Cringe-worthy Knee Injury

Leonard Weaver of the Eagles suffered a really bad ACL tear yesterday. I love watching and playing football, but after my injury my shoulders stiffen up and my stomach winces whenever I see hard hits at the knee. Check out the video below, but it's definitely brutal so be warned. 




Yup, I can confirm it feels as bad as it looks. I feel for that guy - mine was definitely not as bad.

The Barefoot Alter-knee-tive

I'm pulling out all the stops in trying to efficiently recover my knee, so I've taken the plunge and gone "barefoot" with the Vibram KSOs. The theory behind these weird foot gloves is that the heavily cushioned sneakers we wear now alter the natural mechanics of running. Man did not come out of the womb, after all, with running shoes on. These Vibrams get you close to the natural barefoot style of running and walking and is supposed to strengthen the muscles in our feet and legs. Yes, please!

Well, anything that helps to strengthen my lower body is great with me.  I know runners have to take it slow getting used to the Vibrams and there's a lot of initial calf and foot pain, however, since I'm not allowed to run until about week 16 or so (but it's not like I'm a big runner anyway), I'll just wear my KSOs while doing Physical Therapy, Pilates, and working out in the gym. There's a lot literature out there on the "barefoot" style of running and walking, so edumacate yourself. I hear nothing but raves from the people I know who have Vibrams and wear it regularly, so I'm excited to see if it makes a difference on my legs.

Pho No

I learned something new today - MSG is bad for my knees and probably my liver. I had the delicious Vietnamese noodle soup, Pho, for the first time in way over a year last night. I was actually unprepared for that hearty and filling soup so I just ate about a quarter of the bowl. All night I could feel my knee in pain and this morning I can't really bend or extend my knee. Awesome, my Physical Therapist will really be happy with me. So let's add MSG to things that are toxic for my knees. No more Pho or Chinese food for a while!

Week Eight Update

(I won't name names, but a friend said he's getting sick of the knee puns, and frankly, I can't come up with a good one for this short update)

Went to see the doc today for my progress check and he gave me A+s for my knee stability, swelling, and flexion (up to 132 degrees!). I just have to work on extension. My damn knee just won't straighten. I asked him about re-starting Pilates and he said: "I don't know much about Pilates, but it doesn't sound like something good." Maybe he read the same newspaper article about how the Pilates backlash has started in Ireland. In any case, I'm just gonna ignore his M.D. and re-start Pilates, albeit slowly.

What I can do:

1. Spinning
2. Run up and down stairs (very helpful to catch the subway)
3. leave my knee brace at home
4. wear heels!
   
5. Pilates (but don't tell my doc)
   

What I can't do:

1. cutting sports
2. run
3. dance
4. ninja kicks

Also, the incision scars are slowly fading! Not that I really mind - I consider these shoulder and knee scars as little reminders to treat my body better. All in all, I'm quite happy with my progress, but I do need to keep up with PT 2x a week to continue regaining full mobility and strength.

Guin-knees and Blar-knee in Ireland

I tried to be very diligent with Physical Therapy from weeks 2-5 because I wanted to be extremely mobile for our trip to Ireland. I took my knee brace, exercise sheet, and resistance band so I can do some exercises while on vacation. Well, I wasn't as meticulous as I'd hoped with the exercises and didn't really ice much, but I tried to do as much as I could when I had access to a gym. Otherwise, the knee was fantastic, I hardly used the knee brace!

If I was still on crutches our activities would have been limited, but I'm happy to report that I was able to climb the steep steps of the Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone...












...the picturesque hills around the seaside town of Dingle...














...and the breathtaking Cliffs of Moher, all without much difficulty! It was reassuring to know that we didn't have to limit the amount of walking or our overall activities on the trip just because of the knee. We also did plenty of other fun activities such as exploring the caves in the Dingle Bay via kayak, hanging out on a beach in Achill Island, boating around the Clew Bay, and plenty of Guinness and Murphys in pubs. It was a perfect vacation and I was happy to enjoy it with freedom of movement.

Day Twentknee Eight Milestone: 115 Degrees!

Just a quick update on my Physical Therapy progress after exactly 4 weeks post-surgery. Here's what I can finally do:
1. Walk up stairs
2. Use an elliptical machine with zero difficulty
3. Use a stationary bike with some difficulty
4. Bend my knees to 115 degrees
5. Smile and allow myself to recognize that I've made significant progress

Here's what I still can't do:
1. Walk down stairs (I'm like a bear, or worse, a panda)
2. Go outside without my ugly black leg brace
3. Pilates :(
4. Play football or other cutting sports
5. Ninja kicks


Just a sideline comment: I absolutely can't stand Boston area sports, but I've hated on Wes Welker the least. So I have an extra special soft spot for him now that he's off the PUP list after tearing his ACL & MCL last January (with a torn rotator cuff!) and undergoing surgery in February. Obviously he's a world class athlete, but someone I can aspire to if he has rehabbed his knee and shoulder enough to be able to practice in 6 months and play in the season opener in 7 months.

Day 24: Kneed for Speed

I'm entering my 4th week (24 days) post-surgery. Here's my breakdown of the last 3 weeks:

Week 1: Very frustrating because of the pain and learning to walk on crutches. I mostly stayed in my apartment for the first 5 days, save for a family BBQ on July 3rd, and a happy hour outing on July 5th - both were a chore because I was still adjusting to the crutches and the pain that came along with walking more than 1 block. Day 6, however, was a revelation, as I finally adjusted to crutches and was able to enjoy a rock concert (see Mi-knees the Bear post)

Week 2: Got the pain under control and was very mobile - went out of town Day 7-9 (with the cryo ice machine and all) to a wedding in Virginia, and even enjoyed some dancing and revelry. Got the bandages off and stopped using crutches on day 11. I didn't even have to transition from 2 crutches to 1! I'm hoping that's from all the leg and core prep work that I did pre-surgery :)

Week 3: Started Physical Therapy at Professional Orthopedic and Sports Therapy. Got to 90 degrees bending on Day 17, and 100 degrees on Day 19. As much of a pain in the a** having to trek to Tribeca 3x a week to be tortured, it's actually great to see some progress with the knee, as small as it may be. Sample exercises that I'm doing:

• Straight leg raises with 1.5 lb weight on all 4 directions
• Stationary bike for 10 mins
• Leg press at a 90 degree angle
• Wall sitsGoing to PT has other fun little benefits, like being outfitted for a compression sock, which is supposed to increase venous circulation, reduce leg pain, and swelling. I'm supposed to wear it most of the day while mobile, but I'm not too fond of the "nude" color, so I'm not wearing it ALL the time. I have a white arm sleeve that looks much tougher, so maybe I'll just buy my own compression leg sock to match the white arm sleeve to look tougher x2?-Kitty