Knee Replacement to Pain-free Squatting
Do you have knee pain? Maybe it's from a sports injury and you've damaged some of the structures of the knee. It could be that you've had a knee replacement and the recovery has had some complications. Or maybe you haven't had a formal diagnosis such as a torn ACL or meniscus. But certain movements and activities cause pain and discomfort. So much so that you've given up skiing and pick-up basketball. And it's not that you don't enjoy these sports anymore but that the pain, discomfort and swelling just isn't worth it.
As someone who has had bilateral ACL reconstructions I can related to those suffering from knee pain. And I can appreciate the demands on this joint when skiing, playing football or even going for a long walk on the beach with my daughters.
Recently we had the opportunity to work with Gerry F. to help him after his knee replacement.
I've known Gerry for a number of years through our church and school. And I'd see him at the hockey games on a weekly basis. Each week I'd notice an improvement in his gait and less reliance on the cane. He seemed to be on or even ahead of pace for his recovery.
But then the recovery got stuck. And the pain didn't continue to subside. And the range of motion didn't continue to improve.
Maybe this was all Gerry could expect from his recovery? We should know that surgery doesn't bring us back to 100% of our pre-injured state. How close to 100% is possibe we can never know and this varies from person to person.
So Gerry came to see us and find out what we would recommend in terms of a coaching and programming protocol to help him push past the current state of his knee.
When we got started here's where Gerry was at:- kneeling was painful and difficult
- bodyweight squats with assistance were painful and difficult
- riding the recumbent bike was tolerable but not the upright bike as this was painful
- lunges of any type, with assistance, were painful
- walking involved hiking the hip and throwing the leg around rather than swinging the leg through
- able to get into a half kneeling position to stretch his quads and hips
- squatting without assistance, and not only bodyweight but with 16 kg of external load
- rides the upright bike 5 days a week and challenges himself to a faster time or greater distance each time
- is able to lunge through a full range pain-free with assistance
- walking without hiking the hip and a natural pattern of the swing leg
- no longer wearing the knee support that had since starting with us
- He took action. The day he decided he wanted to see we could do for him he signed up. He didn't go and think about it. He got serious and got started that day.
- He didn't miss a session. He arrived early and did everything we asked of him.
- He trusted the process. There were periods of the training that involved discomfort. But the approach was evidenced-based, planned out from the start and carefully monitored. Gerry trusted our guidance and pushed through when the training was challenging.
- He came in on his off days. Gerry trained with us two days per week. In a month this might be 8 training sessions. We recognized the results could be accelerated with more frequent exposures and Gerry came in on the off-days to follow some of his program independently.
- He made arrangements to continue his training while away. This included picking up some bands to fit in his bag, to locate a gym he could train at as well as getting set up on our new online training platform.
The team at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc is proud of your results. And we look to continuing the journey while talking hockey, curling and hearing about your trip to Hawaii.
If you've experienced a plateau in your training Okanagan Peak Performance Inc might be able to help. We can help you look, feel and play better in less time.
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