So far, so good!

The physiotherapy team at the Hampshire Clinic gave me advice on exercises to start immediately after my arthroscopy on Friday and so I have been diligently doing them four times a day, using an ice pack occasionally, and spending a lot of the rest of the time just sat with my leg elevated.

Maybe it’s this regimen, or maybe it’s a good surgeon, or maybe I’m just lucky, but I haven’t been bothered by swelling or pain so far. The original thick bandage came off after 24 hours as instructed and I wore a tubigrip for two days.

Turn your volume up to enjoy this…

(If the embedded player isn’t working for you, try watching on YouTube.)

Apparently that squelching is perfectly normal before the body has absorbed the fluid they use to flush the joint during the arthroscopy, but it definitely feels weird at the moment!

It’s got to be a good sign that I can already straighten my leg fully and bend it past 90 degrees without discomfort. The follow-up with the surgeon isn’t until the end of next week, but I have had a first physio appointment today.

The physio was happy with the progress so far and has given me some guidance on what to do next. We did a short – I mean short, 5 minutes short – spin on an exercise bike, followed by some wall/ball squats to 90 degrees, stretching, then leg extensions, leg curls and leg press, all with light weights. To finish off, he had me seated with my leg supported in a gentle bend (over a rugby ball!) and used an electrical muscle stimulation machine on my quad muscles. The machine was dialled up so it raised my lower leg on its own, and I could then use the eccentric muscles to counteract. Five minutes of that, and we were done for the session.