The physio starts here

It is a wet and blustery day in Blackpool, England.

Sandra has been staying with me since leaving the hospital, and this morning she drove me up to JAM Physio for my first session.

The floors are wet and I am extra careful on my crutches. I don’t want a simple slip to undo all the hard work.

Matthew is my physio, and he had initially diagnosed the injury before the MRI scan, as well as helping me with prehab exercises. He is patient, thorough and precise with everything… including my constant questions!

I already have great extension in the knee with 0 degrees. That seems to be solid progress so soon after the operation, although I am told I can lose some range again in these first weeks.

The swelling is nicely under control.

We did quad squeeze exercises by pushing down into a towel behind the knee.

To help with the Straight Leg Raise, we used a towel held around the foot to assist.

We also started with heel elevation to push the extension range. I didn’t expect this as my brace is locked to 0 degrees, but this is fine to do.

I am starting to understand that the brace is more for protection in case of unexpected pressure through the knee. For example, if I slip and put weight on the leg, the brace takes some of that weight and ensures the knee is not forced outside the range.

That means, as I understand, it is okay to go out of the range if it is controlled and without weight bearing.

To activate the quad, we go through a routine with an EMS machine. This is an electronic device placed on the muscle which stimulates it to engage.

I was cleared to do cardio on my Assault Bike, using arms only, and encouraged to partial weight bear when walking if it’s not painful.

A thirty-minute icing on a GameReady machine finished the session, and I was left with some exercises to do throughout the week.

To keep myself focused, I print out a plan for my week’s physio exercises. You can see and download my week 1 sheet here:

https://bit.ly/backtofitness-physio-week-001

I will be taking it easy for most of this week and doing minimal work. I believe that keeping my mind clear and relaxed helps my body to focus on the physical recovery.

And, of course, it’s nice to spend a few days with nothing more important than watching Netflix and drinking coffee.