The good news is that he doesn't think that manipulation is warranted in my current situation. I was dreading that possibility and didn't really like what I had read about it or what I had heard about it from the doctor or the physical therapists.
The bad news is that as I've been putting more weight on my leg and graduating from two crutches, to one crutch, and most recently to a cane for the last week and a half the left side of my femur has been pushing down harder on my tibia. When Dr. Ove looked at my newest xrays he said that it was "caving in" where he rebuilt the crushed section of my tibia. The pain that I've been experiencing recently certainly makes a lot of sense given this news. He said that also was most likely why my range of motion hasn't progressed much further. He said scar tissue may be an issue too, but it appears to be the bones touching that is the biggest problem.
He thinks that a partial knee replacement is probably the best course of action for me, but he doesn't do those. He gave me the names of two joint replacement guys in this practice and we mentioned getting a second opinion. He thought that was a fine idea and Pam, his assistant said that since I'm a worker's compensation case, they would most likely insist on it. She said that most likely they will tell me who to get the 2nd opinion from. So I've got some phone calls to make to find out what the procedure is to get another opinion and then will need to see a replacement specialist and schedule surgery.
Since I'll need to get a second opinion they gave me a complete set of xrays and MRIs to take to whoever workman's comp sends me to. I scanned most of them while at my parents' house tonight. You can check them out here.
So it is a little troubling that I've probably got more surgery coming up (once I find out what hurdles we have to jump through), but at least now I feel like we've got a revised game plan.
He also wrote me a prescription for a new type of brace that will help transfer the pressure from the weak side of my knee to the outside of my knee. That should make it less painful to walk around while we navigate the insurance waters, schedule appointments and see other doctors. The orthodics department couldn't squeeze me in today before my PT appointment. I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone by scheduling both appointments for the same day and attempted to get the brace too, but couldn't. I've got to make an appointment to go back and get it fitted later this week.
I've also got to call the doctor with more questions that came up after the appointment at physical therapy. Jessica and I both wondered if I should continue to wear the JAS Splint and continue to push my knee to bend any further if the bones are the problem.
So that's the leg news for now. I'll post updates with news as this story continues to unfold.
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