Do I really have to use this thing? Day 22 – 72kg The 39 Steps …
Today was supposed to be a landmark day. Finally, three weeks after the op to rip out half my left meniscus I got to see Ms Physio, the lady who rebuilt my left leg five years ago. I was confident she would poobah Doc's conservative approach and have me doing one-legged squats and other such strengthening exercises. Wrong!
Ms Physio explained that while the swelling isn't too bad, what's there should be gone by now. And I can't go into full rehab mode until there's no sign of it. And the only way that's going to happen is if I stop living as if there's nothing wrong.
She said I should still be using a walking stick.
"Still? I never used it in the first place."
And then she asked if I was still staying in the same abode with all those stairs, all 42 of them.
"Why, yes ..."
And so it turns out that my choice of home could be the prime culprit in my knee's refusal to play ball. Ms Physio says I should only now, at the three-week mark, be moving into the stairs part of my recovery process. But as she pointed out, there's not a lot I can do about it save for moving into a hotel. She did, though, reiterate the walking stick advice – I've never felt so old :-)
Maybe I'll buy a cool cane.
I did get some exercises to do and the loan of an electronic stim device to work on re-firing my VMO. For the non-cyclists, the VMO is that big lump of muscle that cyclists have situated just above the knee cap on the medial side. It notoriously turns itself off after surgery and can be a stubborn bugger to wake from its slumber.
On the plus side, Ms Physio affirmed that riding a bike sensibly (ha ha) shouldn't present any problems and will indeed loosen any stiffness present. But she was alarmed at my goal of climbing Genting Highlands in two and a half weeks time. Might have to rethink that one.
Another unlikely plus came in the form of a just-completed dip in the pool, my first swim in well over a month. The recent dry spell has left the water at the perfect temperature and I managed to knock out 20 laps without feeling like death. I usually regard swimming laps as a necessary evil but I actually enjoyed it for once as I didn't have to think about my knee. So that's what I'm looking forward to tomorrow, a nice, long, relaxing swim.
Before I go, yes, I know the title of this update was a little misleading, but "The 42 Steps" doesn't have quite the same literary effect :-)
Today was supposed to be a landmark day. Finally, three weeks after the op to rip out half my left meniscus I got to see Ms Physio, the lady who rebuilt my left leg five years ago. I was confident she would poobah Doc's conservative approach and have me doing one-legged squats and other such strengthening exercises. Wrong!
Ms Physio explained that while the swelling isn't too bad, what's there should be gone by now. And I can't go into full rehab mode until there's no sign of it. And the only way that's going to happen is if I stop living as if there's nothing wrong.
She said I should still be using a walking stick.
"Still? I never used it in the first place."
And then she asked if I was still staying in the same abode with all those stairs, all 42 of them.
"Why, yes ..."
And so it turns out that my choice of home could be the prime culprit in my knee's refusal to play ball. Ms Physio says I should only now, at the three-week mark, be moving into the stairs part of my recovery process. But as she pointed out, there's not a lot I can do about it save for moving into a hotel. She did, though, reiterate the walking stick advice – I've never felt so old :-)
Maybe I'll buy a cool cane.
I did get some exercises to do and the loan of an electronic stim device to work on re-firing my VMO. For the non-cyclists, the VMO is that big lump of muscle that cyclists have situated just above the knee cap on the medial side. It notoriously turns itself off after surgery and can be a stubborn bugger to wake from its slumber.
On the plus side, Ms Physio affirmed that riding a bike sensibly (ha ha) shouldn't present any problems and will indeed loosen any stiffness present. But she was alarmed at my goal of climbing Genting Highlands in two and a half weeks time. Might have to rethink that one.
Another unlikely plus came in the form of a just-completed dip in the pool, my first swim in well over a month. The recent dry spell has left the water at the perfect temperature and I managed to knock out 20 laps without feeling like death. I usually regard swimming laps as a necessary evil but I actually enjoyed it for once as I didn't have to think about my knee. So that's what I'm looking forward to tomorrow, a nice, long, relaxing swim.
Before I go, yes, I know the title of this update was a little misleading, but "The 42 Steps" doesn't have quite the same literary effect :-)
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