Just one day of physical therapy this week. Basically the only thing to note is that my squats at the end are what is killing me. Not sure if it's because I need to get stronger and it takes time or that my knee is hitting a wall. I think its the former. At least it's the 3rd set that is really miserable and the other 2 are tough, but I don't burn out as quickly. This entry is short, but nothing really exciting to share. These next sessions should get tougher as they test my knee to see if I can handle more. I just keep telling myself to focus on getting back to gol. My Routine:
- 7 minute warm up on spin bike
- 7 30 sec sprints x 30 second rest
- Ham string bridges - 15 sec hold -15 pelvic pumps - 15 sec hold x 5 - Watched myself in the mirror to make sure I wasn't cheating on these.
- Side leg lifts - On my side, position 1 is my left leg out straight and I push up on aide's hand for 15 second count then do 15 pumps with the weight of his hand on my leg giving resistance. Position 2, same thing except leg is bent 90 degrees but knees still aligned. Position 3, bring knee into my chest and do leg lifts. Do this for 3 sets. Feels good. My thigh is not struggling which is good because side exercises will be using the muscles I build in this exercise.
- 20 x 3 quad sets with 5 second hold - another trainer helped me with these and taught me how to isolate the part of my quad near my knee cap. I stopped struggling so much.
- 15 x 3 quad set with 3 second leg raise -pretty good.
- 40x10x30x10x20x10 times 3. Quad pumps on the table. Same position as quad set except heel is off the table. Hold 10 then pump 40 then hold, then pump.... All the while keeping your biofeedback reading at maximum activation.
- Shuttle work - on my back with leg up on vertical platform doing holds near 90 degrees. Did a few full range pumps. Holds were tough to maintain. The aide had me do some of these on my own since he had another patient. I was burning myself out by holding positions. Don't know if I was doing it right, but I was tired after my sets.
- Standing calf raises - 20 x 3 sets. Second time doing these. I was able to do them without holding onto something for balance. Means balance getting better already. Was not sore for days either.
- Squats - position 1 - squat arms crossed but pointing outwards from my chest. Hold here and then 10 pumps up and down. Position 2 - Deeper squat, stick that booty out and put arms out superman style, but still keep the back straight. Kept a hold there for a little bit before. Position 3 - reach through between legs, 15- reps. This was killing again. Burns your whole quad from hip to the knee. Back to position 1 and hold x 3. The last hold of position 1 was really hard, on the 3rd set the aide had to hold me in place before my legs just gave out and I had to stand up and walk it off.
- Ice to go
This blog is for my session on Thursday, 7/23. I lagged a bit. Well we're nearing decision point. I had a long talk with my physio since I only have 2 sessions left on my perscription. Time to go back to see my orthopediac doc... or so I thought. The good news is that I am progressing which encourages the physio to recommend to the doc that I continue PT and add lateral exercises and weight baring exercises to really test it out and see if I will turn the corner. At this point he said the doc would not have enough information to push me to surgery and to give PT more time to see what happens. Even better, I don't have to go back to my doc, my physio can get me a new perscription. All this news made me really happy, yet I had to check myself because with my last knee injury I got to the point where I could do the side to side stuff and jumping, but in the end was surgery. So I'm going to keep going with the program and hope for the best.
Today they did a lot of the same type of exercises, but really pushed me on the squats and I did standing calf raises bearing my full weight not like the shuttle ones. My calves are still sore from that. No knee pain during the exercises, well one small pang of knee pain after a squat set, but it was just for a second. I noticed since that session my knee has been a little sore in the injury area now and again. No inflammation though. I just need some pain killers and it will be in check. I try to keep positive and patient and chant "Back to Gol, Back to Gol" in my head.
My Routine:
- 7 minute warm up on spin bike
- 7 30 sec sprints x 30 second rest
- Ham string bridges - 15 sec hold -15 pelvic pumps - 15 sec hold x 5 - My leg was looking wimpy lately, but I was next to the mirror for these and looking at my muscle definition in my calves and my thighs I felt strong. No not narcissistic, but seeing your muscles perform is about a reminder that I'm not a wimp I still am strong.
- Side leg lifts - On my side, position 1 is my left leg out straight and I push up on aide's hand for 15 second count then do 15 pumps with the weight of his hand on my leg giving resistance. Position 2, same thing except leg is bent 90 degrees but knees still aligned. Position 3, bring knee into my chest and do leg lifts. Do this for 3 sets. Feels good. My thigh is not struggling which is good because side exercises will be using the muscles I build in this exercise.
- 20 x 3 quad sets with 5 second hold - was fine
- 15 x 3 quad set with 3 second leg raise -pretty good. a bit tough in the last set.
- 40x10x30x10x20x10 times 3. Quad pumps on the table. Same position as quad set except heel is off the table. Hold 10 then pump 40 then hold, then pump.... All the while keeping your biofeedback reading at maximum activation.Leg was getting tired and it was hard to keep the bio feedback gadget activated the whole time.
- Shuttle work - on my back with leg up on vertical platform doing holds near 90 degrees. Did a few full range pumps. Holds were tough to maintain. Not sure if I was tired or they put more weight. I hope one of these two and not that my knee is hitting a wall.
- Standing calf raises - 20 x 3 sets. First time doing these. I could not do them without holding on to something to keep my balance. Really worked my calves and they have been sore for days now.
- Squats - position 1 - squat arms crossed but pointing outwards from my chest. Hold here and then 10 pumps up and down. Position 2 - Deeper squat, stick that booty out and put arms out superman style, but still keep the back straight. Kept a hold there for a little bit before. Position 3 - reach through between legs, 1- reps. This was killing again. Burns your hold quad from hip to the knee. Back to position 1 and hold x 3. The Last hold was really hard, aide had to hold me in place before my legs just gave out and I had to stand up and walk it off.
- Ice to go
OOopsie I meant going "Tapeless", but now that I have your attention..... :) Yesterday the physio had me do my PT without my beloved tape. This was my toughest session yet. I was already a bit tired from all my activities this weekend. I walked normal distances and danced up a storm, which I have not done in a while so I was fatigued. I had my regular aide back so I thought I was in for a walk in the park. Nope! I should have picked up something would change when I saw him consulting with the physio. I was in for some hurting.
Anyways, so I've reached my mini-gol of no tape. I am not sure when they will let me start jumping on the shuttle. I hope soon. My knee does feel sore when I bend it all the way quickly so I'm not ready for any leap frog exercises, but some little jumping should be ok. We'll see if I can get that gol done soon.
Routine
- 7 Minute warm up on spin bike
- 7 30 second sprints with 30 seconds of rest in between
- 20 x 3 quad sets with 5 second hold - not too bad without tape
- 15 x 3 quad set with 3 second leg raise. These were really tough. I could not keep the bio feedback monitor lit up once I lifted my leg. This was disappointing, then the aide came and adjusted the bio feedback thing and I was able to to it. Phew I thought I was a wimp.
- 40x10x30x10x20x10 times 3. Quad pumps on the table. Same position as quad set except heel is off the table. Hold 10 then pump 40 then hold, then pump.... All the while keeping your biofeedback reading at maximum activation. I could see my quad really bulking up for this one. Nice. Of course not as big as my right leg.
- Hamstring Bridges - 15 second hold, 15 little pumps, 15 second hold x 3 sets. Legs were tired so my holds were not as straight as usual and the pumps were tough to get through.
- Side leg lifts - On my side, position 1 is my left leg out straight and I push up on aide's hand for 15 second count then do 15 pumps with the weight of his hand on my leg giving resistance. Position 2, same thing except leg is bent 90 degrees but knees still aligned. Position 3, bring knee into my chest and do leg lifts. Do this for 3 sets. Another aide stepped in the help and this guy was straight up pushing on my leg and making me do the pumps slowly against his hand pushing down. Yikes!
- Shuttle work - on my back and leg up on vertical platform hold at various degrees close to 90. Then 10 small pumps after holding. This was tough since legs were tired. I did not go to full burn like last time since this aide is more kick back, but I still was burning. At one point he made me do almost full range pumps which really made the muscle burn since you go through such a wide range of motion.
- Calf lifts - 20 x 3 - not bad
- Squats - not your grandma's squats though. Aide seemed to consult the physio with my chart in hand then he tells me to squat and hold and do 10 pumps up and down. No tape and tired legs I did. Then he said position 2. huh? It's a deeper squat bringing chest almost to top of knees while your arms are out in front like you super man. Then hold that. Then he said reach for my foot. I was like "double huh?" His foot was behind me so I had to reach between my legs to reach for it. OMG! This made my quads burn in a new way. Not just one section of the muscle but all of it. Then back to normal squat position and hold. He had to really square my hips because I was trying to cheat so bad by shifting so weight would go on my good leg. So he did another round of this. I thought "ok I'm going to die here", but I made it. But the third set, the holds were killing me and he had me reach for the floor between my legs again and I got through 3 before my quads were ignited and I had to come back up. He kind of spotted me as I tried to stay in squat position but I couldn't hold for that long. And that was it!
- Ice to go. Physio told me to relax the rest of the day. "You think?"
Today was a tough day. My regular aide was not there so I got this young buff guy who's voice was extremely calm, but his method was a bit tortuous. Just keep in mind this picture shows a shuttle which is something I have to go on every session. I'll explain later...
My physio heard about my progress and is aiming for next week to remove the tape. Although it makes my knee feel invincible I have to learn to be without it if I am to see if I really can heal on my own. Oh, and apparently supplements hit a sore spot with my physio. I asked him about MSM and glucosomine, you know the supps that are for joint nutrition. He visibly got disturbed. Guess he doesn't believe in them. He said just take my vitamins and anti-inflamatory meds. I had cut down on motrin because it was messing up my stomach and decreasing my appetite, which is not a bad thing when you're not exercising as much. I actually lost a good 5 lbs since I got hurt. Go figure, last time I injured my knee I blew up a bit from the decrease in activity. Anyways, the workout in general was tougher due to a new more detailed aide so I can imagine I will be sore tomorrow.
Lastly, I hit my mini-gol. I took the train yesterday. The stairs were not a problem going up or down. I even jogged a little bit to catch the evening train. That did not feel great, but no pain. Hmmm so what should be my next mini-gol? No more tape obviously, but let's go further. How about jumping without pain, but this is jumping on the shuttle. The contraption you see in the picture. they did lay down the agility ladder today for someone else and I saw a soccer ball in the clinic. My little feet just wanted to grab that ball and start dribbling it around. :) Pretending I just got back to GOOOOOOOOOOLLL! (A girl can dream)
Today's Routine:- 7 minute warm up on spin bike
- 7 30 second sprint then 30 second rest on spin bike
- Bridges - on my back, legs a bit bent with weight on my heels, 15 second hold bridge, 15 small pumps, 15 second hold. 5 of these. I had a mirror next to me and I could really work on my form here. Not bad muscle tone in my thighs. hehe I know I'm a bit narcisistic :)
- Side leg raises, hold 15 seconds then 15 pumps. On my right side the aide had me lift my straight left leg up while he pushed down on my hip. He made sure I was in perfect alignment. Then I bent my knee and in this position did the same thing. The last position was bringing the bent knee more towards my chest and doing the reps. Here after my 15 raises the aide made me do 10 mini pumps with my leg up. I looked like a dog going pee and I probably should have worn pants. oopsie! After the 10 mini-pumps he made me push against his hand while my knee was way up there. Felt like I was doing a spread eagle but on my side! Then he asked me my muscle burn count from 1 - 10, when I hit 10 and thought my hip was going to fall off he made me hold for 5 more seconds! Crazy! I repeated this 3 times.
- Knee cap got taped
- 20 x 3 quad set - felt strong
- Shuttle work - The new aide made sure my knee was slightly out which put a bit more tension on my knee itself, but forced my quad to work harder to keep my knee from doing the work. At the same time he made me bend my good knee toward my chest. Then he went through holds with me and when I reached the high of a 10 burn he'd hold it for 5 more counts. Ouch! He had me in a compromising positionand you know when it gets tough you get that strained look on your face, start breathing hard... How embarrassing! Oh well all in the name of rehab. Went through 3 sets of this.
- 20 x 3 calf raises - not bad. A nice break from the shuttle exercises.
- squats x 3 sets - squatting and holding at different depths of the squat. This aide really made me work on my form. Butt had to be all the way back like I was trying to sit and legs felt a bit more wider than usual which made me work harder. Once he had me perfectly squatted in a deep squat 15 pumps up and down then hold. And then came the blasted 5 count after hitting 10 on the burn meter. I seriously had to walk a couple laps after each set to let my legs recover.
- 15 x 3 quad set with leg raise. I jumped back on the table for these relaxing exercises considering the torture I just went through.
- (5 x 40 x 5 30 x 5 x 20 x 5) x 3 sets: Quad pumps on the table. Same position as quad set except heel is off the table. Hold 5 then pump 40 then hold, then pump.... All the while keeping your biofeedback reading at maximum activation. Tougher than before because the aide made me do them correctly.
- Ice to go
Today was a static day, meaning nothing extra was added. Physio came to talk to me and was happy that I was so tired after my last session. He predicts that we may go without the knee cap tape next time which would be huge for me if I can work out without tape and without pain. Like I mentioned the routine stayed the same, but I did it with more intensity. Where before I was barely surviving through it, this time I could feel my leg muscles engaging and wanting to blast off, but of course can't do that. I wouldn't be able to land that soft right now. But it felt good to have that eagerness in my muscles return. That "No Fear" anticipation my legs used to get when I sized up a striker to run down or went after a header. My last mini-gol was stairs and so far they are ok, but I have not really gone more than 1 short flight of stairs. In the picture you will see the Lyon street stairs. This is one of my favorite places to work out in San Francisco. What you see is about half of the stairs. There's still another set just as long. It really helps you get strong legs and an azz of steel. ;) This picture was actually my source of inspiration during my first knee surgery and rehab since I still lived in the Marina. This time I know I will do these stairs again, but it's my inspiration for my mini-gol right now. And I'm extending the gol to taking the train again. I should be able to walk the 4 blocks no problem it's the long flight of stairs of the train station that will be my challenge and with a crowd I cannot go slow so that's my gol. Until the next time.Today's Routine: - 7 minute warm up on spin bike
- 7 30 second sprint then 30 second rest on spin bike
- Knee cap got taped
- 20 x 3 quad set - felt strong
- 15 x 3 quad set with leg raise. For once my quad kept flexed during leg raises
- Bridges - on my back, legs a bit bent with weight on my heels, 15 second hold bridge, 15 small pumps, 15 second hold. 5 of these. This time I really engaged my abs and got a little workout for them not just my hammies.
- Side leg raises, hold 15 seconds then 15 pumps. On my right side the aide had me lift my straight left leg up while he pushed down. The did some raises with the aide providing the resistance. I got better at this than last time. Just had to straighten my body more and tighten them abs. Then I bent my knee and in this position and the same thing. Last time this position was not happening. Too much pressure on my hip joint, but today was fine. The last position was bringing the bent knee more towards my chest and doing the reps. I repeated this 3 times and the last time I did by myself so no resistance except for my tired leg.
- Shuttle work - quad was not engaging as much but neither was anything. What's that mean? That my muscles were strong enough to hold me without me putting effort into it. Yay! Ha! I spoke too soon because the aide made me do holds at more positions and do full leg extensions. This was lovely since I had not had this much range of motion in a while. This is when my quad just wanted to fire up and just jump. I had to hold back. Went through 3 sets of this
- 20 x 2 calf raises - tough since my leg was getting really tired.
- squats x 3 sets - squatting and holding at different depths of the squat. Now they are really trying to make me squat deeper and keep good form. I felt really strong like I could spring up off the mat if I wanted. Of course in the last set my legs were wobbling like I was doing a dance, but it wasn't till the end. My knee had a little bit of discomfort, but went away pretty quick.
- Ice to go
Today I started to drill my physio. I wanted to know what would be my chances of getting hurt if I did not operate. He was saying how my left knee will be vulnerable from now on. It is imperative my leg stay at it's maximum strength. But I told him, with my right knee after the surgery and 2 stints of rehab and months of a trainer I stopped working as hard on my right leg and its fine. The physio then said with the articular cartilage damage I have it will always be vulnerable. He wasn't even worried about the meniscus tear so I started thinking, "wait can my knee injury be fixed by surgery or is that it I have to live with this and be careful?" You can be sure that I'll be asking more questions and contacting my ortho doc to find out. Now I'm really curious. That's just me, whenever I got sick or injured I had to do my research and have a clue. I like to know enough to be dangerous. ;) Ok so back to the workout. Physio wanted more to be added, really push again. Make Sure I left tired. So hammies are sore. I took off tape right away after icing so I can force my knee to work on it's own. Knee was clicking a bit. A little stiff when sitting for a while. Legs feel tired in general. Oh, who am I kidding I've been exhausted all day and my knee is a bit swollen. I just pray it calms down tomorrow with some rest and that I didn't over do it. Tomorrow Costa Rica plays so maybe watching the game will get my healing juices flowing. At least stairs are getting easier so I'm getting close to my current mini-gol. Back to gol with less cartilage, some exposed bone, eh I might be playing in a less competitive league, but I will hear "Gooooool!" again.Today's Routine: - 7 minute warm up on spin bike
- 7 30 second sprint then 30 second rest on spin bike
- Bridges - on my back, legs a bit bent with weight on my heels, 15 second hold bridge, 15 small pumps, 15 second hold. 5 of these. Had to do them over because I did them wrong the first time. No wonder my hamstrings feel tired.
- Knee cap got taped
- 20 x 3 quad set - felt strong
- 15 x 3 quad set with leg raise. For once my quad kept flexed during leg raises
- 10 count x 40 pump x 10 x 30 x 20 x 10 did this 3 times sitting on the edge of the table
- NEW - side leg raises, on my right side the aide had me lift my straight left leg up while he pushed down. The did some raises with the aide providing the resistance. Lot of work on my hip joint, which I don't think was the point. Then I bent my knee and in this position and the same thing. This felt like my hip was going to pop out and my hamstring was engaging. The point of this was to get my glute going. Ya, not so much. Maybe next time I'll have better form.
- Shuttle work - quad was pretty tired but did isometric exercises holding my bent knee at different positions which was burning up my quad. Went through 3 sets of this
- 20 x 3 calf raises - tough since my leg was getting really tired.
- squats x 3 sets - squatting and holding at different depths of the squat. I had to hold at lower positions. I thought my legs were going to just buckle. Some how I got through it.
- Ice to go
Hey everyone. The past week or so has been great! Ever since the last session where they taped my knee, my leg has felt better. Walking is pretty normal. No real soreness from sitting, just a bit of stiffness if I don't move for a while. I was at a wedding last weekend and I was able to wear small heels and dance some salsa and merengue even! I thought for sure I'd have a sore or swollen knee the next day especially since I had to drive 2 hours home, but nope.
I got to thinking the last couple of days what would be my post-op plan. How do I get around the first few weeks? How many events would I have to miss in the next couple of months? The more I thought about it, the more of a headache it was going to be. Worse than my last surgery's rehab. Folks around me lately have been advising to avoid surgery, some even doctors. I guess I had it in my head that surgery was the end result the whole time. Last time I had the same injury I went to rehab and they got me almost back to normal and I still needed surgery, but it took time to get to that conclusion. I have to be patient and allow my knee to come back. I have 8 visits left on my prescription so I'm going to follow it through like a good patient then go talk to the doc.
Today the physio was very hopeful. He warned me that I would have some ups and downs, but to keep working hard. He taped my knee cap again to the side and voila no pain or discomfort again. This time he told the aide I was ready for some squats. I cringed because squats and stairs are still tough for me, but I did it! No pain! My quads were shaking like leaves in the wind, but no pressure, no pain, no discomfort. So my new mini-gol is stairs without pain. Back to Gol without surgery here I come!
Today's Routine
- 15 minutes on spin bike. This time 7 30 second sprints up from 5 last time. I really pushed my left leg to take on more pedalling. I've tended to let my good leg power the bike.
- 20 x 3 5 second hold quad sets - I actually probably did more like 4 sets because my bio feedback gadget kept dying on me and I got bored waiting for them to help me. I still have to push myself to keep a good strong 5 count of flexed quad going.
- 15 x 3 quad sets with 3 second hold leg raise - still tough, but I'm finding it easier to hold my quad tight and lift my leg.
- NEW: bridges for my hamstrings, but 15 second hold squeezing glutes to the back of my ankles, then 15 pumps, 5 reps of these. My hamstrings and abs were working hard to get through this one.
- Shuttle work - 3 sets of isometric holds while I activate my quad. They upped the resistance on me, but I did a little bit of a quad press when they weren't looking to test my leg strength and pain. Felt fine. but shhhhh don't tell them that yet. ;)
- 2 sets of 20 calf raises on my injured leg
- 3 sets of squating exercises - feet shoulder width apart, toes slightly facing out, hands on my quads then squat, put hands on my chest and hold various depths of squatting. No pain! Not even pressure. Just my little quads shaking while I tried to keep my position steady.
- Ice to go - as you can see in my picture.
Today's session was a good one. I walked in with a pretty sore knee. All weekend it was giving me trouble. It would blow up on me just sitting there not doing anything. I was starting to feel like surgery was definitely in my near future. A bit defeated, but.... (btw that is NOT my leg in the pic. Please! I've lost muscle but my legs are still bigger than that!)
My physio started testing me. Walking and squats and the pain was in my knee cap and the back of my knee. That was a good thing according to him. Que? How's swelling and pain a good thing? All his tests showed that the part of my knee that's injured was not hurting, the pain was from swelling and weak muscles.
The cure...... bulk me up! But how? Last session I failed big time. My quad was a wimp. Physio had a trick up his sleeve. He taped my knee cap so that it was being pulled to the inside (or medial) part of my knee. He told me to walk. Hmmm, some funny feeling clicking but no stiffness. He told me to squat and even hop. A bit of pressure, but no pain! Finally he told me to do a lap on the stairs. Yikes! I started cringing as soon as he said it. Miraculously no major pain. What was this miracle tape! No it was "Now we can kick Jen's azz into shape" tape. He increased the size of my regimen. See below. Good news! Next day my quad was finally sore! I could walk around with no real pain and no limp again. I have hope again. I can do this. I can get strong again and stop seeing my leg muscles wither away. I even started kicking my ball around just a little. Gol here I come.
Routine:
- 15 minute warm-up on spin bike
- 20x3 5 second hold quad sets - still tough. Bio feedback was not staying in the Orange like its supposed to
- 15x3 3 second quad set with leg raise - fail! At least according to bio feedback, but I just did my best
- 5 30 second bridges - hurt my knee a little bit when I lifted my butt, but definitely worked out my hamstrings
- 5 sets of quad holds on the shuttle - this was killer. Now that my knee cap was taped I could really isolate my quad and keep my booty from helping out. OMG! My leg would start to shake and I swore my muscle was just going to burn right through my skin, but I pushed it. Go quad go!
- 4 sets of 20 calf raises on the shuttle - tiring since my legs were tired from the quad work
- NEW - 5 30 second sprints on the spin bike. I've never done a spinning class, but now I know why it's such a good workout. My arms are even sore from this one.
- Ice to go saran wrapped to my knee
