Injury rehab

davecoopey

Hey friends! Been using the app for a few years to lose weight and track my fitness. Just had knee surgery and thought it might be nice to connect with others that are rehabbing an injury or doing physical therapy.

Purplebunnysarah

I'm currently recovering from post-tibial tendinitis. Had my second session of physio this morning. I'm hoping to be able to run again soon! Maybe next week according to my PT.

davecoopey

I hope you can get out and run again soon! It’s killing me not pedaling for the last month. Trying to be patient and just do the PT stuff.

AliNouveau

I have a shoulder that's been bothering me. Just had an ultrasound today to check for anything bad inside but I suspect there isn't. Been doing physio. I'm getting tired of babying it.

davecoopey

Maybe you need an MRI done to make sure? I’m almost 50 so daily aches and pain seems like it’s unavoidable at this point.

mikaila96

Currently in PT for a knee refresher. This is round... 5? 2 rounds before I blew out my ACL and tore my meniscus, one very lengthy round following surgery, and 2 rounds since. Not counting my bouts in PT for other ailments! (If you have kids, maybe think twice about letting them be cheerleaders...)
Mainly back this time because my knee got out of whack again and affected my opposite hip/SI, which has been a drag and a half to deal with! Luckily on the tail end of this stint and looking to discharge soon!
What was your knee surgery?

snowflake954

AliNouveau wrote: »

I have a shoulder that's been bothering me. Just had an ultrasound today to check for anything bad inside but I suspect there isn't. Been doing physio. I'm getting tired of babying it.

Good luck. I got frozen shoulder 2 yrs ago and it's slowly getting better. I'm 63 though, and have been PTing it all this time. It takes a long time.

Sunshine_And_Sand

I am currently about 14 weeks out from an ACL reconstruction. About 2 weeks ago, I was cleared for straight line/flat terrain running. That's harder to do than it sounds though bc all the places I like to run are curvy and a little hilly. I also recently started back with spin class and yoga and it really feels good to get to do those again. I have a strength test coming up in a few weeks that will allow for a lot more activity if I pass and then a few more weeks of PT. I'm currently at the stage of trying to even out the quad and hamstring strength compared with the other leg and working on getting the knee to move smoothly again as it still feels a little unstable going down stairs.
Good luck with your knee recovery.

kiela64

We are still in process trying to figure out what’s wrong with my knee. Pain started 2013 & my dad took me to a chiropractor who put electrodes on it that did nothing, in 2015 it dislocated & I did physio for several months to get back my range of motion, the pain came back and I injured my calf as well and I’ve been in physio since the end of April. I also got orthotics that may be helpful. My physiotherapist thinks my knee ultrasound and cyclical experience is indicative of an autoimmune issue but we need to wait for the doctors opinions.

Good luck with your surgery recovery ❤️

Panini911

Good luck to all of you!

AliNouveau

snowflake954 wrote: »

AliNouveau wrote: »

I have a shoulder that's been bothering me. Just had an ultrasound today to check for anything bad inside but I suspect there isn't. Been doing physio. I'm getting tired of babying it.

Good luck. I got frozen shoulder 2 yrs ago and it's slowly getting better. I'm 63 though, and have been PTing it all this time. It takes a long time.

I was told I've an impingment
I admit I have probably had it a year. Shoulders are a pain in the butt. Well not literally it had been a pain in my ribs haha

snowflake954

AliNouveau wrote: »

snowflake954 wrote: »

AliNouveau wrote: »

I have a shoulder that's been bothering me. Just had an ultrasound today to check for anything bad inside but I suspect there isn't. Been doing physio. I'm getting tired of babying it.

Good luck. I got frozen shoulder 2 yrs ago and it's slowly getting better. I'm 63 though, and have been PTing it all this time. It takes a long time.

I was told I've an impingment
I admit I have probably had it a year. Shoulders are a pain in the butt. Well not literally it had been a pain in my ribs haha

Look at "Ask Dr. Jo" on Youtube. She has great range of motion exercises for shoulders and just about everything else. She is easy to follow and uses regular things that you have around the house for weights and stretches. I've had great luck with her.

davecoopey

mikaila96 wrote: »

Currently in PT for a knee refresher. This is round... 5? 2 rounds before I blew out my ACL and tore my meniscus, one very lengthy round following surgery, and 2 rounds since. Not counting my bouts in PT for other ailments! (If you have kids, maybe think twice about letting them be cheerleaders...)
Mainly back this time because my knee got out of whack again and affected my opposite hip/SI, which has been a drag and a half to deal with! Luckily on the tail end of this stint and looking to discharge soon!
What was your knee surgery?

I tore my meniscus in the left knee. Already had fairly bad arthritis in both kneecaps and when they did the MRI my ortho saw that my left kneecap was too tight against the bones and was basically bone on bone on bone. So they fixed the meniscus and did a “lateral release” on the kneecap to allow it to float away from the joint. My knees are a mess from being 400 lbs when I was in my 20s and also did a lot of power lifting and tore up my knees. I lost almost half my body weight in my late 20s and have kept most of the weight off since then.

davecoopey

kiela64 wrote: »

We are still in process trying to figure out what’s wrong with my knee. Pain started 2013 & my dad took me to a chiropractor who put electrodes on it that did nothing, in 2015 it dislocated & I did physio for several months to get back my range of motion, the pain came back and I injured my calf as well and I’ve been in physio since the end of April. I also got orthotics that may be helpful. My physiotherapist thinks my knee ultrasound and cyclical experience is indicative of an autoimmune issue but we need to wait for the doctors opinions.

Good luck with your surgery recovery ❤️

Thanks! Sounds like you need an MRI as well. It’s amazing what they’ll find when they read it. That’s probably the most direct line to finding out what’s wrong. Best of luck to ya!

amgreenwell

Rehabbing from some bursitis in my hip and man, it is hard not working out like I'm used to. I log daily and do CICO without cutting out food groups or having cheat days, cleansing, etc. I'm so ready to get back to running but this healing process is long and taking a LOT of time. Add me if you'd like.

JKStarcher

Would love to follow along.
I am 2.5 years post open fracture of right ankle (broke right in half/have 2 pins). Off my feet for 4 months, out of the gym for 6 months, struggled with depression and gained 50-60lbs. All of that non-movement, weight gain, and walking funny ended up causing another problem...chronic low back pain...which prevented me from getting back to my normal workouts. And now I have an impingement in my right shoulder, and some tendon pain in my left wrist. (sigh...Go big or go home??)
I am working with a new set of coaches who are helping me rehab, though. But at 44 years old (and a lot of inflammation going on in my body), progress is SO MUCH SLOWER than before. (5 years ago I was at 180 and lost 60 pounds in 8 months...sadly my body is not responding like that anymore). My biggest issue right now is actually going to be cleaning up my diet and trying to decrease the inflammation in my body. I have a new goal, though...just booked our next family cruise (12/28/2019)...so I'd really love to be in better health by then so that I can really enjoy it all!
Hope everyone heals fully (albeit slowly)!!

gradchica27

I’m in my sixth month of rehabbing something—right now we’re trying to figure out if my hip pain is bursitis (been there, done that), or something else. Really tired of doing zero lower body lifting Had an MRA on Wednesday and the doc doing the ultrasound for needle placement thought it looked like a torn labrum, but waiting for the MRI read. Hoping it’s something non-surgical!

kiela64

davecoopey wrote: »

kiela64 wrote: »

We are still in process trying to figure out what’s wrong with my knee. Pain started 2013 & my dad took me to a chiropractor who put electrodes on it that did nothing, in 2015 it dislocated & I did physio for several months to get back my range of motion, the pain came back and I injured my calf as well and I’ve been in physio since the end of April. I also got orthotics that may be helpful. My physiotherapist thinks my knee ultrasound and cyclical experience is indicative of an autoimmune issue but we need to wait for the doctors opinions.

Good luck with your surgery recovery ❤️

Thanks! Sounds like you need an MRI as well. It’s amazing what they’ll find when they read it. That’s probably the most direct line to finding out what’s wrong. Best of luck to ya!

I had a recent ultrasound, and an MRI actually way back when it dislocated. But it's a little delayed currently because I got a concussion eugh. So that kinda takes priority. If I could just stop getting injured? that would be awesome. Lol.

PAFC84

gradchica27 wrote: »

I’m in my sixth month of rehabbing something—right now we’re trying to figure out if my hip pain is bursitis (been there, done that), or something else. Really tired of doing zero lower body lifting Had an MRA on Wednesday and the doc doing the ultrasound for needle placement thought it looked like a torn labrum, but waiting for the MRI read. Hoping it’s something non-surgical!

Hope you didn't have MRA

sijomial

Major knee injury rehab for me was push, push, push through pain until the medics insisted on total bed rest.
Which destroyed my remaining muscle mass.
Then finally managed to get an accurate diagnosis for one injury (ruptured and irreparable PCL) and agreement for surgery during which they found the second major injury (90% of meniscus detached and had to be removed).
Made a complete PITA of myself until the hospital agreed to discharge me days early on understanding I would be "sensible" - erm.....
Went straight into aggressive rehab and ripped out all my sutures in the rehab gym.

Don't do what I did!!!

But there is a learning element of what is soreness, what is pain, what is good soreness and bad soreness - even to a smaller degree what is good pain and bad pain. Nudging your limits rather than throwing yourself at them.

My experience of Orthopaedic Specialists was really poor until I finally found a good one who was expert in my particular injury (as I sacked one surgeon I asked him who he would go to if he had my injuries...). He also understood my psyche and gave me advice to help me reach my potential while avoiding further injury unlike the previous ones who simply told me what I couldn't do.

In contrast the Physios and Sports Physios in particular were excellent.

ltryon90

Currently 1 year out of knee surgery for a crushed knee cap, and the doc said year and a half before I could run again. I tried my best to prove him wrong. I was out of work for 6 months, a little back history.

MikePfirrman

I'm currently in rehab mode and very grumpy about it. I'm pretty good with knowing boundaries. Like Sijomial mentioned above, I had a devastating knee injury around 10 years ago that took me a two years to basically walk again. Knowing pain from pushing/recovery from pain from something is wrong helps tremendously.

I've been rowing four years now, "competitively" three years. This is one of the first times in three years I've been off my training plan. Either a bulging disc or a minor herniated disc. I've had lower back (and neck) issues for 30 years, so this isn't something new. It's just aggravating me that it's not healing quicker. I can only row half my normal volume (recently been able to do that) and have had to replace half the volume on the Assault Bike. No, I'm not having it MRI'd. If I did that every time my back or neck acted up I would have cancer by now from all the MRIs. This is "old hat" for me.

I tried to push it a bit a couple weeks ago and had a set back. I'm not in much pain at all but if I row hard, it rears back up right away, so I'm easing slowly back into a routine and working quite a bit on longer, easy cardio sessions (so at least the cardio progress isn't completely lost). Just missing pushing it a bit. I think two to three more weeks of taking it easier should to the trick but it's been very frustrating.

I am grateful that I do have an Assault style bike (Air Dyne Pro). That has kept my sanity.

snowflake954

MikePfirrman wrote: »

I'm currently in rehab mode and very grumpy about it. I'm pretty good with knowing boundaries. Like Sijomial mentioned above, I had a devastating knee injury around 10 years ago that took me a two years to basically walk again. Knowing pain from pushing/recovery from pain from something is wrong helps tremendously.

I've been rowing four years now, "competitively" three years. This is one of the first times in three years I've been off my training plan. Either a bulging disc or a minor herniated disc. I've had lower back (and neck) issues for 30 years, so this isn't something new. It's just aggravating me that it's not healing quicker. I can only row half my normal volume (recently been able to do that) and have had to replace half the volume on the Assault Bike. No, I'm not having it MRI'd. If I did that every time my back or neck acted up I would have cancer by now from all the MRIs. This is "old hat" for me.

I tried to push it a bit a couple weeks ago and had a set back. I'm not in much pain at all but if I row hard, it rears back up right away, so I'm easing slowly back into a routine and working quite a bit on longer, easy cardio sessions (so at least the cardio progress isn't completely lost). Just missing pushing it a bit. I think two to three more weeks of taking it easier should to the trick but it's been very frustrating.

I am grateful that I do have an Assault style bike (Air Dyne Pro). That has kept my sanity.

I'd just like to mention that you might find yoga helpful. Both my husband and I go to "Yogaflex" classes that work especially on back and shoulders. It's been wonderful with all those aches and pains. It helps you do more in training and gives you flexibility.

sijomial

@MikePfirrman
Hope you get well soon, it's totally miserable being stuck in that cycle of one step forwards and two steps back.

MikePfirrman

Thanks you two. @ Snowflake - ironic you should mention that. My wife's been on me to try that. Even bought a DVD tape that's like 20 minutes. I've been avoiding doing it but I think that would be wise. @sijomial - yeah, thanks. I used to push through pain and train. That's how I ended up rowing, not running. Developed chronic runner's knee. I'm much smarter (and less stubborn) as I age. If I'm injured I don't push it too hard. Got in a 6K moderately hard row today and it felt OK (at the gym). Had to do 25 minutes more on the Stairmaster, though, not my cup of tea.

I'll give the yoga a try. Thanks!

aokoye

MikePfirrman wrote: »

I'm currently in rehab mode and very grumpy about it. I'm pretty good with knowing boundaries. Like Sijomial mentioned above, I had a devastating knee injury around 10 years ago that took me a two years to basically walk again. Knowing pain from pushing/recovery from pain from something is wrong helps tremendously.

I've been rowing four years now, "competitively" three years. This is one of the first times in three years I've been off my training plan. Either a bulging disc or a minor herniated disc. I've had lower back (and neck) issues for 30 years, so this isn't something new. It's just aggravating me that it's not healing quicker. I can only row half my normal volume (recently been able to do that) and have had to replace half the volume on the Assault Bike. No, I'm not having it MRI'd. If I did that every time my back or neck acted up I would have cancer by now from all the MRIs. This is "old hat" for me.

I tried to push it a bit a couple weeks ago and had a set back. I'm not in much pain at all but if I row hard, it rears back up right away, so I'm easing slowly back into a routine and working quite a bit on longer, easy cardio sessions (so at least the cardio progress isn't completely lost). Just missing pushing it a bit. I think two to three more weeks of taking it easier should to the trick but it's been very frustrating.

I am grateful that I do have an Assault style bike (Air Dyne Pro). That has kept my sanity.

Sending good thoughts your way. I have had four major knee surgeries (like "break, move, and screw back in bone" major) - two per knee. That involved a combined 24 weeks of being non-weight bearing. Needless to say, I am very good at crutches for someone who doesn't have to use them 24/7. I am semi-officially taking a break from rehab because the past nearly two years has been spent focused on rehabbing my knees. I'm phasing PT every six weeks and am not doing any strength training until the Winter because I simply don't have the time and already work out seven times a week (as endorsed by my PT who I ran into today). My PT doesn't think that it'd be smart for me to never do strength training again, but taking a "season" off of it would be ideal right now.

All that said, and this isn't aimed directly at you, I can't say enough how important it is not to push yourself past what your doctors/PT (aka physio) are asking you to do unless you are 99% sure that you're not going to lengthen your recovery by doing so. While I'm not sure that that's what happened in your case (going against the advice of a PT or doctor), but so many people here talk about going back to sport before their doctors have said it's ok so again I'm not aiming that advice solely at you.
I think the reason I'm good at not pushing harder than I should is that the end the worst result would mean more time having to be non-weight bearing which is completely and utterly miserable. Either because I bore weight before I was supposed to (which would cause more stress at the join and hinder healing) or I could fall/crash which would risk shattering my tibia.

Either way, you have my sympathy. Being limited it what you can do is really hard.

Also as an aside you can't get cancer from repeated MRIs (there's no radiation - CT scans carry that risk) but they are very expensive.

edit: I remember I once saw Tejay van Garderen give a talk at the bike fitness center (which catered to cyclists and triathletes) that my then PT was located at after my second knee surgery. During the Q and A I asked him about his experience with injuries and he talked about how important it was to not push through injuries, to be patient, etc. There's no point in doing something to soon and setting yourself back another X weeks.

nelja

i have a wrist fracture which will be fixed on the 15th October. And in the same operation a ganglion will be removed from my foot.Also 48,not recovering that fast anymore.I cycle for training and is worried i will be off too long.I do not want to start all over with my fitness.
Currently wearing a wrist brace.

MikePfirrman

nelja wrote: »

i have a wrist fracture which will be fixed on the 15th October. And in the same operation a ganglion will be removed from my foot.Also 48,not recovering that fast anymore.I cycle for training and is worried i will be off too long.I do not want to start all over with my fitness.
Currently wearing a wrist brace.

You will lose some fitness but it will come back for you and you'll feel a ton better biking, especially with the foot surgery!

@ Aokoye - thanks and I'm sorry about your long rehab! Knee issues are very tough and take patience. I had a right knee accident years ago that lead (eventually after two years of rehab) to my weight loss. It's so hard and the progress is slow and arduous. I couldn't bench press 20 lbs for nearly a year with that knee/leg. That's an extended rehab you've had. That's hard. I think much harder for someone that's been in peak shape before. I had never been when I had my knee issues, so I was getting in shape while rehabbing. I think it's harder for someone that knows what they were capable of being patient with their current physical state. Hang in there!

AliNouveau

So if I read this correctly be patient with your rehab?
I found out last Thursday my shoulder issue is in fact a torn rotator cuff. I see my dr tomorrow to get a referral to a sports medicine clinic where I'll find out my fate.

J72FIT

Not in PT at the moment but recovered from hip surgery (2013) and knee surgery (2015). Been in your shoes. It does get better...

aokoye

MikePfirrman wrote: »

nelja wrote: »

i have a wrist fracture which will be fixed on the 15th October. And in the same operation a ganglion will be removed from my foot.Also 48,not recovering that fast anymore.I cycle for training and is worried i will be off too long.I do not want to start all over with my fitness.
Currently wearing a wrist brace.

You will lose some fitness but it will come back for you and you'll feel a ton better biking, especially with the foot surgery!

@ Aokoye - thanks and I'm sorry about your long rehab! Knee issues are very tough and take patience. I had a right knee accident years ago that lead (eventually after two years of rehab) to my weight loss. It's so hard and the progress is slow and arduous. I couldn't bench press 20 lbs for nearly a year with that knee/leg. That's an extended rehab you've had. That's hard. I think much harder for someone that's been in peak shape before. I had never been when I had my knee issues, so I was getting in shape while rehabbing. I think it's harder for someone that knows what they were capable of being patient with their current physical state. Hang in there!

Thanks for the condolences! I honestly think it's a big reason why I am able to know how much or little to do in terms of rehabbing from things. My most recent (and hopefully final) surgery especially, my PTs (I had three who worked together who I would see depending on what modality I needed) were very trusting of me in terms of allowing me to add in bike stuff once I was allowed to bear weight. There was a separate timeline for riding outside because of the risk of crashing...which I proceeded to do as soon as I could ride outside, but I didn't break my leg! I did fracture my shoulder though, which is fine now - that was much shorter recovery period and I didn't tear anything nor did the bone fragment that needed to be stable go floating off into the abyss that is the area around my shoulder which would have necessitated surgery.

But yeah, all of that should explain my views on physical therapy and injury/surgery. While I probably would have needed at least two knee surgeries because I had patella alta and one of my knees doesn't have a trochlear groove (which my ortho did not go about creating because that would have meant an instant worsening of my very mild arthritis (you can see it on imaging but the arthritis alone doesn't affect me), it would have been so soon had I had PT after I dislocated my knee the first time. My GP didn't mention it and I didn't know better at the time (I was 19 I want to say). It wasn't until I was doing base training before what would have been my first season doing bike racing three or four years after the dislocation when I realized, "oh huh, maybe I should see a sports medicine doctor because it's not normal for your knees to hurt when riding a bike". Two surgeries, months of PT, and three or four years later similar knee pain while cycling brought me back to my ortho. I then sought a second opinion with an ortho who keeps up with research better and has a narrower focus (both doctors have extensive experience with elite and professional - my current one has been a US Olympic team doctor at two Olympics and my old one is the team doctor for our MLS and NWSL teams). The new one is who realized that I had patella alta and also noted that had I had surgery a year or two later the first time around I probably would have had a better outcome due to changes in treatment protocol.

But yeah, it's been a very long and bumpy road (and we're only talking about physical health - lol). I'm doing a lot better now but my glutes, quads, and hamstrings aren't as strong as we would like them to be. They'll get there eventually. One of the things I like about rowing on the water is that it plays to my non athletic strengths - I have very good timing but I've also been a musician for most of my life and I'm very good at reacting to what other people are doing physically and matching that. I can also do almost anything that I want without joint pain now which is a huge deal as this is the first time in my life since I was 13 or so that that's been the case (I have a history of back pain due to tethered cord that was diagnosed very late).

I didn't meant that to be so long but welcome to my posting style