Back in Champaign, 4 weeks post-op

So some people have been bugging me to update more frequently (kevin bruns), but I'd rather update less frequently with more information and progress with my knee.

So as it stands right now I'm about 4.5 weeks out from surgery but all the info in this post will be about 4 weeks out.

So last week was our "hell week" for our team and the last stage of tryouts for our A team. We had practice twice a day, the practice in the morning was mroe ultimate geared (drills, strategy, scrimmaging) and then our afternoon practice was more conditioning and lifting. So I had 5 hours a day of watching ultimate which can get somewhat tedious when theyre just running through an offense that I already know so I took advantage of this time to use the pretty much empty athletic facilities. Everyday I stretched, biked, and did my rehab exercises twice a day. I think I made some good progress last week.

Also last week I started physical therapy at the new place down in champaign. Its the same chain as in Schaumburg, Accelerated rehab, but obviously different people and different location.

Theres only 1 physical therapist at this new location so I'll be getting more one on one time with the same person over and over which is really nice because she can more accurately track my progression. The first appointment she took a bunch of measurements that the other location didnt that had to do with swelling and atrophy so it was nice to put a number on some of those things. I think at that first appointment i was at 126 degrees of flex and -4 degrees of extension which has been pretty consistent. I dont remember the specific numbers for the other things though. Today I had an appointment again and got to 131 and -5 degrees.

The exciting part about this location is that the physical therapist, Gretchen, likes to push my limits and gives me a lot of challenging exercises and specifically she uses a treatment call ASTYM. Its a kind of deep tissue stimulation that breaks up the scar tissue and promotes healing of the locaiton. If i had to describe it in one word it would be: Painful. Essentially what she does is take a piece of hard plastic and digs it into my quad and hamstring for about 15 minutes. Not pleasant but hopefully this will get back to ultimate quickly. I've seen her using this method on other patients and they are brought to tears.

Now that I'm past 4 weeks I'm allowed to do more sorts of exercises according to the protocol outlined by my surgeon. I'm doing some light squats on a shuttle machine, and some more intensive exercises. One in particular was doing squats on a bosu ball, http://www.ab-core-and-stomach-exercises.com/images/bosu-ball.jpg , which wasnt actually that hard but i started shaking uncontrollably as i went down. It was pretty annoying. I'm really looking forward to when i can start running and start getting back into cardio shape in preparation for my return to ultimate.

I dont have much else to update on. I'll do my best to update but I won't update again till next week, especially now that classes have started.

2 1/2 Week Update

So I've been meaning to post for a while because a lot has been going on which has also led to me not posting. I started PT shortly after my last post and I've have 5 appointments thus far. First appointment was pretty tame with a bunch of stretching done by the physical therapist. Some of it was pretty painful, but a good hurt. Specifically was when she put a towel under my ankle as I was laying on the table and she basically just pushed down on my knee which stretches out my hamstring and works on my range of motion. Other exercises focus on building hamstring and quad strength and overall range of motion. At this first session my range of motion went from -5 to 120 degrees which is ahead of schedule according to the goals given to me by my surgeon.

At my third session I started riding the exercise bike and have done so each time following. Its good knowing that I can start working on cardio now that I can do the bike. Also my range of motion has improved to -10 to 130. Im making lots of progress and the exercises are becoming a lot easier to do, although my right leg looks and feels like a slab of meat. I have very minimal muscle definition in my leg, but all this rehab hopefully will change that quickly.

I went back to the doctor on Tuesday for a checkup. This check up is supposed to be at 3 or 4 weeks but I had it early so I can head back to champaign for our week of practice. Everything went well at the doctor. He said everything was on schedule. He also removed all of the strips that were over all of my wounds. It was good to finally get a good look at my scars. He also gave me a prescription for antibiotics to make sure that it doesnt become infected.

So I've been off crutches for a while now and I'm supposed to wear my brace anytime I'm walking but if I'm just walking around the house I dont put it on because its a pain to take on and off all the time. I'm driving now too, which is pretty nice because I was getting cabin fever not being able to leave the house. Most of my time at home is spent watching TV, playing video games, and sleeping during the day and being up all night. I'm also icing a bunch of times at home with my ice machine which is pretty awesome.

In the spirit of the New Year I've decided to make some goals, or resolutions. I want to stay ahead of the plan laid out by my doctor for the rehab. My end goal is to be able to play competitively middle of April right around sectionals which is right on schedule according to my surgeon. He predicts that his patients will be back to their presurgical state by 4 months after surgery which in my case is right around the middle of april.