In January 2018, I underwent a Tibial Osteotomy at the One Hatfield Hospital in the UK. I had been suffering from the onset of arthritis on my right knee and needed a solution that would avoid a knee replacement operation and get my life back to some level of normality.
So in late April 2018, I went on an overseas business trip to Detroit, Michigan and stopped over at Chicago on both legs of the journey. I would strongly advise to call your airline to explain your condition and request assistance – it takes a lot of stress out of the travel.
After my surgery, I had booked 12 physio sessions with the One Hatfield hospital (https://www.onehealthcare.co.uk/hatfield/) and had completed 10 of the sessions; I tried to keep to a visit every 2 weeks and the physio ensured he pushed me hard with challenging exercises. Here are a few that I still do today:
- Bosu Ball – hop on and hop off on both legs
- Strengthen calf muscles – slow raises holding a weight dumbell. Alternate on both legs
- Strengthen hamstring with leg raises and using resistance from a large (elastic) band
- Lunge exercises
- On the treadmill, jog – I am now getting to 5km
- Cycling
- All leg weight training in the gym.
It is fantastic that I am exercising a lot more. It helped with the swelling being reduced (not using icepacks as much), stamina and my mental health.
May 2nd 2018 marked the 6 month review with my surgeon Mr Minhal Chatoo. I was booked in to have an x-ray prior to my consultation.
He had received feedback from my physio and so he knew I had been pushing myself. He then took me through some strength tests and was pleased. He then shared the X-ray results (below)
He explained the bone healing was progressing as planned and filling out correctly. He also mentioned the correction was 97% accurate to his planning.
I shared the following concerns I had over the last 6 months:
- Swelling does flare up from time to time . RESPONSE – the bone is still healing, it will when tiredness sets in.
- Feeling pain that feels similar to that prior to the operation. RESPONSE – irritation can be caused by the metalwork and that can swell, so the pain is really where the metal is located on the leg.
- I had lost sensation from the front of my leg (shin). RESPONSE – the operation is intrusive and some nerves are affected. He recommended I keep track but no action to be taken as it was not affecting my day to day life. Nerve endings need time to heal, so the sensations may eventually come back.
He recommended I should not hold back and get back to full activity (other than playing football and hard surface running) BUT also to lose as much weight as possible, At 6ft tall, I was 110 kg and had dropped to 105 kg – he recommended to get to 96 kg for body longevity.
My surgeon then recommended the following :
- book in for a 12 month review
- plan for the removal of the metal plates as a ‘day case’
Will I Run Again 