Medial meniscus trim report

[Dejisax]

I had my surgery eight days ago:
Observations
I seem not to have control over my lower leg for now it feels rely heavy
I still experience a lot of pain  meanwhile I am on diclofenac
The swelling is not coming down even with ice packs
I can't bend my affected knee like normal it bursts and it seems unbearable

How soon can I start my rehab process ?

[grapplingdude]

Dejisax - You re only on day 8 so dont worry too much. You can read my first couple of days which will give you an idea of how I progressed but swelling was still massive and stability of the leg was minimal....

[grapplingdude]

Day 128: Went BJJ this morning and was quite tired aqnd exhausted - beeen doing lots of exercise this week... Training went well but I stupidly got armbared sparring which really bruises my ego cause I tend to armbar others. I sparred the guy another round and whilst I wass more active / dominant I did not get anything on him - he just stalled all the way

Had a slight meniscus pinch for some hours after but this seems to have gone now - just some slight niiggles  but in all I am fine!

[halfgward]

Hello grapplingdude, it seems like at 4 months, you are finally able to train pretty hard. I am going to consult with a surgeon soon since I keep on reinjuring my torn meniscus. I feel like it has gotten slightly worse. I dont think my knee locks per say.... but it feels off. When I do certain movements I can feel things shifting around that did not used to do that!

I am leaving my gym and returning to south east asia in a couple of months. Would be a shame not being able to train that long and missing out my last training sessions 

So strange how some people can be back to training in a couple of weeks... and some take a few months... and others dont even come back. This really scares me!

[grapplingdude]

Halfgward - good idea to have it checked out! Part of my problem was that I was trying to rehab myself for 1 year trying to dodge surgery - picked up some bad body mechanics on the way..
As for the point that some people train again within weeks, I was given the caveat by both my surgeon and my physios that this can create long term issues and slow down healing though you may be able to push yourself to it..

Day 129: Went to see my physio this morning and she thinks the swelling has gone down even more since last time (2 weeks ago) and I think I agree. She gave me a deep tissue of the quads and commented that they are still too tight which may contribute to the grinding of the kneecap by pulling it up. Hamstring strengthning is thought to counteract this. I went to the gym this afternoon doing a 20 mins warm-up, then some work with the wrestling cable. Then took the wrestling dummies practising hip throws and supplex. My supplex is still rubbish but getting better. This put some strain on the knee and swelling was very marginally up after but I then did a hamstring workout as well which quickly alleviated it.

Off to see my Tui Na guy now! 

[halfgward]

What the heck is Tui Na 

As long as I can drill techniques I will be happy! Just trying to absorb as much technique before I move back to SEA.

As a result of my bad knee, my half guard is awesome! But my teacher is more of a spider/ open guard kind of guy. I feel bad not being able to adopt his game....

Seems like you do mma as well? Its cool that you are able to do all those wrestling takedowns now. Prior to this recent injury, I can only confidently go for the single leg. Man, I love BJJ. Miss it very much already.

[halfgward]

Also, what do you guys like to do to keep in shape whilst injured?

Right now I am just doing a bodyweight routine. Push ups, Sit ups, squats and repeat 5 sets. Hoping this will keep the weight off while I am not training bjj. Any suggestions?

[Boyka81]

For good cardio if i havent been able to train i do the 100 burpee challenge....Its tough,horribe but once you get in the habit doing it it can become addictive as it increases your cardio a lot. Just try and do 100 burpee in a fast time- break it down to sets of 20 etc then build from there. Monday i managed 80 non stop best iv ever done my goal to get 100 unbroken.

Great interval training exercise too- I do 10 burpee then kettlebell swings for a minute 10 sets-this has helped me as im still not confident in doing hill sprints right now.

The swings have helped strengthen my injuried knee too.

[grapplingdude]

Halfgward - Tui Na is part of traditional Chinese medicine, just YouTube it and there will be heaps...

Day 130: Feeling sore in a good way from TuiNa yesterday. Little sleep though cause I have to go to a wedding. Means travelling, standing, drinking for about 16 hours non-stop with little chance to stretch...
Stiff knee at night unsurprisingly after the ordeal.

Day 131: Sleep in to get rid of hangover from wedding and then go for a 6.5k run - longest I have done in a while which was fine averaging just about 10 kmh but was cross-country.. Slightly stiff knee at night..

[wayne6197]

GDude and Boyka, it's been a while, been on a serious vacation.  Glad to see you guys are still doing very well.  I had a big setback, NP said I "jumped on it too early."  Had a lot of pain even while walking, finally was able to get to physical therapy and after the second week she upped my intensity and the last three days have been awesome.  I was able to power walk at a very fast clip for 5k with only a twinge or two on the knee plus do some light weight work with my legs.  What a great feeling.  I see my actual surgeon next Monday finally for the first time.  I'm hoping he turns me loose as I really want to intensify my workouts.  My body still looks the same but my strength and stamina have taken a beating since surgery.  Still hitting the weights and doing core work plus watching the diet somewhat.  As I am back to work I will try to get on here to continue to follow your progression.  Still my motivators.  Keep it up.  Cheers.

Wayne

[grapplingdude]

Day 132: Still feeling a bit rough from the weekend but made it to the gym in the afternoon. 10 mins cycling and 3 mins walking to warm up and hamstring curls, then braving the FitBrit challenge again.Managed to improve my time from 17 mins to 16 mins 3 secs - thats a good improval but stil short of my 15 mins goal... Then more hamstrng curls, 10 mins of cycling and 10 mins stretches - done! 

[grapplingdude]

Day 133: The knee was a bit stiff during the day and the usual slight grinding / malltracking persists. Went Judo at night and was annoyed I was late cause I could not do my pre-work out where I switch on my hamstrings and warm up properly. any how managed to catch 1 hour and 15 mins of the session. Did full sparring and got some nice throws in albeit on not so experienced guys...

Had time to stretch off properly but skipped it. No particular issues other than tired and exhausted... 

[grapplingdude]

Day 134: Knee has been OK all day just usual slight grinding and some persistant niigles on the lateral side of the patella. Went to the gym at night and did 20 mins cycling then jumping squats with and without weights and deep single leg squats without jumping, did some core as well and then 1 round of stretching followed by another 10 mins cycling and 2 more rounds stretching. feeling really quite stiff need to get better at stretching again. Then I did some deep stertches which was mildly uncomfortable at the back of the knee and hamstrings and overall stiffness persists but I can pretty much fully load these stretches even when I am on one heel only...

[grapplingdude]

Day 135: Went BJJ in the morning and did my exercises to switch on the lower hamstrings first. Sparredx 4 rounds at the end no probs. Then off to work and knee felt quite good except usual niggles all day. Actually went back to the gym at night to stretch off and did 10 mins of cycling plus 5 mins of high revs cycling aiming for 120 probs averaging around 115-116.

Then stretches and felt gpod but body is quite stiff and feeling the strain including the knee. Deep stretches even fully loaded were fine but feeling the strain of a tough week all around now..

[Boyka81]

Still making good progress with my knee- I do get the odd niggles and grinding now and again but it dont stop me from doing anything.

MMA sparring on Tuesday and Friday. Tuesday did 4 x 5min rounds and Friday did the same. Was pleased i actually nailed  a low level double leg takedown with the knee to the ground...I didnt even mean to do it was just reaction and didnt even think about it..Overall knee feels good.