John Garcia
Senior HTF Member
Ari is correct. I was in therapy for 3 months (sort of relearning to walk) after breaking my femur and damaging my knee in a major car accident. I now have 2 screws in my right knee, a titanium rod from hip to knee and a pin in my hip.
My therapist and trainers were great. I was stretching and doing the knee extension, as shown in a link above - seated and raising and lowering the lower leg. My therapist said that would not help at all, and to put pressure on my foot and just slide it back and forth. This gives a little resistance in both directions and works the muscles properly, even with little or no pressure. Nearly all of the exercises given to me were resistance based, and worked more or less the entire leg, not just the knee (of course my injury was my whole leg). Still, I was not given any free weight exercises, nor did I see anyone else with similar injuries doing them either.
The MAIN thing is to try to walk as normally as possible, otherwise you will develop a "comfort limp" which I did at first also. This is BAD. This trains your muscles to do the WRONG thing, and can actually aggravate the injury over time.
#1 exercise - wall squats. Place the small of the back against the wall, tilting the pelvis to align the spine, and slowly squat to a comfortable level. 3 sets of 10, twice a day. This helps the knees as well as legs. You are also not putting all your weight directly on the knees/legs, because you are also receiving support from the wall. This also gives your motion some control, so that you move in a straight line.
#2 - stationary bike. 10 min every day.
Once I could handle those, I started doing weight assisted squats on a machine, first one leg, then the other, then both. More reps than weight.
They did not give me many stretches, most were excercises to target specific muscles. It would be difficult and lengthy to describe all of them. I also would have never known to do some of these things without going to therapy. I would still be walking with a limp right now. I am completely in debt to these people. I can walk well enough, after less than 6mo, that most people cannot tell that anything happened. I can still feel it, and while I know it will never be the same, I don't let it stand in the way of anything I do. How much improvement you end up with is up to YOU.
I used to play both indoor and outdoor soccer, though I have not yet reached the point of full sprint ability, and fast direction changes would probably not do me so well yet, but I am riding my mountain bike as often as possible again, so it shouldn't be too long.
Walking, bike riding and a little massage in the affected area will work wonders. Ibuprofen is good for tear injuries, however, don't rely on pain killers to make you feel better, exercise is the real answer.
My therapist and trainers were great. I was stretching and doing the knee extension, as shown in a link above - seated and raising and lowering the lower leg. My therapist said that would not help at all, and to put pressure on my foot and just slide it back and forth. This gives a little resistance in both directions and works the muscles properly, even with little or no pressure. Nearly all of the exercises given to me were resistance based, and worked more or less the entire leg, not just the knee (of course my injury was my whole leg). Still, I was not given any free weight exercises, nor did I see anyone else with similar injuries doing them either.
The MAIN thing is to try to walk as normally as possible, otherwise you will develop a "comfort limp" which I did at first also. This is BAD. This trains your muscles to do the WRONG thing, and can actually aggravate the injury over time.
#1 exercise - wall squats. Place the small of the back against the wall, tilting the pelvis to align the spine, and slowly squat to a comfortable level. 3 sets of 10, twice a day. This helps the knees as well as legs. You are also not putting all your weight directly on the knees/legs, because you are also receiving support from the wall. This also gives your motion some control, so that you move in a straight line.
#2 - stationary bike. 10 min every day.
Once I could handle those, I started doing weight assisted squats on a machine, first one leg, then the other, then both. More reps than weight.
They did not give me many stretches, most were excercises to target specific muscles. It would be difficult and lengthy to describe all of them. I also would have never known to do some of these things without going to therapy. I would still be walking with a limp right now. I am completely in debt to these people. I can walk well enough, after less than 6mo, that most people cannot tell that anything happened. I can still feel it, and while I know it will never be the same, I don't let it stand in the way of anything I do. How much improvement you end up with is up to YOU.
I used to play both indoor and outdoor soccer, though I have not yet reached the point of full sprint ability, and fast direction changes would probably not do me so well yet, but I am riding my mountain bike as often as possible again, so it shouldn't be too long.
Walking, bike riding and a little massage in the affected area will work wonders. Ibuprofen is good for tear injuries, however, don't rely on pain killers to make you feel better, exercise is the real answer.
