No pain no gain?
282 days since surgery
I had a weekend away in Germany and enjoyed running through the forests of Hagen.
The weather was perfect – sunny and warm, but still cool enough in the shade of the trees.
Since I got back to England I have had a couple more physio sessions with Matt. We went through more hop tests for the Return to Sport protocol by Melbourne ACL Guide on 8th August.
Everything passed and looked good, but a couple of days later I felt some stiffness and pain. I guess it is to be expected as I start to push harder. It is likely just be some scar tissue and sensitivity.
In our next session, on 13th August, Matt did a full examination to test the ACL and Meniscus. Everything looked fine except a little clicking/catching in the Meniscus area.
He used a Winback Machine to help with healing and pain. We still managed get through some Romanian Deadlifts and hopping in that session. I finished with a session on the Ice Machine for the first time in months.
Running in Germany felt great with the interesting forests and fresh air. It was a good chance to reflect on how far I have come. I am grateful for the recovery and progress so far.
My pace is slow but this ground was uneven and hilly… and my cardio fitness is still improving.
The stiffness and pain faded away mostly. In our next session on 15th August we focused on hamstrings and hips.
In a strength test, my hamstrings were a bit behind my quads. This has been a problem for me for a long time and building/keeping strength in my hamstrings is a challenge.
We worked on an “Arabesque” based exercise also known as the Hip Aeroplane. It is a movement designed to open and close the hips while balancing.
Along with that, we went through a single leg variation of the Romanian Deadlift. We also performed leg press/catches on the pilates machine.
I am taking it easy on the running, hopping and box jumps for now. I will let my knee settle down a bit and slowly ramp it up again.
Overall, I am not too worried about the pain. It is always difficult to know which pain to listen to and which pain is something you can push through.
I am tentatively pushing through it and it feels like something that will just pass. This should solve itself as I start to get more and more active.
