8 weeks, and things are looking up!

I think the pain in the back if my knee is finally gone! I have been focusing on stretching that area. My therapist had explained to me that the spot where it hurts is actually part of the hamstrings, and is tight. This strikes me as weird, because I have very flexible hamstrings after years of teaching yoga. The hamstring group of muscles affect two joints: the hip and the knee. What I have discovered is that the part near my hip is very flexible, but the part near my knee is not. 

I have used self-massage to soften and stretch this area, and it has not been uncomfortable in the last few days. However, a new frustration has developed: pain medial to the incision. Sometimes it is severe enough that I cannot straighten the leg to walk. Arrggh! After having this happen 2-3 times, I finally decided that it is brought on when I sit where my knees are too deeply bent, such as our couch, or the porch steps, and some chairs. The spot that hurts is the place where the doctor explained they go through the joint capsule, and it just takes time to fully heal..months.

The hardest thing right now Is that my energy is much improved, making it hard to rest as much as I should. However, once I figured out that this "new" pain was being caused when I sit without elevating my legs, I took a day and spent it sitting on the day-bed, where I have spent most of my days since my surgery. It felt much better after that.

In the past 2 weeks I have taught line dance twice..it feels so normal, so nice to dance and not have pain, or feel unstable. I went to Zumba Gold last week, and that was fine. Next week, I will substitute teach the Zumba Gold class. 

I still find the most difficult movement is to straighten my leg after having the knee bent. "Heel slides" are still impossible to do when I am lying down. If I sit up, I can do them. I expect that once the joint capsule is fully healed I will be able to do this exercise. Until then, there are plenty of other things I can do.