Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

The good news is that nine days after surgery, the swelling has come right down. Oh, the knee is still swollen, but at least I've exchanged the watermelon for a nice grapefruit on the joint. The bad news is that as the swelling has receded, so has the sensitivity of the nerves in the joint. So ironically, enough, just as the knee is looking better, the level of discomfort has risen noticably.

Perhaps this is also a product of psychology; having ditched the crutches and seen the swelling recede, the mind would naturally expect things to improve in a fairly smooth trajectory. However, I recall that after the initial arthroscopic procedure two weeks after the injury, the most painful time was as the scar tissue started to break down a week or two after the op.

So history appears to be repeating itself. Given that everyone has said not to rush things or push too hard, I am trying not to push back too hard against this temporary reversal of fortune. I'm trying to minimize the amount of stair-climbing I do (for various reasons, on my first full crutch-free day, I was up and down quite a bit.) And when the leg gets tired, I am leaning on one crutch when using the stairs.

It's not ideal, but in the early stages of rehab, I think it's important to take feedback from what my body is telling me. And after taking a couple of good steps forward earlier in the week, it's now saying to take a small step back and consolidate where I am.