Rehabilitation

zohabashirahmed

Hey pals,
So it has been about two months of me working out, grinding my *kitten* in the gym to get them gains, two months of changing my life style, two months of no junk no sugar no drinks. I thought fitness was a linear progression with no setbacks until recently I developed knee and lower back pains. To an extent that it hurts kneeling on the floor, walking around, bending and so on. I obviously googled it up and thought I might have pateller tendinitis but the doctor said had I carried on lifting heavy I would have developed serious issues. So I was recommended physical therapy and turns out my exercise form, breathing patterns and execution was not correct. I was told to attend PT sessions for a month, learn proper form and basics and then carry on with harder exercises once my body feels alright. To be honest, I was pretty sad. I mean I had seen gains and saw my muscle grow with the exercises I was doing. I had made a habit out of going to the gym and of taking care of my diet. This setback has made me so sad. I'm not able to move around much and not advised to hit the gym rn. Not only my lower body form was off but upper body as well. Also, I have been asked to switch to swimming instead for the time being due to its low impact on knees and joints. I don't know how to swim except free style and was wondering if anyone here knows how to alter my pool session to if not gain then retain my muscle. Moreover, I have also been trying out alternate, very low impact exercises such as stomach vacuums to work on tightening my belly. Any other exercises you guys recommend to strenghten knees and so on would very much be appreciated.

TavistockToad

4 weeks of rehab is not a long time in the grand scheme of things...

cmdmedia

zohabashirahmed wrote: »

Hey pals,
So it has been about two months of me working out, grinding my *kitten* in the gym to get them gains, two months of changing my life style, two months of no junk no sugar no drinks. I thought fitness was a linear progression with no setbacks until recently I developed knee and lower back pains. To an extent that it hurts kneeling on the floor, walking around, bending and so on. I obviously googled it up and thought I might have pateller tendinitis but the doctor said had I carried on lifting heavy I would have developed serious issues. So I was recommended physical therapy and turns out my exercise form, breathing patterns and execution was not correct. I was told to attend PT sessions for a month, learn proper form and basics and then carry on with harder exercises once my body feels alright. To be honest, I was pretty sad. I mean I had seen gains and saw my muscle grow with the exercises I was doing. I had made a habit out of going to the gym and of taking care of my diet. This setback has made me so sad. I'm not able to move around much and not advised to hit the gym rn. Not only my lower body form was off but upper body as well. Also, I have been asked to switch to swimming instead for the time being due to its low impact on knees and joints. I don't know how to swim except free style and was wondering if anyone here knows how to alter my pool session to if not gain then retain my muscle. Moreover, I have also been trying out alternate, very low impact exercises such as stomach vacuums to work on tightening my belly. Any other exercises you guys recommend to strenghten knees and so on would very much be appreciated.

Give yourself credit every time you get up. Walking around is great even for keeping up your spirits. Being stuck in bed was terrible for me, but gradually doing more has helped.

AnnPT77

Ask your PT people these questions. They know much more than we do.

Your strength/muscle losses in a month will not be dramatic, especially if you swim (even freestyle only) and do other activities that are approved for you. Any strength/muscle losses you do have will be recovered fairly quickly when you're able to resume more challenging workouts.

Keep eating sensibly, do what your doctor and PT recommend (do ask them lots of questions!), and you'll be fine in the long run.

This is a case where pushing the envelope in the short run could risk what you can achieve in the long run. Be thoughtful of your future self, and take this month (or so) to do what's needful to build a foundation for future progress.

Sunna_W

There are many low impact stretching exercises that you can do in the pool. The more slowly you move, the higher the caloric burn. You are basically doing Pilates in the pool. It's a thing, look it up. Also check out some of the egoscue methods of moving once your PT is over. Lots of free YouTube videos: https://www.egoscue.com