How the X10 Works
The major challenges facing recovering knee patients and their therapists are:
Swelling that inhibits movement (and builds scar tissue)
Pain from rehab
Scar tissue that can permanently limit motion
Loss of range of motion at both ends (extension & flexion)
Loss of voluntary muscle activation (that may lead to atrophy and loss of strength)
Ironically, the fluid generated by the blood loss and damaged tissue during surgery is at the core of all five problems. It is the fluid that causes swelling—the fluid pushes on the pressure receptors in your knee, your brain interprets this pressure as pain. The fluid contains chemicals that promote the formation of scar tissue. As little as one fluid ounce of liquid in your knee can completely immobilize it, preventing you from bending or straightening your knee. This same fluid inactivates the nerves, from your brain, that tell your muscles what to do—the fluid makes you lose control of your leg muscles.
Getting the Fluid Out
In the earliest stages of rehab, the most important thing the X10 does is to quickly get the fluid out, because this improves everything else. There are a variety of ways the X10 does this, but basically it begins by flexing your leg just a little bit, and it does this over and over squeezing out tiny amounts. As the fluid leaves the X10 can flex your leg more. Pretty soon you will probably increase your range of motion, a process repeated over and over. Many people wonder where does the fluid go. The fluid is captured by the lymph system. As you move your leg muscles their contractions pump the fluid up the body where it is dumped into the blood, goes to kidneys and out the body. This mechanism is one reason you should start exercising with the X10 in your first week post-surgery. That probably sounds horrible, but the X10 is designed to work below your pain threshold…so it does not hurt. We also start exercising your calf muscle, because it was not involved in the surgery but is particularly effective at pumping the lymph fluid up the body. This is the first major way your body and X10 work together—they get the fluid out—fast.