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This was another great week of therapy. Took my Garmin to therapy to log my treadmill runs. PT made me do a  ten minute hill workout and I was extremely pleased with how great my knee held up and felt. My knee is definitely getting up to shape. The immediate shock I usually felt before from running outside has been diminished. Continued my swim training this week towards my epic 10k swim in two weeks. I have been spending some time with the foam roller as knots are being formed with my increased physical activity. PT said it’s normal and I should continue working with the foam roller as much as possible.

Weeks schedule

This was a great week in recovery. Though knee has a bit of inflammation left it feels 75% back to normal. Walking down stairs is easier as a result of less soreness. I was able to have an outdoor run, first run since the injury with very minor pain – progressed from doing 12 min/jogs to nailing this 10 min/mile run. I also did a 10 minute jog in every PT session last week on the treadmill with practically no pain. This is also due to the fact that it’s a softer surface compared to asphalt or concrete. I was able to resume swimming after taking a week off from a severe cold and nailed a 7k long swim on the weekend. After the swim I made sure to observe the knee for any aggravated swelling or discomfort. There wasn’t any. If anything knee felt much better being in the pool for two and a half hours.

PT keeps reminding me how incredibly great my recovery is going and credits my athleticism prior to the meniscus tear. I was content with doing 3x PT treadmill jogs but she said ground impact is essential to getting my knee strong again. She told me at least once a week commit to an outdoor run. This is week 15 post surgery, according to the Stone Clinic the patient can return to low impact activity after week 16. This has been going on for some weeks now with no issues. Very content with my progress.

Still continuing my R.I.C.E.

Added Exercises: 

- ten minute jog/run on treadmill

- increased weights while strength training

This Weeks Workout/Therapy Log

I seem to have caught the cold early this week. Fortunately it did not impede on my therapy. I was able to fulfill all three visits. Started doing runs on the treadmill in intervals. 1 min run/1 min walk to 2 min run/2 min walks. Knee felt good. This the run/walk combo for 10 minutes. Continued with agility and strength.

I stayed out of the pool due to my cold. Continued with 10 mins jogs around my block. There’s still minor knee pain during jogging. I intended to do a 5 mile walk this weekend but cancelled last minute because though I am mentally ready and tough for such a challenge. Physically I’m just not there as yet. Looking forward to a solid week of therapy and swimming.

I had two out of three therapy sessions this week. Cancelled Friday post thanksgiving. Monday was a tough day. I was exhausted heading into therapy after a long work day. A project was due for completion this week and I worked to make it happen. I was able to put two jogs in this week along with three swim sessions. I topped the swim off with my first ever 5k swim. This was very rewarding and solidified my swim endurance is back. On Sunday I did a full HEP program which included a 30 minute trainer ride. Knees felt good and not sore during the ride. Knees are also feeling much better during the 10 minute jogs. The PT said that next week the jogs will be bumped up to three sessions.

There weren’t any new exercises this week. Looking forward to a full PT week with continued improvement.

This week my Physical Therapy sessions went up another notch in intensity. Friday may have been the toughest so far. It was agility day. I did quite a number of lateral, step, movement drills. I was sweating bullets for sure. There wasn’t any pain during those exercises compared to my ten minute jogs (although the pain has become minor). It’s really incredible how much impact running/jogging has on the knees. This was a tough work week as well, with project deadlines, so I wasn’t able to do much home exercises, such as knees raises, etc. The PT did assure me that it’s fine to miss those as I may have mentioned before, but just focus on stretching at least twice a day.

It’s hard to measure at times week by week the progress I’m making, but everyday I feel stronger albeit mentally. Through all this I was still able to nail a 4K swim on Sunday without any knee pain or discomfort. This is very favorable news!

Added Exercises: 

- more intensity and speed to all agility workouts

This week’s activities

Therapy for the last two weeks have been broken down accordingly: strength and agility sessions. During strength session days I do: leg press, calf raises, leg extensions, leg curls, etc. Last week did some balance exercises as well. Those were fun. One entailed balancing on a half moon foam with my recovering leg while catching and tossing a soccer ball to the PT. Also performed on the half moon were backward lunges. Continued doing more lateral and forward agility routines. Walking down stairs is getting better every week. Swimming three times a week without issues. I queried to the PT about priority HEP exercises as work is conflicting with this schedule, she said at this point try doing at least two stretch sessions per day and I’ll be fine.

The PT gave me the okay to jog for ten minutes around my home block. I was able to to jog for two days this week. Shin and outer calf was definitely tight. There was also a small knee pain that wasn’t persistent through the run. I mentioned it to her and she said keep monitoring it through those jogs and update her. Otherwise it was nice to be out jogging. Extension is close to 100%, bending is still improving. Swelling is still present.

Added Exercises:
- forward walking on the treadmill
- jogging around my home block for ten minutes