, Im in the middle of week 7 post-op and have been fighting for every degree I can the last 10 days. I’ve had a great last week of therapy and hit my active range to 70° as things seem to be loosening up for me. The scar tissue from the arthroscopic portion of my surgery is finally really breaking up and yesterday after some aggressive patella manipulation in PT they got my kneecap to start sliding in the groove and tracking up and down correctly. When that pressure released all of the sudden it felt like the first real meaningful deep breath I’ve taken since waking up from surgery! I feel like finally I’m at the edge of some real ROM progress but still calmly just taking it exercise session to exercise session throughout the day. I hope everyone is doing well and feeling confident in their recoveries! I appreciate following all your stories...it’s an encouragement to my own mindset for sure! I’m about to go out in some quality time with the pull press and release exercises and my favorite the ankle weight gravity wall slide. I’m feeling dangerous this morning, ready to this second set of exercises!
Just dropping in where I’m at in recovery, Im in the middle of week 7 post-op and have been fighting for every degree I can the last 10 days. I’ve had a great last week of therapy and hit my active range to 70° as things seem to be loosening up for me. The scar tissue from the arthroscopic portion of my surgery is finally really breaking up and yesterday after some aggressive patella manipulation in PT they got my kneecap to start sliding in the groove and tracking up and down correctly. When that pressure released all of the sudden it felt like the first real meaningful deep breath I’ve taken since waking up from surgery! I feel like finally I’m at the edge of some real ROM progress but still calmly just taking it exercise session to exercise session throughout the day. I hope everyone is doing well and feeling confident in their recoveries! I appreciate following all your stories...it’s an encouragement to my own mindset for sure! I’m about to go out in some quality time with the pull press and release exercises and my favorite the ankle weight gravity wall slide. I’m feeling dangerous this morning, ready to this second set of exercises!
11 days post-op R complete QTR repair, saw OS yesterday, staples out, told to stay in straight leg brace another 3 weeks then follow up. I was trying to read my posts from epicski from 9 years ago when I did same thing to L knee, I know I got in the pool like 3 weeks post-op and started formal PT at 4+ weeks. For now I’m hobbling around with a cane or a crutch. I can drive since my Subaru seat goes way back and tilts forward. I went back to work this past week, sitting at a desk with my legs up. My wife has picked up all my duties including lots of snow shoveling. So I plan to coast along another 10 days or so then get after it. Andy.
Very quiet on this forum, hopefully that means nobody else is suffering this terrible injury. Just an update in case it might help someone. 20 days post-op R complete QTR repair. Lots of improvement this past week. Stopped wearing the brace at night and sleeping better. I have about 45 degrees ROM, stiff but moves easily to 45 degrees passively, not pushing active ROM, but can now do a straight leg raise. Doing lots of quad contractions with straight leg throughout the day. Working on massaging over knee cap area to loosen up the skin. Incision is well healing so I went to the pool 2 days ago, able to swim 20 laps without really moving R leg, water buoyancy really helps. Started working out upper body again this past week. Still in brace when walking outside and at work, but taking it off to sit, drive or when just walking from bed to bathroom, for example. No more cane or crutches. Definitely getting better overall, seems about same as 9 years ago with same injury on L knee. I don’t see OS for 11 more days and hopefully after that can start formal PT soon thereafter, but I feel like I’ll be well prepared for PT. My PT is my brother-in-law who helped me 9 years ago and was also there on 30 Dec when I tore the quad tendon in the snowmobile accident. He says I’m good for his business. Hope everyone is doing well in your recoveries. Thinking about buying an exercise bike for indoors, any suggestions? Andy.
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That's a lot of activity for 20 days post op. I think there was more I could have done during my time in the immobilizer. I was just told to do straight leg raises.
Hey Andy keep pressing man! I’m 11 weeks post-op as of today and still in the thick of my ROM progressions. Finally busted through a little plateau and hit 115° passive on Friday. Felt great to hear that measurement! I ran in to some strange issues with the tendons in the back of my knee which was preventing my bend, but just shoved through little by little everyday until it started to respond. Everything was going slowly in my case and it wore on me mentally but just stuck to it. One thing that really helped me out was creating a grid on my floor pad where I do my active range motions and up on my wall for the passive exercises the therapist loves so much...ankle weights and gravity just seem to slow down time when the seconds are ticking of the timer!!! I just started marking off the distance measurements on the pad and the wall and recording them by date and exercises so I had that visual reference to focus on and it really helps me to push myself doing my rehab progressions when I’m on my own. Just a mental thing maybe, but it helped me understand the pain and load management and it really felt great just celebrating little victories more often! So I’m transitioning into the final push to get back as much of my original ROM as possible with some new exercises and I’m actually excited for this new part of the challenge. Strength and extension ramping towards full tilt too and I’m pretty fortunate that they’ve given me a prescription NMES machine set-up at home to work the contractions as well. One thing my surgeon decided to get me on was a prescription gel named Pennsaid as well. This stuff really seemed to help to lessen the inflammation almost immediately and calm down the issues going on behind my knee. Hope everyone is doing well with where you at, and keep pushing!!!
Good morning!
6 days post op.
New here and not a skier. Here for all the great information. Seems like a pretty tight knit community y’all have here.
So, about me. I must admit, I’m not a skier lol. I am a 40 year old bodybuilder/powerlifter and actually did not injure myself at the gym. I have never had an injury like this and wish it on no one. Loved finding this forum and the support throughout, you all are giving me hope.
Mine happened a week ago from last Friday. I was at work and waking down a moderate slope (on ice) when I slipped. My right leg slid out from under me and my left leg stayed in place but dropped into the deepest squat I’ve ever done. Toes pointed down the slope which stretched everything even more. Heard a “pop” at the same time it felt like somebody smashed my knee with a 10lb sledge hammer. Instant waves of pain, heat and nausea.
This is where I messed up. I should have gone to the hospital immediately as I knew something was seriously wrong. Buuuuut there was a big water leak on a First Nations reserve I was helping the natives fix so they could restore water in their community. I didn’t have my crew there with me, just hired to consult them through it and get them up and running again. So I worked another 8 hours climbing in and out of the ditch and did get it all fixed up for them. 16” waterline, tough fix.
In those 8 hours I dropped 3 more times. Each time was as painful as the first. Should have went to the hospital after work but I was so drained I just went back to my hotel room and tried to sleep it off against my better judgment.
I did not sleep at all (which you probably would’ve guessed being through this as well). At 6am I managed to get myself into my truck and make the 3 hour drive home. My wife met me at the hospital and helped me in. Insane pain by this point.
That was Saturday morning and although they kept me pretty messed up on morphine I did not go into surgery until Tuesday afternoon, 6 days ago. Was sent home 4 hours after surgery with little to no information.
PT came in and out a brace in and told me to try and be flat footed. Surgeon came in gave me a prescription for some painkillers and told me his office would be contacting me for a follow up in two weeks. They did and the follow up is next Tuesday, eight days from now.
My question to all of my new friends is what did you do the first couple weeks? I’ve been icing and elevating and trying to walk around a little bit but it’s highly uncomfortable. Swelling is starting to go down finally and that has definitely relieved a lot of pressure.
Lots of ice and elevating. Ice is good? I have a little wand massager, kind of a percussion massager that hurts like hell when I first start but about 20 minutes in everything is numb and I can put a little more pressure on it. Not on the tendon or down below but for the upper section of my quad. Is this ok or am I doing more harm than anything? Just trying to get some blood flow I guess. I haven’t touched the pain killers yet, jut some Tylenol and Advil as well as an aspirin a day to help with blood flow.
What else should I be doing? I have put so much work into my quads and legs in general and don’t want to lose all the work I’ve put in. I know that sounds silly it’s just so hard on my soul.
Once again, very grateful I found this forum and as a promise to you all, once I’m all healed up I’ll hit the slopes
Thanks for listening to my story!
Matt
6 days post op.
New here and not a skier. Here for all the great information. Seems like a pretty tight knit community y’all have here.
So, about me. I must admit, I’m not a skier lol. I am a 40 year old bodybuilder/powerlifter and actually did not injure myself at the gym. I have never had an injury like this and wish it on no one. Loved finding this forum and the support throughout, you all are giving me hope.
Mine happened a week ago from last Friday. I was at work and waking down a moderate slope (on ice) when I slipped. My right leg slid out from under me and my left leg stayed in place but dropped into the deepest squat I’ve ever done. Toes pointed down the slope which stretched everything even more. Heard a “pop” at the same time it felt like somebody smashed my knee with a 10lb sledge hammer. Instant waves of pain, heat and nausea.
This is where I messed up. I should have gone to the hospital immediately as I knew something was seriously wrong. Buuuuut there was a big water leak on a First Nations reserve I was helping the natives fix so they could restore water in their community. I didn’t have my crew there with me, just hired to consult them through it and get them up and running again. So I worked another 8 hours climbing in and out of the ditch and did get it all fixed up for them. 16” waterline, tough fix.
In those 8 hours I dropped 3 more times. Each time was as painful as the first. Should have went to the hospital after work but I was so drained I just went back to my hotel room and tried to sleep it off against my better judgment.
I did not sleep at all (which you probably would’ve guessed being through this as well). At 6am I managed to get myself into my truck and make the 3 hour drive home. My wife met me at the hospital and helped me in. Insane pain by this point.
That was Saturday morning and although they kept me pretty messed up on morphine I did not go into surgery until Tuesday afternoon, 6 days ago. Was sent home 4 hours after surgery with little to no information.
PT came in and out a brace in and told me to try and be flat footed. Surgeon came in gave me a prescription for some painkillers and told me his office would be contacting me for a follow up in two weeks. They did and the follow up is next Tuesday, eight days from now.
My question to all of my new friends is what did you do the first couple weeks? I’ve been icing and elevating and trying to walk around a little bit but it’s highly uncomfortable. Swelling is starting to go down finally and that has definitely relieved a lot of pressure.
Lots of ice and elevating. Ice is good? I have a little wand massager, kind of a percussion massager that hurts like hell when I first start but about 20 minutes in everything is numb and I can put a little more pressure on it. Not on the tendon or down below but for the upper section of my quad. Is this ok or am I doing more harm than anything? Just trying to get some blood flow I guess. I haven’t touched the pain killers yet, jut some Tylenol and Advil as well as an aspirin a day to help with blood flow.
What else should I be doing? I have put so much work into my quads and legs in general and don’t want to lose all the work I’ve put in. I know that sounds silly it’s just so hard on my soul.
Once again, very grateful I found this forum and as a promise to you all, once I’m all healed up I’ll hit the slopes
Thanks for listening to my story!
Matt
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2017
- Posts
- 52
I'm impressed. My leg was dead after the deal was done with was similar to yours. Right leg goes out, left leg stays planted, and I think my rear end landed my my heal. Ice is great but I'm not familiar with your percussion massager. You may want to ask you surgeon about the aspirin since it's an anti-coagulant so I'm not sure if it's a good option right now. However, I'm not a Dr. and haven't stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in a while.
At 2 weeks post op I was told to do straight leg raises but I don't see why I couldn't have done other leg raises such as side leg raises. I was like you, proud of my legs and my injured leg was my big leg with a great sweep. Tell your surgeon or their assistant that you're motivated to do. The reality is that you can't go 7 weeks with minimal contraction and not lose a lot of muscle. The good news is that you're used to training so you'll be particularly motivated during therapy.
Sean, thanks for the encouragement and happy for your gains. Matt, welcome and sorry. You’re younger and stronger than most of us. I was 44 when I tore L quad and 53 this time with R quad. The first week is the worst and it’s behind you now. You need to be careful as you start to recover, keep the brace on if there is any chance you could fall. I think ice is good, and as time goes on you can ice less. I ice every night for 30-40 minutes now. I’m 28 days post-op today. I think the aspirin a day is ok and may help prevent a blood clot. After about day 5 I have only taken Motrin usually 600mg in the morning, occasionally at night. I haven’t really had pain after the first week, just stiff and swollen. After 2 weeks you should be able to start doing straight leg quad contractions, but no contractions with bent leg. After 3 weeks you’ll probably be able to do a straight leg raise. Not sure about your massager, but I think carefully massaging your skin and incision area (if it’s healed enough) is good. Also moving the kneecap around is good. At 4 weeks, where I am now, I am starting to push passive range of motion, hit 75 degrees today. I think I could start active range of motion now, but waiting for clearance from my Surgeon at visit in 3 days, hopefully I’ll start formal PT right after that visit. I can tell you that I fully recovered from the L quad 9 years ago, after 6 months I was good with no limitations. I even improved on my triathlon and 10K times the year after the surgery and it gave me no trouble. When I tore the R quad 5 weeks ago today, I probably should have torn them both in the accident but, I believe my repaired L quad was stronger than the native R quad so it’s the only one that tore, if that makes sense. I would also say that I love the pool, I go about every 2-3 days since the incision healed enough, since about post-op day 18, initially I just let bad leg drag along, now I’m starting to kick a little albeit gently. I also started upper body working out every other day after 2 weeks, always with the brace on. Good luck to everyone as we recover together. Andy.
Awesome work. Thanks for the replies guys. I’ll just take it slow and keep my brace on. Tough to be patient good luck on everyone’s recovery!
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