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ACL Surgery Recovery - Week 4
June 29th, 2003 - I think I am just 10 degrees away from being able to do a full quad stretch (getting my heel to touch my butt). I am becoming much more active and wearing the brace far less. Today I didn't even wear any brace for half the day. This Friday I went out to a concert wearing only a cloth brace, and didn't feel too nervous about getting hurt. The knee feels like it it is getting more and more stable every day and the swelling has almost gone down to nothing. It is hard to tell that my left knee is bigger than the right now. My thigh is still pitifully small, but my physical therapist said that I look much better than most people 1 month after surgery. My scars are still pretty noticable, and I think I'm getting a big lump of scar tissue around my upper knee. I heard that never goes away. Oh well.
I stopped wearing my brace when I work out as well. I'm doing leg presses in the gym now with only my left leg (the surgery one), although I'm only lifting 35 pounds. I think I can do about 30 reps though. The bike seems much easier now, and I breeezed through 30 minutes today with no problem. I think in another few weeks, I'll be able to walk with no discomfort at all. I think the pressure of the brace on my knee was causing my leg to lock up during exercise more often. It still does from time to time which is painful, but otherwise I am doing good. I'm even walking up stairs with little difficulty. I'm so glad that I have come this far only a month after surgery.
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