No Pain No Gain

One of the unfortunate side effects of PT is the pain that comes with it. I know I'm making progress just in 24 hours of exercises. It's already easier to do PT today than yesterday. Heel slides are currently my nemesis. I had about 125 degrees Range of Motion (ROM) pre-surgery. I would be surprised if I was at 40 degrees today. I need to get to 90 degrees ASAP!

Anyway, the PAIN part! All of the focus on strengthening the quad/upper leg is that those muscles feel used!!! Unfortunately, during the night the accompaniment to tired muscles appeared - cramps! Not only do leg cramps hurt a lot, but when you also are scared of an out of control tightening leg making your knee hurt more, there is pain and nerves attached. I probably got up in pain five or six times, but made it through. I'm anticipating a few more of these nights as I make progress, but am still so glad to have aggressive physical therapy to get me back on the road more quickly.

Other big news - I got a hsower - yippee! I would definitely recommend that if you have knee surgery, you buy some sort of chair for your shower before surgery. We hadn't done that so made a quick trip to the store first thing this morning - it was definitely necessary. I feel so much better now that I know I can refresh and renew with a shower every day. I know some doctors make you wait to shower until after your stitches are removed - I'm so glad I'm not in that boat!