Friday 20 March 2009
It wasn't that hard...
So during the last entry i was a bit suspicious about going into the advanced class at the hospital as they made it sound very hard. However when i got there i found that it was just like the intermediate class but they just made you do the stuff for longer and you were expected to do more. However it is still dependant on how much you want to do and i saw it as an opportunity to push myself as hard as i could. And i felt really good when i was leaving knowing that i had pushed myself and my knee had survived it. Another plus that happened in the last two weeks since i last posted on here was i have been working out at the gym trying to strengthen my knee and i have been going on the rowing machine quite a lot. I have been trying to see how quickly i can row 2000 metres just out of interest and the last time i went, i knocked 30 seconds off my previous best and felt better after it then i did when i set my last time which was a positive. So now my best time is 8:59.07 which will be exceedingly hard to beat but with my knee getting stronger and stronger there is every hope that i will beat it.
Tuesday 3 March 2009
My left knee and me
Right ok this is the main reason why i set this blog up (apart from being forced to by creative writing) to keep track of the progress of my knee.
Ill set the scene...about two years ago now i was playing rugby; i was stood at the back of a ruck and a prop of about 18 stone started to fall over; before i knew what was happening he had fallen on my left knee and it bent the wrong way so to speak. This is how i found out that i had hyper-extendable limbs, although i would much rather find out through a less painful method. So there i was writhing around in agony clutching my left knee. The game stops and i am carried back off to the changing rooms so i am out of the way...there was still a game to finish.
After the match had finished and everyone had had something to eat we headed off home. The next day i went to Addenbrookes hospital as they have a specialist sports injury clinic. They told me i had done either some ligament or cartilidge damage...oh bugger!
I knew that ligament damage wouldn't be good mainly from the old days when i used to play Premier manager and one of the players would get injured, if it was a cruciate ligament then they were out for the season. It would always happen to the best player...normally Shearer as i was usually Newcastle. Anyway i have side tracked...after they told me about the damage they put me on a physio therapy regime and i had to return to Addenbrookes every week for my physio sessions.
6 weeks of physio therapy and my knee is back to full fitness once again (well truthfully it wasnt but if i didnt say it was good enough they wouldnt let me ski, probably a highly stupid decision but i enjoyed skiing so much that it was worth the risk). I went skiing and my knee seemed to cope ok and i thought that my injury was all behind me.
Seeing as it had coped to well with skiing i didnt give it another thought and carried on as i had before the injury and didnt really compensate for it or carry on with the exercises...a very stupid decision. It was mid summer last year about 15 months after i first did the injury and i was driving to my nan's house. It was fine while i was driving but when i stopped and got out of the car my knee was hurting once again. This wasn't good, it was supposed to be better again...but i didnt let it stop me doing anything and i didnt try and do any exercises...another stupid decision...i am full of these concerning my knee.
Anyway i dont let this minor relapse affect what i do and i carry on as normal. It doesnt hurt that much and i go to university without it hurting that much at all. It was probably the combination of walking everywhere, dancing, spinning around drunk, being dragged round in a drunken cirle hug, playing golf and other activities that aggravate it slightly that made it start to hurt during almost anything and everything i did. It even started hurting when i was just stood up or sat down doing nothing. The worst one was when i was asleep and it started hurting, it was this that made me think i should probably get it checked out.
I went to the local surgery and booked an appointment, the doctor examines my knee and is unsure as to what the problem is so refers me to the phyiotherapist at the surgery...one problem, i have to wait about 6-8weeks before i can see the physiotherapist. So i decide to book the earliest appointment possible and decided to go to a private physiotherapist just so i can start to get it looked at properly. They examine it and say that the problem is that i have very little muscle around the knee because it was never fully rebuilt after the injury.
They give me some exercises i can do at home and i leave somewhat happier knowing i can start to get it sorted out. I keep the appointment i have with the surgery and they tell me pretty much the same as the other physiotherapist and give me almost identical exercises which was heartening because at least i know for definate what the problem with my knee is. It is also dis-heartening because trying to rebuild muscle is a long and loborious process. So off i go with the exercises with a check up in three weeks time.
Three weeks later i return to the physio and they re-assess my knee. After their assessment they say that i will benefit from going to a weekly class at the hospital that is designed for getting people back playing sports as soon as possible. So they book me onto this class and it is at 9am on a tuesday morning...great, nice early start to be running around trying to exercise.
The first morning i went, i felt so rough, not because i was hung over but it turned out that i had the mumps that first week which was a shock to say the least. However i was still able to go and take part in the class and the following week i return (mump free) and i feel a lot better. I could already start to feel the benefit from the class...that and the visits to the gym i have been doing. I make it through the second week unscathed and starting to enjoy the class somewhat. It is a challenge but easy enough for a tuesday morning.
I turn up for the third week and i am doing fine. They call me over to assess my knee which they do most weeks and after the assessment they tell me i am to be moved up to the advanced class...great, even more exercise early in the morning. One small restbite is that it is at 10am on a wednesday morning so i get an hour longer in bed before going. However just before i leave at the end they say to me "Make sure you eat some breakfast before coming down because we push you quite hard and we have had a couple of guys pass out due to low blood sugar levels". This didnt really fill me with confidence and it still doesnt because i am yet to go to my first advanced class. I dont really know what to expect, apart from being worked very hard...oh bugger.
Oh well it must mean that my knee is getting stronger which it is because it is not hurting anywhere near as much as it used to hurt and i can tell the difference when i go to the gym. This still doesnt mean i am looking forward to 10am wednesday morning but i suppose it will help more than hinder...well i hope it does anyway.
Ill set the scene...about two years ago now i was playing rugby; i was stood at the back of a ruck and a prop of about 18 stone started to fall over; before i knew what was happening he had fallen on my left knee and it bent the wrong way so to speak. This is how i found out that i had hyper-extendable limbs, although i would much rather find out through a less painful method. So there i was writhing around in agony clutching my left knee. The game stops and i am carried back off to the changing rooms so i am out of the way...there was still a game to finish.
After the match had finished and everyone had had something to eat we headed off home. The next day i went to Addenbrookes hospital as they have a specialist sports injury clinic. They told me i had done either some ligament or cartilidge damage...oh bugger!
I knew that ligament damage wouldn't be good mainly from the old days when i used to play Premier manager and one of the players would get injured, if it was a cruciate ligament then they were out for the season. It would always happen to the best player...normally Shearer as i was usually Newcastle. Anyway i have side tracked...after they told me about the damage they put me on a physio therapy regime and i had to return to Addenbrookes every week for my physio sessions.
6 weeks of physio therapy and my knee is back to full fitness once again (well truthfully it wasnt but if i didnt say it was good enough they wouldnt let me ski, probably a highly stupid decision but i enjoyed skiing so much that it was worth the risk). I went skiing and my knee seemed to cope ok and i thought that my injury was all behind me.
Seeing as it had coped to well with skiing i didnt give it another thought and carried on as i had before the injury and didnt really compensate for it or carry on with the exercises...a very stupid decision. It was mid summer last year about 15 months after i first did the injury and i was driving to my nan's house. It was fine while i was driving but when i stopped and got out of the car my knee was hurting once again. This wasn't good, it was supposed to be better again...but i didnt let it stop me doing anything and i didnt try and do any exercises...another stupid decision...i am full of these concerning my knee.
Anyway i dont let this minor relapse affect what i do and i carry on as normal. It doesnt hurt that much and i go to university without it hurting that much at all. It was probably the combination of walking everywhere, dancing, spinning around drunk, being dragged round in a drunken cirle hug, playing golf and other activities that aggravate it slightly that made it start to hurt during almost anything and everything i did. It even started hurting when i was just stood up or sat down doing nothing. The worst one was when i was asleep and it started hurting, it was this that made me think i should probably get it checked out.
I went to the local surgery and booked an appointment, the doctor examines my knee and is unsure as to what the problem is so refers me to the phyiotherapist at the surgery...one problem, i have to wait about 6-8weeks before i can see the physiotherapist. So i decide to book the earliest appointment possible and decided to go to a private physiotherapist just so i can start to get it looked at properly. They examine it and say that the problem is that i have very little muscle around the knee because it was never fully rebuilt after the injury.
They give me some exercises i can do at home and i leave somewhat happier knowing i can start to get it sorted out. I keep the appointment i have with the surgery and they tell me pretty much the same as the other physiotherapist and give me almost identical exercises which was heartening because at least i know for definate what the problem with my knee is. It is also dis-heartening because trying to rebuild muscle is a long and loborious process. So off i go with the exercises with a check up in three weeks time.
Three weeks later i return to the physio and they re-assess my knee. After their assessment they say that i will benefit from going to a weekly class at the hospital that is designed for getting people back playing sports as soon as possible. So they book me onto this class and it is at 9am on a tuesday morning...great, nice early start to be running around trying to exercise.
The first morning i went, i felt so rough, not because i was hung over but it turned out that i had the mumps that first week which was a shock to say the least. However i was still able to go and take part in the class and the following week i return (mump free) and i feel a lot better. I could already start to feel the benefit from the class...that and the visits to the gym i have been doing. I make it through the second week unscathed and starting to enjoy the class somewhat. It is a challenge but easy enough for a tuesday morning.
I turn up for the third week and i am doing fine. They call me over to assess my knee which they do most weeks and after the assessment they tell me i am to be moved up to the advanced class...great, even more exercise early in the morning. One small restbite is that it is at 10am on a wednesday morning so i get an hour longer in bed before going. However just before i leave at the end they say to me "Make sure you eat some breakfast before coming down because we push you quite hard and we have had a couple of guys pass out due to low blood sugar levels". This didnt really fill me with confidence and it still doesnt because i am yet to go to my first advanced class. I dont really know what to expect, apart from being worked very hard...oh bugger.
Oh well it must mean that my knee is getting stronger which it is because it is not hurting anywhere near as much as it used to hurt and i can tell the difference when i go to the gym. This still doesnt mean i am looking forward to 10am wednesday morning but i suppose it will help more than hinder...well i hope it does anyway.
Monday 2 March 2009
Whoops, it was harder than i thought
Ok so i said that i was giving swearing up for lent and i would put 5p into a pot every time i swore and i would give that money to charity. Well it got the better of me and its less than a week after i started it. I was being really strict with making sure i paid up until i went home and one meeting with two of my best friends from home ruined the whole plan. Then playing golf the following day, made it even worse. So i am sorry to say that i have given up on the whole idea of not swearing.
I will still make a contribution to charity but a one off payment will be far easier than trying to keep up with not swearing. At the end of the day i cannot be fucked with it.
I will still make a contribution to charity but a one off payment will be far easier than trying to keep up with not swearing. At the end of the day i cannot be fucked with it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)