It's been ages since I wrote on here!
Ironically since it takes so much time (of which I have very little) to work on BodyDaemon I haven't been logging as much as I'd like. That's not to say that there isn't a lot happening with my injuries, though.
Shoulder - recovery from labrum/rotator cuff repair My shoulder is getting a
lot better. I've been seeing a very good physiotherapist (Jeff Kahn, based in Bearwood, Birmingham) and, with his guidance, have been able to get rid of most of the inflammation whilst carrying on strengthening the shoulder. I do my rehab exercises 2-3 times daily, consisting of the following exercises, all with therabands:
Abduction (a rowing movement) Adduction (straightening arm with theraband anchored behind body, resisting) Lateral raise (exactly like with a dumbell, but with band) Internal rotation External rotation I'm definately getting stronger. I'm hoping to introduce light weights to these movements soon, with my physio's permission of course. But generally speaking, all is good.
Left Knee - recovery from removal of Cyclops Lesion Since the cyclops lesion was removed, I've had very few problems with my left knee. There is still some crepitus which is, in part, being caused by scar tissue buildup, but its nowhere near as bad as it was. I'm having ultrasound and massage to help work the crepitus. Strengthening is going very well.
which leads me to the one remaining injury which is not improving.. Right Knee - Retropatellar pain syndrome Basically:
My right knee hurts when i bend it Cycling hurts after 2-3 minutes Deep squats hurt immediately and often leave me in agony After I sit for a while with my knee in flexion, when I bend it there is a pronounced 'click' The kneecap is shifting laterally and being dragged towards the outside of my body. This is bad.
I've been working, with the guidance of the droitwich knee clinic, on strengthening my VMO muscle via intensive physiotherapy, with exercises such as:
Terminal Knee Extensions (see video below - these are working well) Very small ROM squats Leg extensions (last 10 degrees ROM) Straight leg raises Small ROM squats with medicine ball between legs etc.. Unfortunately I don't seem to be responding well. My VMO is getting stronger, but it's not stopping the pain.
Today I saw a chiropractor to see if they could spot another reason why I'm still getting pain. Their findings were:
Build-up of tension in lateral parts of quad - worked with massage - but hasnt made much difference A lot of movement - too much - in my kneecap Patella tendon is stretched, and the kneecap is quite 'high' (so danger in overstretching quad as it could make it even higher) Quite tight laterally in quad Hamstrings look to have lost some tone which may not be helping The patella is very, very irritated which is why I'm getting pain. Suggestions of said chiropractor were:
Try not to go into the painful ROM at all as the irritation is stopping improvement Strengthen hamstrings Stretch quads laterally but don't go overboard Carry on working on VMO Investigate taping, a knee brace or similar to force myself not to enter the painful ROM for a while Talk to consultants back at the droitwich knee clinic about the possibility of a cortisone shot to remove the inflammation while I go about making things better. So, we'll see. A fair bit of stuff to try to work on there.