Leg Extensions

[feeny]

I started doing leg extensions roday after the all clear from my OS.

I gingerly put 5kg or so of weight... meh no drama.. added another 5 and so on...
I hit 50kg and the quads were starting to fatigue, but not even a tweak anywhere in the knee.

Despite what I have read about leg extension not being the most effecient of quad exercises, I can say that the burn I was feeling said otherwise!
So far so good - and I will now incorporate them, along with drop squats and other regulars in my leg program.

I also cracked more than 200lb single leg press today *happy* Im sure I never got close to that pre-op. Hehe its funny - I wonder if hte only people loading up the leg-press machine to full are knee geeks We hurt our knees and presto - end up doing ridiculous weights in the name of rehab

[celinenj03]

Hey Feen,

Did you ever check out www.bodybuilders.com,  and click on the forum section on the left side?

If you do, try a search for ACL and read the testimonies and see what those dudes have to say about leg extensions. They swear by them and deep squats as well. Be careful though, some of those muscle heads a little "off" and do some crazy things, but it's good to read that the leg extensions really dooooooo help. I can't wait to be able to do some REAL exercise. Again, SLR's just aren't going to cut it.

Check out their supplement secion too. They have some great ideas regarding flaxseed oil and all the other supplements that help with joint issues.

[feeny]

some great stuff there!
more people can the leg extensions than praise them.... i'll find out i guess.

some good stuff i did get from there though - im going to introduce deadlifts and also some hiit!

[patpalloon]

is that the first open chain leg exercises you've done since the ACL recon Feeny?

Robin

[Charliemouse]

No Robin ...he's already been snowboarding for several weeks I think that might count as open chain

[feeny]

hehe actrually I count snowboarding as closed chain!! the feet are always in contact with the snowboard I found snowboarding to be extremely knee friendly, and in fact most snowboard knee injuries are either collision or jump related.

The first open chain exercise I did was hamstring curls - now on to leg extension. Running is also open chain!

[Alla]

Hey there Feens,

Just be careful of the extensions..... I found I could do them at first then it started to get painful. (OS said to stop if they were painful) If you can do them then that is great and I dont want to encourage you to not do them, but just mentioning that they got harder for me the more I did them.  Dead lifts I find really good..... been doing them for around 7 weeks now.... helping lots.

Alla 

[patpalloon]

I'm doing some hamstring curls already but with no weights. I'm not going far and it doesn't hurt. My PT said it was OK to do these. It's just the quad open chain exercises that are forbidden as they put a lot of strain on the graft. Been to the gym already for some static cycling. I find it easier to exercise at the gym than at home - no distractions.

Robin

[luckygrandma]

This is just something I figured out myself but the doctor said it was good. I don't know why they don't tell you this. After my surgery I couldn't figure out wheather to sleep with my leg bent or straight. If I slept with it bend I would get up in the morning and have trouble straighteneing it and if I slept with it straight I would have trouble bending it.

Anyway I started doing this and took the better of two evils. I put my leg on a pillow and slept with it straight all night. I would stretch when ever I felt like it and it really felt good. In the morning I found it easier to get out of bed and it was easier to get it bending then it was to straighten it and little did I know it helped my extension also. I accomplished more this way then I ddi with any weight exercises. In a short time I had full extension. I had to have a manipulation for my flexion but the doctor said that he can get flexion but not extension during a manipulation, so i know now I did the right thing. My advice would be that you should do whatever feels right to you, whether it is in a book or not. Who knows you might come up with something that they never thought of, but will pass on to their patients.

[feeny]

Well, immediately post-operation it felt really right to have a pillow under my knee, with the leg mostly straight, but just a bit bent.
This was the wrong thing to do though - and instead I forced myself to have the leg fully extended and I have been told (and I believe!) that this goes a long way towards getting early and full extension!

[Alla]

I agree, I was told under no circumstances was I to sleep with a pillow under my knee as sleeping with the knee bent compromises extension and can lead to the formation of arthrofibrosis and hence the possibility of further surgery to fix the problem.  It was hard to do to start with, but well worth it in the end.

Alla

[loz8]

I remember 'sleeping' with a pillow under my ankle to encourage extension...prob got about 1 min sleep! then reverted to painkillers and pillow under knee, wrong but slept!!!
Loz