Positive MUA!
I had an MUA on my right knee 2 days ago so wanted to share my story since it was so positive! Before I had this done I was endlessly searching forums for information and the good stories definitely got me through so here’s mine - hopefully it can help someone!
Background:
Broke my knee on a ski trip in France - tibial spine fracture/ACL avulsion (ACL was intact but pulled the bone off the top of the tibia). That night was hell - I ended up walking 40 minutes on my broken leg then had the most insane spasms throughout the night - pain was so bad I would vomit. Anyway managed to get home to the UK and got a repair done on the tibial spine a week after injury and was locked in a brace between 0-10 degrees for 2 weeks before being allowed to start bending.
I instantly knew something was wrong when I tried bending that first week - it just wasn’t happening for me. We managed to get my knee from 30 degrees to around 70/75 over the next couple of months but my surgeon knew I wasn’t going to get full range and that scar tissue was in the way so he scheduled a MUA (with potential for an LOA) for 3 months post op original repair.
This happened on Friday (2 days ago). The day started like the last surgery: prepped and ready to go in the ward. I was really really scared because I had a nerve block on my first op; but this time I was only getting local anaesthetic injected in to my joint while I was under general, so I’d still have a lot of sensation when I woke. My surgeon had me in there 20 minutes; he said that he got to the same point as I was getting to - it was really really stuck then all of a sudden there was a big snap of scar tissue then he was able to push my knee back to 140 quite easily and extension was -5.
When I woke up, I did have some pain but it was really manageable and I didn’t need any IV meds in the recovery room which I was glad about. My pain level was probably a 4 or 5 out of 10. People can have different experiences here, but I swear my pain level was super tolerable. Headed back to ward and I could instantly get my leg to bend more than previously but I did have some swelling/pain in my quad area/inner thigh. Spent the next 22 hours on a CPM in hospital, hitting 120 degrees flexion. I was also able to reach an active 115/120 (without the CPM) before I left the hospital as well which was really exciting.
I got discharged the day after the procedure and have been continuing gentle work at home - little and often. Getting on my exercise bike for 5/10 mins every hour and following that up with heel slides, quad sets etc and I’m still at that 115 degree mark. Once swelling and quad pain settles, I should be able to start unlocking more degrees and I’ll be able to do some more strengthening work too, but honestly my quad was not super weak going into this.
In terms of pain: I will say I have had pretty sore quad/inner thigh muscles. The first 24 hours was the worst but I was still able to walk without crutches - it feels like a mix between a really deep bruise and horrible DOMS but easily managed with pain killers. I still have the quad pains now but they feel good to massage and things are so much better than they were pre MUA. If you need to get this done, please don’t worry, and if anyone has any questions I can try answering them!