On friday I went to the gym in the morning to spin for 10 miles and to do upper body weights. In the afternoon, I went into Las Cruces and picked up my new brace (gave up three hundred bucks) and then went into my first two hour physical therapy session. The guy was nice and very professional. He did his version of smoke blowing and then asked what I would consider "success" for this adventure....running three days a week of course! He moved my knee about a hundred different directions while he went over some general stuff. The fibrocartilage that ultimately replaces your regular cartilage from the debridement behind the knee cap and at the ends of my femur, is much more fragile and never works quite as well as the original. It takes your body about eight weeks to make, so he said that from about next tuesday on, things should start to improve pretty dramatically. He also said that my kneecap moves pretty cleanly, and my ligaments and muscles are very strong. He didn't feel I was able to get my knee straight enough yet, and he forced it way beyond straight thru painful brute force. He massaged and bent my leg around for half an hour, and then had me do a bunch of "don't let me bend your leg now, don't let me straighten your leg now, push your leg out now, push your leg against my shoulder" stuff, and then did the same with my run over good leg to compare. I then did an hour of all kinds of weird exercises with ropes and balls, and finished up with twenty minutes of electro stimulation which made my knee muscles flop my leg around like a fish. Pretty damn sore when that was all done. He feels that if he can make my knee strong enough, but more importantly, my hips strong enough, the brace will only be of temporary use. He says that in actuality it is good hip force that is most essential for pain free running. Never ever have done any hip strength work that I know of, so this will be interesting. We will see. Hope he is right. Will have PT next Wednesday and Friday, and Monday, Wednesday, and Friday the week after. I have been approved for 10 total sessions (at twenty bucks a pop),so that will have accounted for 6, so I may stretch the last four out over a two week period. He want me to wait to run, even in the brace, until closer to the end of PT, because he doesn't feel that the muscles I need for control are quite ready yet. So, plans to run in June will probably begin in July, and since I have not then run in six months, will be the basic beginners two minute run one minute walk stuff, so that appears to be that. Tomorrow I will take the brace for a nice test walk and maybe have deb take a picture of me in it for your entertainment!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Physical Therapy One!
On friday I went to the gym in the morning to spin for 10 miles and to do upper body weights. In the afternoon, I went into Las Cruces and picked up my new brace (gave up three hundred bucks) and then went into my first two hour physical therapy session. The guy was nice and very professional. He did his version of smoke blowing and then asked what I would consider "success" for this adventure....running three days a week of course! He moved my knee about a hundred different directions while he went over some general stuff. The fibrocartilage that ultimately replaces your regular cartilage from the debridement behind the knee cap and at the ends of my femur, is much more fragile and never works quite as well as the original. It takes your body about eight weeks to make, so he said that from about next tuesday on, things should start to improve pretty dramatically. He also said that my kneecap moves pretty cleanly, and my ligaments and muscles are very strong. He didn't feel I was able to get my knee straight enough yet, and he forced it way beyond straight thru painful brute force. He massaged and bent my leg around for half an hour, and then had me do a bunch of "don't let me bend your leg now, don't let me straighten your leg now, push your leg out now, push your leg against my shoulder" stuff, and then did the same with my run over good leg to compare. I then did an hour of all kinds of weird exercises with ropes and balls, and finished up with twenty minutes of electro stimulation which made my knee muscles flop my leg around like a fish. Pretty damn sore when that was all done. He feels that if he can make my knee strong enough, but more importantly, my hips strong enough, the brace will only be of temporary use. He says that in actuality it is good hip force that is most essential for pain free running. Never ever have done any hip strength work that I know of, so this will be interesting. We will see. Hope he is right. Will have PT next Wednesday and Friday, and Monday, Wednesday, and Friday the week after. I have been approved for 10 total sessions (at twenty bucks a pop),so that will have accounted for 6, so I may stretch the last four out over a two week period. He want me to wait to run, even in the brace, until closer to the end of PT, because he doesn't feel that the muscles I need for control are quite ready yet. So, plans to run in June will probably begin in July, and since I have not then run in six months, will be the basic beginners two minute run one minute walk stuff, so that appears to be that. Tomorrow I will take the brace for a nice test walk and maybe have deb take a picture of me in it for your entertainment!
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