Things have been going pretty smooth lately. I’m getting around pretty well, walking a lot, and occasionally taking the mountain bike for a cruise around the driveway. Pain is slowly decreasing, almost proportional to the swelling. Nights are still a little difficult but certainly improving as well.
Although it wasn't prescribed, I decided to start a physical therapy regime with my healthcare provider. All my “in-house” exercises have put me at a plateau and I felt ready to advance my strength and flexibility. My first appointment went great. I was pushed to the point of uncomfortable, but not painful. They showed me some novel exercises to build up my quads and hamstrings, as well at the other stabilizer muscles in my leg.
Everything was going well until we got to the “2-inch foot drop”. In this exercise, you stand parallel with your bad leg on a 2-inch platform and your good foot dangling. Then, you slowly bend the bad knee until the good one touches the floor. As I made my way down, my leg was shaking like crazy. The pain was sharp, but workable. The way up was just as difficult as I pushed my weak muscles to their brink. It was an amazing sight, not only to watch myself struggle with something so simple, but to see how weak my leg had become. Granted, this movement was already a challenge beforehand with my damaged knee, but this time around it was quite the obstacle.
So I have clearly defined the first major challenge in my recovery. This is good because it’s something I can work at and improve on. So if you see some dude at the gym doing 2-inch dips in the corner, come over and cheer me on!
Although it wasn't prescribed, I decided to start a physical therapy regime with my healthcare provider. All my “in-house” exercises have put me at a plateau and I felt ready to advance my strength and flexibility. My first appointment went great. I was pushed to the point of uncomfortable, but not painful. They showed me some novel exercises to build up my quads and hamstrings, as well at the other stabilizer muscles in my leg.
Everything was going well until we got to the “2-inch foot drop”. In this exercise, you stand parallel with your bad leg on a 2-inch platform and your good foot dangling. Then, you slowly bend the bad knee until the good one touches the floor. As I made my way down, my leg was shaking like crazy. The pain was sharp, but workable. The way up was just as difficult as I pushed my weak muscles to their brink. It was an amazing sight, not only to watch myself struggle with something so simple, but to see how weak my leg had become. Granted, this movement was already a challenge beforehand with my damaged knee, but this time around it was quite the obstacle.
So I have clearly defined the first major challenge in my recovery. This is good because it’s something I can work at and improve on. So if you see some dude at the gym doing 2-inch dips in the corner, come over and cheer me on!