This sort of thing becomes a giant obstacle when you have had a knee replacement, so when you have an appointment at the top, you are faced with your demons! What with that, rehab, fitness and full time work, who said I was 100% recovered now? Certainly not me!
This week saw me being discharged (YES, DISCHARGED) finally from physiotherapy. Now, I could have extacted myself a long time ago, but I have been paying a private physio to get me from broken to a point where I can continue on my fitness journey unhindered, with only myself and my fitness training being the barrier and not this blessed mechanical knee!
This week I achieved that. I cannot tell you how happy it made me when Joel said there was nothing more he could do, we had achieved all the goals and now it was up to me and my own training determination!
in 3 months (3 monthly visits) we managed to gain 8 more degrees of flexion putting me at 142 degrees, because we started to work on muscle stretch as well as joint flexion. It was decided that I had suffered shortening due to the lack of ROM, so we worked on both. This has enabled me to do most things that I need to do:
- kneeling and getting up, lunges (so I can now work full time again as a massage therapist after almost 18 months out)
- squats that are a log more evenly loaded left and right.
- short distance jogging (simply to get out of the way of danger, across the road, get to the phone in a hurry, etc)
From here, single leg balance and proprioception and strength are both things that I need to continue to work on, plus increasing my own fitness regime in swim and bike.
We did have to have difficult conversation though, regards something I still cannot do: tuck jumps. It is the one exercise move that I use at work that I still cannot demonstrate. We had a long conversation about knee replacement wear: his take on it was the titanium would not likely wear out any faster, but the plastic spacer that replaces the meniscus would delaminate and wear out. This is consistent with what the junior doctor said to me in hospital when I asked the direct question. This is why I have chosen not to run, so I may have to just find another way around it for these tuck jumps, because I do not like something to beat me!
I can do it on a bosu (as is seen in the video), but a concrete floor scares me. I think I will need to work on single leg landing and see if I can adapt it for the purposes of demonstrating. We tried it onto a trampette off the floor (no-no), on a trampette as a tuck jump (was ok). Guess the floor is a no-o for the purposes of this move. Oh well, if I only lose the ability to do one thing, then I guess I cannot complain, because I have gained so so much more than I have lost.
Here’s a throw back to the past, when I could actually do them! (this one combines a tuck jump and a star jump)
But… wait….I can now do this as well…. (anyone who has had a knee replacement will know how big a deal this is!)
So, all in all me and this knee are pretty stoked! PLUS….. I have been training a personal trainer and we had to go through how to fitness test someone. To do that, we need to administer a step test. The step has to be 43cm high, the test is a certain speed and 3 mins long. It must be completed, and at the right speed to get an accurate result.
I had no idea if I would be able to, I actually expected the knee mechanics to prevent me due to the height of the step. Not only did I manage it, but the result came back as ‘good’ for my age. I was astounded to be frank, considering how very long I have been out of action and how very short, relatively speaking, I have been back training.
Just goes to show, some residual fitness is retained when you stop training due to a knee injury!
Melanie Magowan 