Knee Diagnosis

Following my left knee injury, I was off work for 8 days.  Kris, my friend and soccer/ball hockey teammate was kind enough to lend me his crutches.  This helped a lot.  My injury occurred on Monday Jan 27 and I was able to move around the house without crutches by Friday.  My knee could not straighten or extend very far at first, but improved a little every day.  I visited my sports doctor that Friday.  He thought that it could be a slight tear in the ACL and took x-rays.  Unfortunately due to the swelling, nothing could be determined, so he ordered me an MRI.  I was also given a knee brace off the shelf from the attached athletic shop, to help support my knee and to prevent further injury.  I returned to work on Wednesday and was able to move about a bit with the crutches.

Off the shelf knee brace

 To my surprise, I received a phone call for an MRI on Thursday, only 6 days after seeing my doctor.  There was cancellation and they were able to fit me in on Saturday.  So within 8 days, I got my MRI.  I was very fortunate as my friend with a similar (possibly the same injury), hurt herself in October and isn't due to have hers until later this month.  This was my first MRI or any scan of any kind, besides x-rays.  For those who have never had one, I laid on this bed with ear plugs.  They secured my knee in place and then left the room.  The bed would enter the chamber and I had to keep my knee still for 25 min.  It was noisy and I could feel my knee wanting to lift, but I tried my best to keep it flat as much as possible.  Too much movement would blur the image and they'd have to repeat the process. I haven't looked it up, but the machine uses magnets to create an image of the inside of my knee.

At my work, there's parking available in the adjacent lot at night.  I had not problem driving myself for my night shifts, but during the day, I would have to park 3-4 blocks away.  With the snow and ice, I didn't feel comfortable walking that route at that distance, so I would drive to my dad's and he would drop me off and pick me up.

A week and a half after my MRI, I met with my doctor for a follow up and my MRI results.  I received some devastating news.  I had completely torn my ACL and suffered some bone contusions.  He told me that people can function properly without surgery, but if for those want to play sports, many opt to repair the ACL.  Straight running would be fine, but for sports, there's pivoting, lateral movements and stopping and going, which is unstable with this type of injury.  I do want to play my sports again, so at that point, I was leaning towards surgery.  I was to see the doctor in 2 weeks for a follow up, giving me time to think over the surgery.   In the mean time, he recommended physiotherapy and prescribed me a custom knee brace.

Custom knee brace

I got fitted for the new brace and picked it up a week and a half later.  I also started physio with a girl recommended to me by a friend.  In my first session, the physiotherapist examined me and asked a bunch of questions to get an understanding of my injury.  She performed an ultra sound on my knee which apparently reduces the swelling.  She then showed me a bunch of exercises to strengthen the muscles around my knee to help compensate for the lack of stability.  Finished it off with icing down my knee.  I did my exercises mostly on my days off, as it's difficult to find the time when I work 13 hour days.

I had another follow up with my doctor and I told him I that I would like to get the surgery.  I then scheduled an appointment to consult with the surgeon.  His office isn't at legacy, but he does come in every so often for consulting.  It would be another month before I could sit down with him.  In that time, I did see my physiotherapist again for more or less the same treatment.  This time I was instructed to add a 2 lb weight to my exercises.

The month passed and I went to see the surgeon.  He asked me a bunch of questions like the nature of my injury, how it feels, etc.  He then explained to me the procedure.  It would be on a Wednesday or Thursday and I can't eat or drink after midnight the previous night.  I'd be anesthetized and they would remove a tendon from the back of my leg.  It would be folded over and fed through 3 holes drilled through the bone.  Then it would be attached to create the new ACL.  He told me that I'd be off work for maybe 2-4 weeks and of course I'd go through rehab.  It would be 5 months before I could run and 6 months before I could play sports.  I would have to wear my current knee brace for the first year when participating in physical activity.