Training Log Archive: Wyatt

A variety of upper body and core things at the gym, plus AM and PM 2x10 reps of the L-leg squats. Unfortunately, what was a little stiffness in midday, is a little more stiffness and light burning in th evening that 3 rounds of ice hasn't quelled. Tomorrow will be an off day for knee exercises.

Event: DVOA Nolde
 

Event: Western States + Intercollegiate Championships
 

AM set of 2x10 left leg squats. Plus I did the DT/stretch/ice thing midday. And it's not PM yet.

The good news is that my Left knee isn't blowing up with this exercise. Unfortunately, I won't know if I'm making any forward progress until at least next Wed/Thu.

AM set of 2x10 left leg squats. Plus some random sit ups and push ups. Playing Morrowind instead of PM set. (Can somebody hassle me for slacking on my supposed recovery exercises...)

C • Consider this a hassle! 3

AM set of 2x10 left leg squats. Fell asleep before PM set.

Some random walking while swinging some 3lb weights in my arms. I should take the HR monitor next time to see if these even get me to 100bpm...

Noon: 20 left-leg squats (plus 5 min DT, then stretch before, stretch & ice after). No noticable pain while doing this. L-knee not-100% down stairs in the morning, but close enough that I had to think about it to notice.

I should probably add some core strength and/or some swimming to avoid become flabby. PG's record of hitting the gym while injured is putting me to shame... Maybe I should start some today?

PM set of 2x10 L-leg squats

Saw Valerie Brill of Excel Physical Therpay today. Val is still, by far, the most competent physical therapist I've ever met. Probably more competent than the majority of sports med. doc's too. A few questions, a rapidly changing variety of pulls and pushes & even staring at my 2.5 minutes on the treadmill clearly with intense study going on followed detailed observations, good discussion, and, like a prior injury, "does it hurt when I push _here_" nailing a spot that hurts as much or more than anything that I've found myself in dozens of pokes and prods over the past few months. If expert Physical Therapy can fix this, I'm on the right track.

My HHT (hamstring issue solved by pineapple and walking) was _not_ really cured by expert Physical Therapy, and my tendintises (?) tend to be more chronic than most people's, so my self-prognosis isn't optimstic, but we'll do what we can, including, mostly from Val's advice,

At least 8 days of the following, probably modified a bit after that, still with no running until ~3/13, to-be-modified based on progress.

3x/day of

• 5 min. Transverse Deep Tissue Massage right where it hurts, with leg extended
  
• L-Quad stretch, standing, pull back to involve hip flexor
  
• (2x/day) L-leg squats, 2x10 reps. (On declining platform, weight on heel, lower leg vertical.)
  
• L-Quad stretch again if exercised
  
• ice cube, 5 minutes
  

Assessment of progress will be hard, but if I can do this w/o my knee getting worse (e.g. worse than no pain during any normal daily activities), and I can run notably farther before pain on a treadmill test next Wednesday, I'll consider it progress.

Based on past experience, this kind of strength training may have a 24-hour-lag increase-of-inflammation effect, just possibly trashing the leg from what was looking like a maybe, possibly, slow recovery in progress (e.g. the ability to run 10 minutes, ice after, and not get worse the next day.) If this happens, my opinion of traditional physical therapy for my injuries will sour much further.

C • Watching with interest 1

Ran on the treadmill for 3 minutes - no pain at all until 2 minutes, then progressive getting worse. Did this on purpose, at the Phys. Therapy office so I could point really clearly to where it hurts...

20 left-leg squats

Real slow running on pavement. As usual, knee sore after 2 minutes, but not quite as bad at the end of 10 minutes today as it was yesterday. Improving just a bit? Or was it the odd weather and/or the heat-before that I did today.

Saw Dr. McShane today. He listened to the history and did some poking, and a bunch of looking at the tendon with ultrasound imaging.

He says I do have a mild case of Patellar Tendonitis, and it would likely just get worse and chronic if I kept running on it.

He suggests:

• Deep tissue work, esp. ala a professional (although I'm sure to try to imitate this.)
  
• Closed chain Eccentric exercises per Physical Therapist advice (details to come tomorrow)
  
• NO running, or even walking (I think I'll probably do some walking, as that promotes some of the blood flow that he suggests his good...)
  
• NO Ibuprofin - he calls using NSAIDs for Tendonitis the top 1 of his "7 myths of Sports Medicine" in the book he's writing... This apparently slows the healing.
  
• NO heat/ice on/off. That's a waste of time for this. (Although there may be some heat/ice associated with the before/after the eccentric exercises thing. I'm not sure.)

I think I'll try following this advice for the next few weeks (ex. for maybe I'll go for some walks, not sure about that.) I'm a little skeptical about the eccentric strength training part (when that repeatedly failed on my high-hamstring-tendonopathy and walking helped), but I'm willing to try for a few weeks. We'll see.

C • Hmm... 4