Went to the doctor today and found out that I tore my MCL. Getting an MRI soon to find out the severity and hopefully getting in some therapy asap.
I plan on just doing a lot of corework and pressing/pulling until I can get back to jiu jitsu and other lifting.
Merde - injuries and rehab are part of this forum too.
Take care and heal smartly.
Thanks nlmain.
Update:
I got an MRI on Tuesday. The results were “normal” but I am still in pain and can’t squat/kneel/move my leg in any weird ways. Went to get a second opinion from an orthopedic and he agreed that there doesn’t seem to be a tear but just a sprain to my MCL and patella ligament. A few more weeks and I should be ready to go. Physical therapy starts this Wednesday.
That’s awesome that you don’t have a tear, avoiding surgery is huge.
Wooooohh weeee…it’s been a long time since I have posted here. I figured I should update my current condition (to excuse my absence and to also ask for input). It’s been almost exactly three months since I sprained my MCL and I am no where near being better, might even be worse. Both of my knees began to ache and ROM was horrible so I got more x-rays. I don’t know how they missed this the first time, but this time they diagnosed me as having “patella femoral syndrome.” In words that I can understand, my patella tendons are 2 inches longer than my actual kneecap making them very insecure and prone to popping out.
I have stopped doing jiu jitsu permanently and will probably never be able to dedicate myself to it ever again but I’d like to get back into heavy lifting, making that my first priority. I cannot squat/deadlift as of right now, but I can press! So that’s what I’ve been doing.
I’ve also been on the stationary bike quite a lot and doing TKEs (Terminal Knee extensions)
If anyone has a similar situation or any input, that would be greatly appreciated. =)
Wore cho-pat braces to the gym for the first time. It’s going to take a little bit of adjusting to make me feel comfortable in them, but they are definitely helpful in keeping everything sturdy. It might be more mental than anything.
Also, I had the lovely experience of food poisoning for 48 hours which explains some of the absence in the gym. Pfew…that is NOT fun!
Kneehab
Med ball rolling
Band TKEs
3 sets of 15 each leg
Calf raises/Supersetted with BW half squats
Bar x 25…BW x 15
Bar x 25…BW x 15
65 x 25…BW x 15
65 x 25
Calf stretches
Shoulder rehab
shoulder complexes
Press
Bar x 5 x 3
One armed iso rows
50 x 15
70 x 12
70 x 12
More med ball rolling - short, short session
I would have liked to more of the ball rolling but there were so many girls chatting in the only free area to do it. We can’t all be powerful women I guess! 
BW = 129! Wooo, I’ve been trying to get out of the 130s for a while now.
Knee rehab (cho-pat braces on)
Foam rolling
Band TKEs
3 sets of 15
Bike lvl 11
10:00
Barbell calf raises/ Supersetted with BW half squats x 15
Bar x 25
65 x 25
95 x 25
Shoulder complexes
Press
Bar x 5
50 x 7
50 x 7
50 x 5 + 2 push
Bar x 7
Chin ups
BW x 3
BW x 3
BW+5 x 3
BW+10 x 1
BW+15 x 1
Cable machine tricep pushdowns
40 x 10
50 x 10
50 x 10
More foam rolling
Notes: Happy with my weighted chins today. Also, something I wanted to note…my legs have been doing this unusual shaky, spastic thing when I’m stretching them. It started about a month ago and it doesn’t bother me but I’m wondering if it’s a by product of my knee injuries?
nice weighted chins!
yup - very nice chins.
don’t know about the spasm. maybe a little potasium?
[quote]dejavued wrote:
nice weighted chins! [/quote]
[quote]nlmain wrote:
yup - very nice chins.
don’t know about the spasm. maybe a little potasium?[/quote]
Thank you both for the compliments on the chins! I am rehabbing both my knees and my shoulders so weighted chins are basically the only thing I can do heavy at the moment.
Also, I thought maybe potassium, but I have a banana everyday. It feels more like my muscles want to move really bad and jump out of my skin. Very unusual feeling.
Good stuff Dani! Not sure about the spasms tho…maybe just part of your recovery?
Keep at it!
Friday night…late, late workout
PVC rolling 10 minutes
Band TKEs
15 x 3 / Supersetted with BW half squats (sets of 15)
10 push ups
Press
Bar x 5
Bar x 5
push
55 x 5
65 x 5
…got booted out of the gym because it was closing.
Saturday workout
Foam + PVC roll 10 minutes
Band TKEs
15 x 3/ Supersetted with 15 BW half squats
Bike- Intervals
15 minutes
Press
Bar x 5
Bar x 5
50 x 5
55 x 5
55 x 5
55 x 5
55 x 5
55 x 5
Chins
BW x 4
BW x 3
BW x 3
DB rows
25 x 10
25 x 10
25 x 10
Planks
1:00 hold/1:00 rest x 3…these don’t ever get easier, do they?
Notes: My Knees feel SO incredibly awesome today. I haven’t tested it yet but I’m pretty sure I could squat all the way down when warmed up without pain. I don’t want to push it though so I’ll just enjoy my happy knees for now.
[quote]DiscoDani wrote:
Also, I thought maybe potassium, but I have a banana everyday. It feels more like my muscles want to move really bad and jump out of my skin. Very unusual feeling.[/quote]
Are you hydrated?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re just starting to work your legs again, right? The spasms will happen on occasion, until your muscles are conditioned to the work. What exactly can’t you do, since your diagnosis?
[quote]Beast27195 wrote:
Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re just starting to work your legs again, right? The spasms will happen on occasion, until your muscles are conditioned to the work. What exactly can’t you do, since your diagnosis? [/quote]
You are right, I just started working out my legs. The spasms only happen when I’m stretching. Kind of that feeling you get when you stretch when you first wake up. It’s not bothersome but just one of the changes I’ve noticed.
Since October 31, when I first injured my knee, I have not been able to kneel fully (sit on heels), squat ATG, run etc. The most annoying is not being able to kneel. My knees are stiff and get sharp pain if they crunch up in a kneeling position. I am surprised at how long it’s been like this, especially since I’ve been biking and doing rehab.
I am getting really discouraged. I’ve been really lazy and almost depressed not only because I can’t lift but because I can’t do simple movements without being reminded of my bad knees.
[quote]DiscoDani wrote:
Since October 31, when I first injured my knee, I have not been able to kneel fully (sit on heels), squat ATG, run etc. The most annoying is not being able to kneel. My knees are stiff and get sharp pain if they crunch up in a kneeling position. I am surprised at how long it’s been like this, especially since I’ve been biking and doing rehab. [/quote]
Our knee injuries differ, so I don’t know if my experience would be helpful or not. I dislocated my knee cap in the summer and it took about 5 months before I could do a full kneel. It is still a little stiff, but I try to work my range of motion often. I also got PFPS (caused by tight ITB) in my good knee when I was rehabbing and that is finally starting to clear up as well. I was very diligent about my rehab too.
It is tough when you are used to training and competing with intensity and all of a sudden it gets taken away. I went from two good knees to one bad knee and one okay knee. I found (still finding actually) that it is tough to deal with mentally at times. I had some really crappy days where things felt hopeless - but it’s not. Keep at the rehab, it is a bit of a waiting game.
I’m sure there are other people around here that could offer more qualified advice, but that’s been my injury experience anyway.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel somewhere!
[quote]
Our knee injuries differ, so I don’t know if my experience would be helpful or not. I dislocated my knee cap in the summer and it took about 5 months before I could do a full kneel. It is still a little stiff, but I try to work my range of motion often. I also got PFPS (caused by tight ITB) in my good knee when I was rehabbing and that is finally starting to clear up as well. I was very diligent about my rehab too.
It is tough when you are used to training and competing with intensity and all of a sudden it gets taken away. I went from two good knees to one bad knee and one okay knee. I found (still finding actually) that it is tough to deal with mentally at times. I had some really crappy days where things felt hopeless - but it’s not. Keep at the rehab, it is a bit of a waiting game.
I’m sure there are other people around here that could offer more qualified advice, but that’s been my injury experience anyway.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel somewhere![/quote]
Thank you! That was really helpful and encouraging because in my head, judging by my progress, it feels like I am always going to feel like an 80 year old woman :-/ but glad to see that you’ve experienced a similar situation and have made progress. What kind of rehab did you have to do? I have been getting physical therapy advice through a friend who is a trainer and studying sports medicine so I am in an informal program.
I saw a PT once a week for about 2 months. I started off with some light stuff - floor slides, straight leg litfs and iso quad contractions. Once I got enough ROM back to bike I’d go out for a ride whenever I could. It was freeing! Once there was enough stability we added wobble board and other proprioception exercises. Then came half squats and single straight leg deadlift (unweighted). I also had figure 8s, lateral stepping, crossovers and other foot work type drills added in there. I was pretty well doing my rehab exercises every day for 4 months then I backed off to 4 nights a week once things started feeling better. Unfortuately I’m not 100% yet, still have some instability that I have to go get checked out in the MRI.
What are you doing for PT?
That sounds similar to what I’ve been doing. I’m not as consistent as I should be since I’m still going to college and working two jobs. I bike, terminal knee extensions, half squats, lots of PVC/foam rolling. The more active I am, the less it hurts.
The last time I posted in here was the last time I worked out. I completely lost motivation for a while. I started student teaching and another job in late January and it leaves me feeling exhausted! I don’t know how people work full time and still find time to train consistently.
I dropped one job and now am just student teaching and working randomly on some weekends. Today, I saw this video and it motivated me to get back into training. My knees are still in bad shape so it will be a while until I am squatting, but it made me realize the importance of my rehab. I want to be strong and healthy and of course look good.
I’m hoping this log and all of you who read and comment will be able to motivate me to get back to 100%.
Any advice on other people who have experienced one of these hurdles in their training would be greatly appreciated.