Sunday, May 11, 2014

Taped

Well, This is Interesting

When I went to physical therapy Friday, the therapist asked me about my knees. They were both pretty sore. The therapy I am doing for my hip also is for my knees as the orthopedic surgeon suggested I might have patellar tendonitis.  This means the tendon holding the knee cap in place is inflamed. Physical therapy should help, but in the meantime, it can be sore.

One of the strange treatments is taping. There are several methods of doing this.

My therapist used a cloth tape especially made for taping

It looks a bit strange and certain doesn't look as if it could do much to help my knees, but it certainly does!

My right knee felt 90% better and, at one point was pain free even when I bent it--the time when the pain most shows up.  My left knee--the side my hip break was on--was still sore on the outside, but the rest of it felt good too. 

You can still see the scars from my knee replacements. From the research I have done, perhaps 15%-19% of people who have knee replacements can have patellar tendonitis problems. The tendon and kneecap are not replaced in the surgery nor are the side supporting ligaments intended to keep the knee in place laterally. Since my ligaments were in pretty bad shape before the surgery--and my tendon may have been too--it's not all that surprising that I've had some aches and pains. 

The hip fracture put even more strain on my knees and while I was not well able to use my left leg, my right knee had to work extra hard. 

I may never be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but if I can find the right techniques to treat this condition and get myself in shape, I should feel a lot better. 

The tape can stay on for about three days at most. I have a special knee brace that I bought that's supposed to work too. I haven't tried it yet, but I hope it does. I can't really swim with the tape on, although I can shower. It just can't get soaked as it would in the pool. I am hoping the brace will make a good alternative. 

Who would have thought a roll of tape could make such a difference? 

Note: That's a cat toy on the floor. There's a little ball inside the track that the kitties like to try to fish out. When they bat it, it rolls around the track. Sometimes they play with it, and sometimes they just ignore it. 

4 comments:

  1. makes me think of that tellington touch wrapping system for horses...possibly the same theory? supportive, in any event..

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  2. I hope the taping helps and the brace as well. Physical therapy is terrific, I'm going for my neck right now and there's so many exercises and things I didn't know about to help me have less pain. Feel better.

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  3. you know in the top photo that blue thing looks like a horseshoe, LOL

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  4. Very interesting. Years ago in California I got kicked hard just above my knee (my horse Stormy!!!!!!!!) about as hard as one can get kicked without breaking the leg. I spent about $1000 on PT to get over that, and one thing she did was tape my leg kinda like yours. I thought she was *pulling* my leg at first. But I guess it is a real thing! Can't say if it helped me at all because I was quite sore for weeks.
    - The Equestrian Vagabond

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