16 weeks (or 113 days) post op!

Another week has passed by and I'm getting closer and closer to my next goal - running! I saw my physio yesterday for the first time in around a month due to the Christmas / New Year break and he was very happy with what he saw. He was pleased to see nearly all of the swelling around the knee gone and then tested my flexion / bend which he said was excellent at this stage (heel around 5 inches or so away from my butt). He then tested the strength of the graft and said that it was fantastic as well.

My legs: Taken a lot of hard work but muscle finally coming back

I updated him on what I had been doing over the last month or so (leg weights, cross trainer, exercise bike, walking & pool) and he said I am on track considering the complications I had early in the recovery. He then said I was ready to start doing a shuffle like jog (not quite a full jog yet) where basically it's like jogging but keeping my legs close to the ground i.e. not elevating them too much so there isn't too much impact on the knee. He then showed me how to do it and then got me to do it. It was a strange sensation but it was nice to almost be jogging again!

The plan is to do this shuffle (best way I can think of to describe it) over the next 4 weeks before I see my surgeon next when he will hopefully give me the all clear to commence proper jogging / running. The program he gave me is to shuffle for 10 meters then walk for 50 meters. I went to soccer training last night and gave it a go and did that for around 2-2.5 kms. The knee reacted well and I reckon if I really pushed it I could probably almost jog now but I'll stick to the plan! I then did a further 20 minutes on the bike at home after icing the knee for 15-20 minutes before that.

He also gave me an idea of what we were targetting in future:

16-20 weeks: shuffling along with leg weights, plenty of bike and pool work
20-24 weeks: return to full jogging / running + usual program
24-28 weeks: Slight change of direction (i.e. running between cones in a fairly straight line)
28-32 weeks: Full change of direction (i.e. running between cones but making a full turn)
32 weeks: Return to partial sport (not sure what this means! Assuming some light training)
48 weeks: Return to full sport

Exciting times ahead and looking forward to making more and more progress hopefully!