Conditions + Treatments
Leg Injury/Condition
Quad Tendon Repair
The day started out as a typical summer Saturday in August, 2019 for my family and me out riding our boat at Lake Martin. But then, I was standing on the back about to wake surf when I slipped off and fell backwards, injuring my left leg.
After the accident, I wasn’t in too much pain, but my left leg was immobile. All I could do was lay around until I was able to be seen by a doctor. My family and I have been to Andrews Sports Medicine in the past and have been very pleased with our experiences, so I decided to make an appointment with them again.
My initial visit was with Dr. Ricardo Colberg at the Pelham office the following Monday. After having me try to do some movements with my leg, he immediately knew it was a quad tendon tear and did an ultrasound to confirm. He then explained I needed surgery to fix it.
Dr. Jeffrey Dugas was available the very next day to perform the quad tendon repair surgery at the Birmingham office. I was thrilled with such a quick turnaround because I wanted to begin recovering as soon as possible, and I was grateful for Dr. Dugas’ professionalism and expertise before the procedure. He was just as helpful post-op. I had a lot of questions following the surgery, and he answered each one of them in incredible detail. He even took the time to draw me pictures to explain exactly what he did to fix my leg.
The first day after surgery was the worst. I went to rehab that Wednesday, and moving my leg proved to be very painful. The following six weeks were also difficult, as I was fully immobilized in a leg brace. However, it wasn’t unexpected; the recovery time for these injuries is typically pretty slow. But I did manage to get ahead of the usual schedule. I was released from rehab in October after I got my full range of motion back.
The main challenge then was regaining the quad strength I had lost after months of not using that muscle group. As someone who is very active, I’ve been working hard to restore it. Right now I would say I am back to about 80% of where I was before. I started running again in February, which was great. I am even back to my usual P90X routines with some slight modifications.
Thinking back on last August up until now, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am without the help of Andrews. Overall, I am very satisfied with all parts of my experience, from the initial visit and surgery to recovery.
I went wake surfing for the first time since my injury (August, 2019) last Saturday, May 3, 2020; and I am happy to say it went really well. I felt comfortable, confident and even got up on the board on my first try.
