(describes session on 8/12/09) Ever work out so hard that you got nauseous? Well today was one of those days. I started to feel a little oozy after the out of seat sprints were added last week. Today, they went from 5 to 7 and I suppose that put me over the top. The aide did not have any other patients and so was at my side which did not help. After 2 times to the bathroom for close calls, I almost had to stop, but I pushed through and they added even more at the end. They have really kicked it up a notch lately, but my knee is taking it. Woo hoo! This physical therapy is like mental therapy. You have to will yourself through pain, discomfort, fear of failure to succeed. Soon I should know when I'll be back on the field or surgery ready. Back to gol here I come.
My Routine:
- 7 minute warm up on spin bike
- 7 30 sec sprints x 30 second rest
- 7 30 sec sprints x 30 second rest - The correct position is to just lift your bum out of the seat but still sit back as if you were in it. The nausea started creeping, but instead of doing 20 second sprints like last time I tried to push to 30 seconds. When I got off the bike I was dizzy and my tummy started to get upset. Things were not looking good.
- 20 x 3 quad sets with 5 second hold - Do not even remember how many I got through I was just trying not to get sick.
- 15 x 3 quad set with 3 second leg raise - had to stop and hit the bathroom
- 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. Hit the bathroom again hoping it was my last.
- Ham string bridges - 15 sec hold -15 pelvic pumps - 15 sec hold x 3 - Finally being on my back the stomach settled and the nausea dissipated. Phew!
- 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. This was burning a lot. I did not get the breaks I usually get so I was really trying hard.
- 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 was on me for these with no real rest. I noticed my legs got tired quicker.
- 20 x 2 - Calf raises on the shuttle. This was my break time from the holds.
- 20 x 3 - bounding on the shuttle. Meaning I do jumps. I'm horizontal on the shuttle so I'm not landing with 100% of my weight. As you jump you have to hold your legs horizontally and absorb the impact as you land. This worked my abs more.They were engaging to help stabalize me during this exercise.
- NEW: Single leg bounds, 5 on the right, 5 on the left repeat each side. 3 sets of these. Felt good. My injured leg did fine. No pain. I could feel my left leg a bit weaker than my right, but not too different.
- Standing calf raises - 15 x 3 sets.
- Squats - position 1 - squat arms crossed but pointing outwards from my chest. Hold here and then 15 pumps up and down. Position 2 - Deeper squat, stick that booty out and put arms out superman style, but still keep the back straight. 5 pumps up and down. Position 3 - reach through between legs, 15- reps. Position 3 got easier. Wait now a new bounce! Put my hands on the ground and pump bum up and down. This was new to me and my light headed ness came back almost fell, but got through it. Back to position 1 and hold x 3 sets.
- 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
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.
