Well had once thought about doing a training log but since I tend to get routinely broken I thought (and perhaps this might be useful for a few others) I would do a recovery log. A recovery log you say? YES!! Feel free to create your own but please don't feel compelled to repeat what I do.... So to start... about a quarter of the way through a game of rugby union I went into a ruck (a pile of guys trying to push each other off the ball and take possesion) and was cleared out (knocked backwards and run over) by three lads from the opposition. As I went back my right knee flexed, moved outwards and twisted outwards and then at the end of movement I had a couple hundred pounds land on me forcing the knee to twist/rip/tear (well that's what I thought I could hear). Knew I could not get up and certainly not play any further on the day. The shin looked like is was turned way too far to the outside and also looked like it had fallen backwards about 1 inch (2.5 cm). I hobbled off and found a mate who drove me to A & E (ER) and I sat for 2.5 hours before an exam/x-ray showed no fracture but clearly ligament damage. I got a ride back to the club armed with a brace/crutches and medications.. luckily there seems to be an inexaustable supply of beer at rugby clubs so I proceeded to apply liquid anaesthesia. Next day I was lucky enough to speak to an Orthopaedic surgeon who said ''drop by and I will take a peek'' ..... futher confirmation of the liklihood of one , if not multiple, ligament tears at the least.... :' ( Good news is that I will be up for evaluation, scanning etc fairly quickly and hopefully on my way to recovery very soon!! Start of the log: http://rs1007.pbsrc.com/albums/af193/charomo/IMG_20131210_062415_zps73a674ee.jpg~c100 picture showing swelling of right knee after ~48 hours Initial management R(elative) Rest, Ice (cold packs as well chinese cooling linament), Compression (elastic bandages), Elevation (kept my foot up on the bar stool in the brace :' ) Additional starting strategies: sleep with leg elevated in the brace, no unnecessary weight bearing, skip Sunday class, regular anti-inflammatory medications as well as Yunnan Biyao (bruise reducing herbal preparation). Keep your eyes on this space for more exciting updates as I learn how broken I really am and what to do about it :' ) (you should see the way my patients are laughing.....) LFD
Sweet, merciful bat poop dude, that looks (and sounds) ghastly! :wow: Good luck to you and your recovery process, I shall look forward to seeing how you get on in the future
progress OK I have been REALLY bad at keeping this up although I will try to blame it on a number of different people and factors in order to make myself not look so lazy!! First month I tried the usual route of RICE and wore a restrictive brace to see if things would heal up better if not disturbed. It did not help that it took awhile to get to see a consultant and have a scan done because my GP's secretary managed to lose my info yadda yadda.. I generally tried to manage myself the way I would any traumatic knee injury and slowly improved my range, strength and coordination. I might have been too quick to try to develop range in all directions (impatient person that I am) as the rule generally is to protect the injured ligaments from further stretching for 6 weeks and then try to improve strength/flexibility/coordination after that. Scan results showed a torn posterior cruciate and torn medial collateral ligament. I saw the consultant after the scan and he suggested I needed to keep up with the training and progress at a good pace as tolerated. This is a relatively uncommon injury outside of American football, Rugby or car crashes. Oddly enough the opinions of people treating these injuries vary remarkably. One person had pro baseball players back playing 3 weeks after ligament ruptures !! while others suggest that it could be 9-12 months before my knee is recovered as much as I should expect. At the moment I have progressed to riding a bike at level 7-8/10 for 15 minutes twice a day. I am using a balance board a few times a day for a minute at a time on one leg. I am doing back squats with about 80 kg and I sit down with every rep 5 x 5, deadlifts with 100 kg 3 x 5, standing leg raises in three directions 3-5 x 10 and lots of proprioception/endurance training slotted in as time allows. I am still teaching twice a week (in a brace) for an hour and a half each time. I think I could list more but this gives a basic idea of my progress. Oh and I have little pain other than when I sit with my knee at an awkward angle ( my shin slides backwards a few mm when unsupported) or if there is sideways pressure on the joint (I sprained the collateral ligament that gives some of the medial lateral stability of the knee as well) . Just an update... dang I miss playing rugby!! Good news is that if things continue to improve I will certainly be trying to get back on the pitch for at least one more season as it's World Cup in 2015 and I have old team mates flying over to the UK that I would love to see me still out there knocking down 25 year olds :' D LFD
yay! also don't forget to mention you popped down to jwt's for training with us while still in a cyborg leg and made all us healthy people look bad
