Wednesday, January 28, 2004
Lazy Week
I'm tired.
I just called PT to cancel tomorrow morning's 8am appointment. Work has been super-busy lately, and I have volunteer tutoring tomorrow night that I'll need to leave by 5:30 for - and right now I can't fathom a 12+ hour day.
I have aspirations of at least jogging a little bit at the hotel this weekend, but we'll see. David called me on my lunge-promise today. Hi, David! See, I do mention you!
When I was looking up the number to cancel my appointment, I found pictures of my therapists, Melissa and Alison. They rock!
I just called PT to cancel tomorrow morning's 8am appointment. Work has been super-busy lately, and I have volunteer tutoring tomorrow night that I'll need to leave by 5:30 for - and right now I can't fathom a 12+ hour day.
I have aspirations of at least jogging a little bit at the hotel this weekend, but we'll see. David called me on my lunge-promise today. Hi, David! See, I do mention you!
When I was looking up the number to cancel my appointment, I found pictures of my therapists, Melissa and Alison. They rock!
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Bad Hair Day
I woke up at 7 this morning to get to an 8:40 PT appointment, that was CANCELLED because the gym was closed due to a water main break on 8th Ave.
Of course, today was the day I decided not to blowdry my hair before PT because the amount of sweating I do necessitates a shower after my appt anyway, so I can blow it dry then. Except when my appointment is CANCELLED. It's good that I at least decided to shower before I left the apartment this morning.
Right. I know, this entry is only tangentially related to my knee.
Aside from the hair thing, the cancellation means I'm going to have a pretty sedentary week. I'll only have one PT appt (Thursday morning, if the water is fixed by then), and I had to cancel yoga because I'm going to Toronto this weekend for my mom's 60th birthday. I'll have to work in some lunges at home tonight to make up for it.
Of course, today was the day I decided not to blowdry my hair before PT because the amount of sweating I do necessitates a shower after my appt anyway, so I can blow it dry then. Except when my appointment is CANCELLED. It's good that I at least decided to shower before I left the apartment this morning.
Right. I know, this entry is only tangentially related to my knee.
Aside from the hair thing, the cancellation means I'm going to have a pretty sedentary week. I'll only have one PT appt (Thursday morning, if the water is fixed by then), and I had to cancel yoga because I'm going to Toronto this weekend for my mom's 60th birthday. I'll have to work in some lunges at home tonight to make up for it.
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Jogging
My warmup at PT now consists of 3 minutes walking, 10 minutes (!) jogging, then another 3 minutes walking. When I first start jogging (at 5.5 mph) I find my gait is a little awkward, and I'm pretty sure I'm favouring my right leg. It gets comfortable after a few minutes.
The other night I had a really weird experience. I woke up to feed Memphis and walking back to bed, my knee *hurt* - there was a sharp pain on the inside of my knee. I went back to sleep, and when I woke up, it was fine.
Saturday I started yoga. The instructor, Jill (who's actually a Jillian too!) is really great. It's a type of yoga that I've never practiced before (and I must confess I don't remember what it's called), but it's very similar to Hatha (which I've done lots). I was surprised at how flexible I am now - my knee bends without any problems. It's still tender to kneel, so for kneeling poses like Child's Pose I had to put a pillow under my knees. It went very well, and I'm looking forward to working with Jill more.
Speaking of flexibility... I can now get my heel to my butt without help! At PT I use the strap to pull my foot forward, and I can even grab the top of my foot and pull it further. It's kind of surreal.
PT today:
Walk/Jog: 3/10/3 min. warm-up
Leg Raises: 6lbs, 2x15 each way
Hamstring Curls: 75lbs, 2x15
Hack Squat: 2x15 (just the bar, no added weight)
Wall Slides: 2x15 with 12lb weights
Quad Lowering: 2x15
Balance: UFO-thingy with ball throwing (2x15)
Wobble Squats: 2x15
Reverse Lunges: 2x15 (with each leg)
Shuffle: 6 (back-and-forth counts as 1)
Grapevine: 6
Side jumps: 3x30 seconds
Jogging up: 3x30 seconds
Hopscotch (new!): Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, I jump forward (feet together) then forward again (feet shoulder-width). Then I spin around, sort of, so that I'm facing the other way and my left foot is where my right foot was (and vice-versa). 3x30 seconds. This one's pretty fun, but also a little dizzying.
The other night I had a really weird experience. I woke up to feed Memphis and walking back to bed, my knee *hurt* - there was a sharp pain on the inside of my knee. I went back to sleep, and when I woke up, it was fine.
Saturday I started yoga. The instructor, Jill (who's actually a Jillian too!) is really great. It's a type of yoga that I've never practiced before (and I must confess I don't remember what it's called), but it's very similar to Hatha (which I've done lots). I was surprised at how flexible I am now - my knee bends without any problems. It's still tender to kneel, so for kneeling poses like Child's Pose I had to put a pillow under my knees. It went very well, and I'm looking forward to working with Jill more.
Speaking of flexibility... I can now get my heel to my butt without help! At PT I use the strap to pull my foot forward, and I can even grab the top of my foot and pull it further. It's kind of surreal.
PT today:
Walk/Jog: 3/10/3 min. warm-up
Leg Raises: 6lbs, 2x15 each way
Hamstring Curls: 75lbs, 2x15
Hack Squat: 2x15 (just the bar, no added weight)
Wall Slides: 2x15 with 12lb weights
Quad Lowering: 2x15
Balance: UFO-thingy with ball throwing (2x15)
Wobble Squats: 2x15
Reverse Lunges: 2x15 (with each leg)
Shuffle: 6 (back-and-forth counts as 1)
Grapevine: 6
Side jumps: 3x30 seconds
Jogging up: 3x30 seconds
Hopscotch (new!): Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, I jump forward (feet together) then forward again (feet shoulder-width). Then I spin around, sort of, so that I'm facing the other way and my left foot is where my right foot was (and vice-versa). 3x30 seconds. This one's pretty fun, but also a little dizzying.
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
On The Brace
In my last appointment, Dr. Nestor told me that I'd soon start a jogging program, as well as more lateral movements, in PT. He ALSO said that I'd start these activities while wearing the brace.
I haven't been wearing the brace.
I did mention to Melissa that I'd been instructed to wear the brace, at least initially, for running and shuffling/mobility exercises. When we started these activities, neither of us brought it up. In fact, while I've followed every other one of Dr. Nestor's protocols religiously, this is the one thing I'm consciously ignoring. I haven't had any instability, and Alison did say my form and stride were good when I was running yesterday. My knee doesn't hurt after the exercises, either, so I don't think I'm straining anything.
But that's all speculation. I certainly don't have a PhD in orthopedics.
Today I found a link to this article, and any traces of doubt I had about my braceless self were alleviated.
"The AAOS believes that after ACL reconstruction, there may be a role for rehabilitation braces used in the early post-surgical phase, but functional braces used later during recovery appear to provide no added protection to the knee following a well-performed reconstruction.
Types of braces other than prophylactic knee braces have different structural designs and have been developed to help treat specific problems stemming from injury or disease.
Rehabilitative knee braces have been designed to provide a compromise between protection and motion. There is some evidence that use of these braces in the initial post surgical period may improve early functional outcomes. The majority of scientific studies show no difference in final outcomes of anterior cruciate reconstructed knees, whether a brace is worn or not. The overall long-term outcome in all studies reviewed was good. Thus, it does not appear that a brace is needed to support or protect a reconstruction in a well-done surgical procedure. Questions remain as to whether a brace would be useful to support the knee in patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in special cases (e.g. weakened tissue, collagen disorders, suboptimal fixation). Since studies to date indicate that these braces neither improve nor degrade the long-term results of anterior cruciate ligament surgery, they should remain in the armamentarium of the orthopaedic surgeon for discretionary use."
I haven't been wearing the brace.
I did mention to Melissa that I'd been instructed to wear the brace, at least initially, for running and shuffling/mobility exercises. When we started these activities, neither of us brought it up. In fact, while I've followed every other one of Dr. Nestor's protocols religiously, this is the one thing I'm consciously ignoring. I haven't had any instability, and Alison did say my form and stride were good when I was running yesterday. My knee doesn't hurt after the exercises, either, so I don't think I'm straining anything.
But that's all speculation. I certainly don't have a PhD in orthopedics.
Today I found a link to this article, and any traces of doubt I had about my braceless self were alleviated.
"The AAOS believes that after ACL reconstruction, there may be a role for rehabilitation braces used in the early post-surgical phase, but functional braces used later during recovery appear to provide no added protection to the knee following a well-performed reconstruction.
Types of braces other than prophylactic knee braces have different structural designs and have been developed to help treat specific problems stemming from injury or disease.
Rehabilitative knee braces have been designed to provide a compromise between protection and motion. There is some evidence that use of these braces in the initial post surgical period may improve early functional outcomes. The majority of scientific studies show no difference in final outcomes of anterior cruciate reconstructed knees, whether a brace is worn or not. The overall long-term outcome in all studies reviewed was good. Thus, it does not appear that a brace is needed to support or protect a reconstruction in a well-done surgical procedure. Questions remain as to whether a brace would be useful to support the knee in patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in special cases (e.g. weakened tissue, collagen disorders, suboptimal fixation). Since studies to date indicate that these braces neither improve nor degrade the long-term results of anterior cruciate ligament surgery, they should remain in the armamentarium of the orthopaedic surgeon for discretionary use."
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Almost forgot...
I also did reverse lunges today! I was wondering over the weekend when I was going to start lunges, and then Alison noticed today that I haven't been doing them yet! Did 2 sets of 15 (no weight), and will probably add forward lunges next week.
Since all the new stuff this morning I haven't experienced any new pain or discomfort. I'm pretty happy about that.
Since all the new stuff this morning I haven't experienced any new pain or discomfort. I'm pretty happy about that.
Leaps and Bounds
Kind of literally, actually.
Today's PT went something like this:
Elliptical: 10 min. warm-up
Leg Raises: 5lbs, 2x15 each way
Hamstring Curls: 75lbs, 2x15
Hack Squat: 2x15 (just the bar, no added weight)
Wall Slides: 2x15 with 10lb weights
Quad Lowering: 2x15
Balance: UFO-thingy with ball throwing (2x15)
Wobble Squats: 2x15
Shuffle: 6 (back-and-forth counts as 1)
Grapevine: 6
Side jumps: 3x30seconds
Jogging up: 3x30seconds
And...
JOGGING! Real, honest-to-god, jogging on the treadmill. Intervals (1 min walk, 2 mins jog) for 10 minutes. Aw yeah. I've been advised to pay attention to my knee over the next couple of days (my next appointment is Friday). We want to avoid any patellar tendonitis, so if it's uncomfortable, we might postpone more jogging for a while.
Today's PT went something like this:
Elliptical: 10 min. warm-up
Leg Raises: 5lbs, 2x15 each way
Hamstring Curls: 75lbs, 2x15
Hack Squat: 2x15 (just the bar, no added weight)
Wall Slides: 2x15 with 10lb weights
Quad Lowering: 2x15
Balance: UFO-thingy with ball throwing (2x15)
Wobble Squats: 2x15
Shuffle: 6 (back-and-forth counts as 1)
Grapevine: 6
Side jumps: 3x30seconds
Jogging up: 3x30seconds
And...
JOGGING! Real, honest-to-god, jogging on the treadmill. Intervals (1 min walk, 2 mins jog) for 10 minutes. Aw yeah. I've been advised to pay attention to my knee over the next couple of days (my next appointment is Friday). We want to avoid any patellar tendonitis, so if it's uncomfortable, we might postpone more jogging for a while.
Thursday, January 08, 2004
Be It Resolved
"Let us resolve differently. Let us resolve in ways we have yet to imagine. Small but insanely potent. Pinchable but wildly deep. Frugal but wonderfully expensive.
"This is the year you make small but omnipotent differences. This is the year you pay for the person behind you at the toll booth, just for the hell of it, because you can, because you have no good reason not to, because, really, what cost genuine acts of sporadic kindness?
"This is the year you celebrate the success of others and be happy for their happiness and work to reduce envy into a tiny shriveled green raisin stuffed way, way back in the corner of the pantry of your worldview. Possible?
"This is the year you do one thing that absolutely that terrifies you but which you know, deep down, is good and vital for your soul. The year you vow to break your own traditions. When you swear to sin, deeply and profoundly, against your own preconceived sanctimony.
"Maybe that means dissolving, like fog in the sun, a cold batch of your bitter religious training. Maybe that means jumping off the high cliff of your most naughty inhibitions. Maybe that means nothing more than no longer living for the sake of someone else's perception of who you're supposed to be. Maybe it's cutting your hair. Joining a protest. Protesting a join. Winking instead of sneering. Swallowing instead of spitting.
"This is the year you open your mind, just a little, broaden your media world, just a little, vary your sources and question the spoon-fed truths and the force-fed fabrications. It is the year we take more personal responsibility. For our actions. For our posturing. For our gluttony and violence and intolerances. Our god cannot beat their god. There is no superior race. We are all immigrants. The clenched fist is not the new American symbol.
"After all, this is all any new year offers: an opportunity. It's nothing more than a number on a calendar, and it is nothing more than a chance to review the recent past and preview the near future and see what we can tweak and reevaluate and hopefully explode into a million tiny glistening revelations.
"Because this is the year of the follow through, the year you stop telling yourself you're really and truly gonna do that thing you always said you were gonna do and instead stop thinking so much about it and just stand up and put on your pants and make the necessary calls and take a deep breath and get the hell off the couch of self-doubt and do it."
Mark Morford
"This is the year you make small but omnipotent differences. This is the year you pay for the person behind you at the toll booth, just for the hell of it, because you can, because you have no good reason not to, because, really, what cost genuine acts of sporadic kindness?
"This is the year you celebrate the success of others and be happy for their happiness and work to reduce envy into a tiny shriveled green raisin stuffed way, way back in the corner of the pantry of your worldview. Possible?
"This is the year you do one thing that absolutely that terrifies you but which you know, deep down, is good and vital for your soul. The year you vow to break your own traditions. When you swear to sin, deeply and profoundly, against your own preconceived sanctimony.
"Maybe that means dissolving, like fog in the sun, a cold batch of your bitter religious training. Maybe that means jumping off the high cliff of your most naughty inhibitions. Maybe that means nothing more than no longer living for the sake of someone else's perception of who you're supposed to be. Maybe it's cutting your hair. Joining a protest. Protesting a join. Winking instead of sneering. Swallowing instead of spitting.
"This is the year you open your mind, just a little, broaden your media world, just a little, vary your sources and question the spoon-fed truths and the force-fed fabrications. It is the year we take more personal responsibility. For our actions. For our posturing. For our gluttony and violence and intolerances. Our god cannot beat their god. There is no superior race. We are all immigrants. The clenched fist is not the new American symbol.
"After all, this is all any new year offers: an opportunity. It's nothing more than a number on a calendar, and it is nothing more than a chance to review the recent past and preview the near future and see what we can tweak and reevaluate and hopefully explode into a million tiny glistening revelations.
"Because this is the year of the follow through, the year you stop telling yourself you're really and truly gonna do that thing you always said you were gonna do and instead stop thinking so much about it and just stand up and put on your pants and make the necessary calls and take a deep breath and get the hell off the couch of self-doubt and do it."
Mark Morford
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
Shuffling
New today: Shuffling. And grapevining. Shuffling and grapevining. Coming soon: Jogging (!).
Next week I start yoga. I found someone on craigslist who lives near me, and is taking one-on-one students at a really low rate to get hours for her certification. It's been almost four months since I've practiced, save the occasional downward dog avec brace. I'm looking forward to it. Except the getting up at 7am part.
Next week I start yoga. I found someone on craigslist who lives near me, and is taking one-on-one students at a really low rate to get hours for her certification. It's been almost four months since I've practiced, save the occasional downward dog avec brace. I'm looking forward to it. Except the getting up at 7am part.
