How many hours per day? How many weeks? How much flexion? How fast do I advance? How hard should I push myself? Is this good pain or bad pain? Why the heck am I even doing this?
It turns out that CPM does a few nifty and important things. It helps mold those growing baby cartilage cells so that they conform to the articulation of your own knee joint. It bathes the graft site in synovial fluid to foster growth. It also prevents scar tissue and adhesions and helps you regain your range of motion.
I've gotten my hands on half a dozen different Denovo NT rehab protocols. Most of them prescribe CPM for at least 6 weeks, anywhere from 6-12 hours/day. And most say you should be at 90 degrees by 6 weeks and 120 degrees by 8 weeks. I reached 90 at 4 weeks and I'm holding steady. According to my surgeon, my defect doesn't engage until 90 degrees.
Most days I do between 6 and 8 hours, a little less on days I have PT. The mornings are tough. It takes a bit to get my range of motion back. I throw a cold pack on my knee when I first start and that helps. I've also noticed that the nights are tough when I've done 8 hours. I seem to have more pain and swelling and warmth at the incision site.
CPM LIFE HACKS:
CPM LIFE HACKS:
I highly recommend keeping a journal of your CPM use. Record the hours you use it, how it feels, and the degree of flexion. This becomes important when you feel you aren't making progress. You can look back and see how far you've come!
Get an iPad, find a good book, watch a series on Netflix you haven't seen, learn a new language, start a blog ;). It's a lot of idle hours and you know what they say about idle time. If you have a tendency toward depression (more on that in a future post), it will take some conscious effort to keep your spirits up and your mind on track. Break up the day. Do an hour or two and then go outside for half an hour. Or pick up some light weights and do some upper body exercises. Ask your friends and family to play a game or eat a meal with you while you're CPMing. It makes the time pass.
Set your CPM up in a spare bedroom if you have one. The couch would work too. It needs to be a comfy spot. Put a beach towel under the machine to protect the bed/couch.
Be prepared to fight your DME provider and/or insurance company to pay for the machine past 21 days. You may need for your physician to file an appeal. It runs about $175/week out of pocket.
Get an iPad, find a good book, watch a series on Netflix you haven't seen, learn a new language, start a blog ;). It's a lot of idle hours and you know what they say about idle time. If you have a tendency toward depression (more on that in a future post), it will take some conscious effort to keep your spirits up and your mind on track. Break up the day. Do an hour or two and then go outside for half an hour. Or pick up some light weights and do some upper body exercises. Ask your friends and family to play a game or eat a meal with you while you're CPMing. It makes the time pass.
Set your CPM up in a spare bedroom if you have one. The couch would work too. It needs to be a comfy spot. Put a beach towel under the machine to protect the bed/couch.
Be prepared to fight your DME provider and/or insurance company to pay for the machine past 21 days. You may need for your physician to file an appeal. It runs about $175/week out of pocket.
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