Knee Catastrophe

[niceshotman]

My entire left leg was broken up badly. The ankle broke apart (through the skin) in 3 places, the femur broke in one spot just above the knee, the tib/fib broke closer to the ankle. The knee cap broke & it's pretty hard to tell what is really going on there. It does not look like a knee...it is very deformed. But, it does "work" a little bit. The knee looks like a big round swollen knob without any specific knee cap or anything. And there's a big mass of heterotropic bone that just grew around that area.

This was a major issue, & I was not able to walk at all for a long time. Slowly, over the past 2 years, I progressed to a point where I can walk (mostly using a cane) & I can do some light exercises. The leg was compacted, so it is shorter than the other leg. The "good" part is that I tolerated painful forced stretching sessions so I do have ok range of motion.

I was lucky to get some rehab at the begining, but then I was discharged & given a list of some exercises to do on my own. Since my rehab ended, I have tried to make improvements, but I'm not getting very far. My quad still looks smaller than the normal one, And the calf is smaller too. I'm trying to get strength & mass back on the damaged leg.

I want some plan that will grow my damaged leg back to normal size...so it is equal in size & strength to the undamaged leg. I was thinking that maybe if I FOCUS on exercising JUST the damaged leg, then it will catch up. Are there any exercises that are best for building up a leg with a damaged knee & ankle.

I spent a long time in the hospital, & I saw other people who have been trying to rehab a leg/knee for many years...I'm already at 2 years, but I saw one guy who had a leg as skinny as mine & he's been trying to rehab it for 5 years. I think there must be some way to get results faster.

Putting extra pressure on my ankle hurts, but that might be the only way to grow the leg? I do exercises on machines, but I have to use very light weights. My diet may have been holding me back, but now I'm trying to make sure I'm doing everything right to get this leg back in shape. It seems like the outter part of the right quad is really the part that wasted away the most. I was in a coma & the right leg was totally imobilized, so you can imagine how small the leg became. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

---just to give an idea of my current condition, I cannot do a split squat or lunge of any kind even without weights.

[tcw]

Jesus....how did this happen?

[niceshotman]

bad luck

[Grappler13]

Jesus....how did this happen?

Sorry to hear about the physical and mental trial you've been through. You will get good advice from knowledgeable people here; I wish I had somethign concrete to add....

[hardnlean]

I can empathize..I have been battling reoccuring knee injuries for about 10 years and am now getting surgery to reconstruct a ligament, among other things...As a personal trainer I have been able to create my own strength and conditioning program and have regained about 90% strength and complete flexibility after a few serious injuries. Unfortunately the condition is untreatable by training alone (genetic disposition) so thats why I have decided on surgery.

Along with a sound training plan, have you considered alternative therapy? On your own though, I would focus on long, low intensity cycling and flexibility DAILY, following by icing. Strength training should be done once per week (heavy resistance for absolute strength gains, 5-10 reps) and add possibly a second day each week, or alternating weeks, of muscle endurance training (20-30 reps), depending on how well you recovery after each workout. Seems like you have a lot of scar tissue buildup so thats why I would look into alt. therapy, because strength training alone will unlikely be enough.

Do try single leg movements, but train both legs equally as you obviously need to keep your other leg as fit as possible for support. Lunges, single leg squats, adduction with cables, abduction, squats, in addition to machine curls, extensions, and presses. Try to keep pain to a minimum, though I understand that with a knee as inflamed as yours, some pain is unavoidable if you want to see gains.

Consider nutritional supplementation too. MSM, glucosamine among others may speed healing...

Keep it up, it may never be as strong as the other, and may always inhibit your lifestyle in some way, but constant attention, as well as rest, will give you the most healing potential.

Good luck