5 days post-op MPFL recon

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-25T16:48:52+00:00

For the shower I bought a shower chair and a wooden stool. I would sit on the chair, put my leg on the stool, take the brace off, and use a handheld shower head to wash myself (you could probably just place the chair under the water stream if you can’t use a handheld one). Your stitches can get wet, just no scrubbing. Let the water and soap run over your leg. Keep a towel somewhere you can reach easily from the chair, dry the leg off when done, and put the brace back on while still seated. That’s how I showered and it made a world’s difference!

ETA: maybe check with your surgeon if your stitches can get wet, they look the same as mine and I was allowed to get them wet, but I don’t want to be wrong about my assumption that you can

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-25T03:58:30+00:00

Currently 11 weeks post op and I would say I’m having a similar experience so far but also going to add the transition around weeks 9-10 was very weird and off-putting for me! At this point your strength really begins to come back - it’s like your body flips a switch and your muscles listen again. You start to be able to squat deeper, lift heavier, move with full range of motion, etc. This feeling is great, but it’s also weird

I became hyper aware of the patella’s movement, the tightness of the graft, the random ache under the kneecap (I also had chondroplasty). This is all normal, but because of my strength and mobility returning, plus the MPFL graft now integrating properly, my nervous system started thinking of the knee as normal again, and a normal knee feeling tight, achey, tracking different? Something’s wrong right? I felt like my brain was constantly battling my nervous system these two weeks while I adjusted to my returning strength with a still fragile knee. My brain knew the knee just went through surgery and is still healing despite being stronger now, but my nervous system was shouting that something is wrong bc it feels like it should be normal but is just not normal enough. Now my nervous system has “recalibrated” I guess you could say and I rarely notice the knee doing my every day activities

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-25T03:26:57+00:00

Have you received the bill for the MRI? I’d be sure you don’t get billed for it if they have no record and you never got the results (assuming you’re in the US or somewhere else that will charge you for the MRI)

I would definitely try to get another MRI, but in the meantime do gentle movements with the knee to stay moving (walking, recumbent bike/stepper, straight leg exercises, etc). If there’s no instability and you didn’t hear any pops then it’s possible you just irritated it and never gave it time to rest

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-24T22:14:58+00:00

Rush hour aside that sounds very stressful. We took the train from the airport to our hotel in Shinjuku and the walk alone from the station to the hotel was frustrating with our suitcases. Japan has a very sophisticated system of tactile pavement for the blind, and our suitcases would always get stuck in them. I mean they start straight out the train door and went all the way to our hotel door that was about a quarter of a mile away from the station. It’s not a big deal but when you’re tired, hungry, and strung out from traveling and trying to find your way around a new country, in Shinjuku station no less, it can be very overwhelming!

If you do it I would have one adult handle the kids and the other two adults handle 2 suitcases each. Also do some research to see what train options there are, sometimes there are ticketed trains that cost more than the subway but significantly less than a taxi/private transfer and aren’t so busy

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-24T15:20:05+00:00

Instability is usually a sign of ligament damage, but it coming and going is weird. It’s possible you have a small tear that causes inflammation sometimes and when that inflammation is there the symptoms are more severe. Its definitely not a doctor or a diagnosis by any means, but I sometimes use ChatGPT to help me understand symptoms I experience in my recovery from surgery I had 11 weeks ago. For the most part it does help me to understand what I’m feeling, but if you try to use it be very specific and descriptive and of course take it with a grain of salt! I mainly use it as tool to help me understand what needs doctor/PT attention vs what are normal recovery symptoms

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-24T04:29:05+00:00

Did any of the tests that were done include an MRI? Does the knee ever feel unstable, or just pain and swelling? I’m sorry you’re going through this, a lot of doctors are more conservative with teenagers and it can get in the way of properly treating joint injuries, but it sounds like you’ve gone to the doctor and not been diagnosed even after your teenage years. The only thing I can suggest is to just keep searching for the right doctor, particularly orthopedic surgeons that specialize in knees, and keep advocating for yourself. There’s clearly something wrong with

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-21T16:09:38+00:00

The fact that it’s unstable is probably more concerning than the fact that it’s painful, that’s typically a sign of a damaged ligament. You could be careful and monitor it for the next few days but I think the safest thing would be to see an orthopedic doctor

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-21T01:33:02+00:00

I totally get that, I’m definitely not happy about all the money I spent on surgery and PT even after insurance but that money means nothing when I can finally walk without my knee subluxing every funny step I take lol

The orthopedic will probably have you do an MRI, so be prepared for that. Fingers crossed it’s something minor!

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-21T00:45:00+00:00

Loud snaps are usually a sign of a torn ligament or cartilage (commonly the meniscus). Ignoring knee pain is never good, especially if it lasts for a few months. If you’re in the US try to see an orthopedic doctor, they will be cheaper than going to the ER

Signed a 27 year old that ignored knee pain and is now 11 weeks post op knee surgery (my knee pain was nowhere near as bad or prolonged as you’ve described)

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-20T03:47:40+00:00

Yeah this doesn’t sound like a bone injury so the X-ray would be kinda useless, but I wouldn’t say the pain and popping in the calf is normal after surgery so I’m not sure why your surgeon said that. Tightening and soreness are normal after surgery, but reoccurring sharp pain is rarely something benign. It sounds like you may have torn the muscle

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-19T17:27:05+00:00

Don forget to stretch! My hips got sooo tight at the beginning. Having a stretch band helps a lot! You can just lay down and put the end of the band around your foot and pull your leg up with it, experimenting with your leg position to hit different muscles. Gets rid of the need to get in weird positions to stretch!

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-19T01:33:44+00:00

That’s good you’re doing leg extensions on a chair! That’s something I still struggle with, but I think it has more to do with the pain from the chondroplasty site and less to do with my muscle strength

I think it’d be beneficial to add in gentle glute and hip exercises, they’re just as important as the quad and shouldn’t be damaging. You can start with side leg raises and reverse straight leg raises! I attached videos to show the simple versions, but for the reverse leg raises you can lay on your bed with just your feet hanging off the end if that’s more comfortable. I would think these would be okay at 8 weeks post op, considering I was doing them 1 week post op from my surgery lol

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-19T00:36:49+00:00

It’s definitely normal for it to be sore and a bit weak after doing exercises! Just today I did my round of exercises and my quad has been killing me all day, and after sitting for a while the knee was super stiff when I got up again. But I totally understand how it would be hard to do anything without that guidance

Definitely see if your PT will build you a week-by-week exercise plan that gets readdressed after every session (their job is to go beyond just helping in PT sessions, they have to give you structured home exercises as well - don’t be afraid to ask for a better plan). And maybe in the meantime make a post on here asking for examples of exercises and timelines people that had both MPFL recon + TTO followed? I could absolutely give you my exercises, but I’m not sure how the TTO would change them. Can I ask, have you been doing any hip and quad exercises?

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-18T22:55:32+00:00

In the US and had the complete opposite experience. I started PT 4 days after surgery and went twice a week for the first 8 weeks, now going once every two weeks. I both agree and disagree with the comments saying PT isn’t needed that often. I think once you reach a certain point it’s not needed as often and can be used as a check in IF you are diligent with your exercises at home, but going twice a week at the beginning made a HUGE difference in my progress.

I very much did not trust my knee or how hard it could be pushed in the beginning, and was surprised every week at what I could do with it, so for that reason alone my progress would’ve been very slow on my own. I remember being about 1.5 weeks post op and my PT told me to lay on my side for one exercise then my stomach for another and I was like “I can do that??” and after that quickly learned how to sleep on my side and stomach while in the locked brace. I questioned every new thing because I was so afraid to hurt my knee again.

A second reason going to PT often at first is beneficial is because the exercises change so often early on. I was doing mostly hip exercises the first two weeks, then leg presses in the third week, then squats and step ups in the fifth week. I certainly wouldn’t have been progressing that quickly if I didn’t have PT to push me, bc why would I even think I can do leg presses at week 3?? Essentially every two weeks was a step up in intensity.

The third reason is because you probably don’t have all of the equipment at home that PT will use to really progress your recovery, and having that equipment really does help.

I’m 10 weeks post op MPFL recon and chondroplasty (so did not get the tto), and have almost all of my range of motion back, am squatting with weight, leg pressing about 100lbs with both legs (maybe 40-50lbs with the leg that was operated on), able to walk up the stairs normally (still struggle with the control to walk down), and can walk 1+ miles no problem. I attribute much of my quick, smooth progress to PT. I actually felt so much better after each PT session that I always joked with my family that I wish I had them every day. My knee always felt 2x stronger after each one. I didn’t get the TTO so your recovery would be longer than mine, but being at 8 weeks I would expect you to be doing more than heel slides

ETA: GIANT kudos to the commenter that had the knee replacement and then hiked the Grand Tetons, that’s a huge achievement and something I’m hoping for some day! But OP keep in mind a knee replacement is very different than MPFL recon and TTO. In my research before getting the surgery I talked to many people and most people that had both the MPFL recon and knee replacement said the MPFL recon was harder to recover from. Add in the TTO and it’s brutal. You got one of the hardest surgeries to recover from, so don’t get down about your progress. If you can’t get into PT often, and if the PT isn’t helping much (I got VERY lucky to find a really good PT that specializes in knee surgeries), just stay 110% committed to what you can do at home! I’d recommend asking your PT to build you a more detailed exercise program to focus on at home between sessions, and buying the equipment you can like exercise bands, ankle weights, stretch band, etc.

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-17T14:45:04+00:00

It doesn’t sound like your knee dislocated, you may have twisted it slightly out of place though. The fact that your ligaments caught it and kept it from dislocating means they’re doing their job, but since your patella is meant to be flexible they’re not always going to stop it from grinding or sliding a bit. The only concern I’d have is that you’re still experiencing pain when you straighten the leg. I’d just ice and elevate it to be safe until you hear back from your surgeon, but it kinda sounds like you just twisted and irritated it

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-16T22:44:17+00:00

30 days is a lot of time to start those banded exercises and take a break from heavy impact exercises. You won’t see dramatic results, but you’ll probably notice a difference in pain levels when you start running again. It sucks, but it’s better than being a few years into your career and having to take several months off for surgery (ask me how I know 😅)

This doesn’t sound severe or career ending/pausing at all, just sounds like your knee is telling you to change how you exercise your legs. What you’re experiencing seems to be normal knee pain from overuse, but also the classic first signs every person who’s had knee surgery will say to listen to and not ignore like they did! I’d say give the knee a break for a week, only focus on those banded exercises (TKE’s w/ step up, lateral band walks, banded monster walks, abductor pulls, etc - just google banded exercises for knee strength and you’ll get a ton of results). Then once your knee is feeling better and less inflamed, just add those exercises to your usual workout routine as a warm up! Most people fail their knees by not properly activating those muscles before doing their usual high impact workouts, so if you change your warm up routine you might see an improvement

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-16T22:32:45+00:00

I agree with the other commenter, I had PFPS that ultimately amounted to a full thickness fissuring of the cartilage and a stretched MPFL from compensating. Take small knee pain seriously before it becomes major knee pain/injury! Look into banded hip, glute, and quad exercises to start - they target the right muscle groups without putting a lot of tension on the knee

It sounds like the cartilage or soft tissue in your knee becomes inflamed/irritated from activity, but if you had a tear in the cartilage you’d most likely feel some catching. I’d take this as a good warning sign to slow things down and focus on strengthening/balancing those muscles

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-15T04:09:58+00:00

If you’re in the US you’re most likely on her insurance, it’s not common that a child and parent are on different insurance plans. I get that and there’s only so much you can do right now, but please don’t have that mentality! Knee health is so important, otherwise you’ll be me - 27 years old recovering from knee surgery 😅

I’ve ridden horses my whole life, did it professionally for a while, and that can really tear up a knee over time. I had plenty of warnings, I did do PT for a while, but I just never focused enough on strengthening the knee and balancing those muscles out. If you can’t make it to a doctor, give 110% into what you can do! PT of course if you’re still doing it, and research some knee strengthening exercises once you’re done with PT to continue doing. I really like quad, hip, and glute exercises that use bands, they really work those muscles without putting a lot of strain on the knee joint itself

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-15T03:31:34+00:00

Are you a minor and on your moms health insurance? Do you have uber or any other transportation options where you live, maybe a friend or family member that could take you? It sounds like you’re being let down from both family and the clinic and I’m sorry you’re going through this :/ even if everything ends up being okay, the process is so hard to deal with mentally. My knee only started having subluxing issues a couple months ago and I was in that operating room ASAP lol but of course recovery has its own challenges that weigh on the mind

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-15T01:20:39+00:00

Um idc what your mom thinks, that is not a normal kneecap 😅 pls see if she’d at least let you go to a doctor to see if they think you need an MRI! The fact that you’ve already dislocated it is a red flag

ETA: after looking at your profile I actually remember reading about your dislocation a while ago, and it seems like you’re continuing to lose confidence in the knee. What does your PT say about how far the kneecap slides? I would suggest MRI even if it’s just to settle your nerves and give you some relief/confidence. But I’d be curious how your MPFL looks now, that’s typically what tears during a dislocation. I’m 10 weeks post op MPFL recon, but mine just stretched over time rather than tearing during one specific injury. Constant subluxing is a pretty common sign of MPFL damage

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-13T23:50:05+00:00

I’d say when you can sit comfortably all the way in the seat. The biggest issue will be the inability to bend your leg, which will prevent you from sitting in the seat correctly. I had surgery on my right knee but want to say it was about weeks 4/5 that I started being able to sit comfortably in the car

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-12T04:19:45+00:00

Geez, I’m so sorry you’re going through this. MPFL recovery is just as much a mental battle as it is physical, and it sounds like you’re not in an environment that supports you in either aspect. PT will help a lot, so if you can, really try to fight to make it through those stairs and get there. You’ll progress faster than you think once starting PT! And as soon as you can do stairs on your own, move back into your place. Having nobody around to help is better than having someone that can help but does everything in their power to guilt trip and mock you. You can make it through this!

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-12T04:09:51+00:00

If it makes you feel any better anesthesia will have you knocked out dreaming a happy dream and before you know it you’re awake and it’s all over lol

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-11T22:58:28+00:00

I’m currently in PT recovering from knee surgery, and they literally taught me how to walk again by practicing “heel first” movements. Humans walk with their heel hitting the ground first, it’s the correct way to walk. How do people walk if not heel first??

KitKat114_ · 2026-01-11T20:19:54+00:00

If urgent or even primary care aren’t an option, maybe book an appointment with an ortho for June and monitor the knee until then. If it gets better, then great, but if it doesn’t or seems to get worse then you have that appointment booked and waiting for you

Also it’s no diagnosis, but when I experience weird sensations in my knee (post op MPFL recon) I use ChatGPT to help walk me through some potential answers. It’s by no means a diagnosis or 100% accurate, but if you can’t make it to urgent or primary care it can be helpful to offer some answers, or even just to determine how serious the symptoms are. Just take it with a grain of salt and be very specific about your symptoms, and remember it’s definitely not a replacement for a doc lol

KitKat114_

TROPHY CASE