Topic: Rehabbing an injury

[PhaseOfPlay]

anyone had any experience was planter faschititis

basically you pull the long muscle along the base of your foot

I wearing insoles to take the weight of that section of foot

walking around is a mild irritant, but any kinds of real sport leaves me pretty much hobbling at the end and then elevated pain for several days

ive had it about a year now and it just doesnt want to go away

It's not so much of a muscle tear. It's an inflammation of the fascia that surrounds the plantar muscles and muscle fibres. Ice, a golf ball, orthotics, and stretching are your friends.

[AndyInVA]

It's not so much of a muscle tear. It's an inflammation of the fascia that surrounds the plantar muscles and muscle fibres. Ice, a golf ball, orthotics, and stretching are your friends.

cheers
ill give it a whirl

[PhaseOfPlay]

cheers
ill give it a whirl

The golf ball -

Fold a towel on the floor, so there are about 4 layers of cloth (so fold it twice).

Place the golf ball in the middle. If you have a wooden floor, a bath mat under the towel might be needed to stop the towel slipping.

Place affected foot on the golf ball, while sitting in a chair

Push your foot down a little, so there is pressure

Roll the golf ball up and down, side to side and in opposite circles, under your foot. About 15-30 minutes, whatever you can tolerate. Then apply a heat back of some sort for about ten minutes (hot water bottle wrapped in a towel is good). Then stretch. Do this daily. Get custom made orthotics for your shoes if possible.

[Welshred]

What have you been doing for it mate?


Don't worry, PoP has covered it. Although he's given you the pansy way to roll your foot over a golf ball under a towel

[PhaseOfPlay]

What have you been doing for it mate?


Don't worry, PoP has covered it. Although he's given you the pansy way to roll your foot over a golf ball under a towel

I have low pain tolerance

[Welshred]

I have low pain tolerance

Anyway, a stretch for you.

Place your foot on your opposite knee and pull your toes up with your hands. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat 10 times. 3 or 4 times a day.

[PhaseOfPlay]

Anyway, a stretch for you.

Place your foot on your opposite knee and pull your toes up with your hands. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat 10 times. 3 or 4 times a day.

This is also a good treatment for athlete's foot

[Chivasino]

anyone had any experience was planter faschititis

basically you pull the long muscle along the base of your foot

I wearing insoles to take the weight of that section of foot

walking around is a mild irritant, but any kinds of real sport leaves me pretty much hobbling at the end and then elevated pain for several days

ive had it about a year now and it just doesnt want to go away

I had it really bad, Mate. Every morning I would wake up and could hardly walk. Much worse after playing football. Had to give up the game for a little while. The pain was continous for a number of months.

I've got very flat feet and was already wearing very old and knackered orthotics. I found an excellent podiatrist here in London. She had worked with Arsenal and Charlton, so was highly thought of.

Had some custom orthortics made, £500 all-in, including the consultation, fitting and laser measurememts. The planter faschititis cleared up within a week and hasn't come back since.

The Orthortics are now five years old, but are guaranteed for ten.

I did what PoP suggested and it helped a bit. Did it with one of those dryer ball to stick in a tumble dryer. But I would get myself down to a Podiatrist, Mate, and get yourself checked out properly if things down clear up.

[LiamG]

Not so much of an injury but a few years ago i went to the doctors because my tendons (or ligaments) at the back of my legs were aching like mad and felt really tight, she basically told me my legs were unfit and to get to the gym, so I've been back in the gym but they don't seem to be getting any better

is there any specific exercise i should be aiming to do to increase the strength in them? also every time i seem to walk somewhere like from work to home they seem to ache a lot more after

i work nights in a supermarket so I'm on my feet all the time and constantly bending up n down

sometimes the acheyness spreads to my thighs too but it's mostly tight at the back of the knee

[IanMac]

Not so much of an injury but a few years ago i went to the doctors because my tendons (or ligaments) at the back of my legs were aching like mad and felt really tight, she basically told me my legs were unfit and to get to the gym, so I've been back in the gym but they don't seem to be getting any better

Which tendon is it? Assuming it's your achilles i'd look at something like this... http://livehealthy.chron.com/loosen-up-achilles-tendon-3895.html

I can not recommend enough that people stretch every day. A foam roller is something i would also highly recommend. Basically massaging your own muscles to remove knots and loosening the muscles is a huge help. You Tube has hundreds of videos on it but be warned, it can hurt like hell initially.

I have a 3cm square hole behind my right kneecap, kneecap misalignment, patella tendinosis and very tight quads, calf, IT band etc and this literally allows me to walk every day. I'm no expert but having been at physio weekly for the last 3 years I am getting experienced! 

[LiamG]

it's the hamstring tendon

[IanMac]

it's the hamstring tendon

I'd recommend the same. Lots of stretching and foam rolling. My Illiotibial band is very tight and i roll it and do lots of glute strengthening exercises to try and resolve it. Google it, there's lots of advice along them lines.

[AndyInVA]

on the planter thing

I had gone to see my doctor after a month or so to see if it was fractured. he gave me the advice about stretching etc but I just couldnt be arsed and I assumed it would get better on its own if i used inserts in my shoes

it seems I respect RAWK people more than doctors

after a couple of weeks of on/off using a tennis ball it is much much better

thanks all who gave me advice and suggestions

[MrGrumpy]

Apologies, I only saw this thread after I had posted something similar in 'The cyclist thread'

Since Sundays 60 mile ride, I have noticed my right hamstring has been tight and causing mild discomfort.

Are there any exercises I can do to get rid of this? Should I avoid spinning and cycling and if so for how long?

[Sat1]

I've damaged my hamstring. I think it's a grade 2 strain. Did it playing football Monday and it's still swollen and has bruising to. Hurts when walking and using my clutch. Anyone who's had this injury please tell me it's not a grade 3. Really don't have the effort to go hospital.

Thanks

[Welshred]

If it was a grade 3 you wouldn't be able to walk or drive.

[Sat1]

Cheers man. A lot of pain, swelling and bruising lower side. Probably no running or training legs for a few weeks

[Welshred]

If its grade 2 you're looking at around 6 weeks to 2 months.

[Lucho_LFC8]

Well long story short, coming up 2 years in February I injured my knee playing football, remember twisting it and hearing a loud pop. Fast forward to June just past I got an MRI:

There is a bucket-handle tear of the medial meniscus with a sizeable displaced fragment displaced into the intercondylar notch.  The tear involves the posterior horn and body.  There is no significant osseous bruising.  There is some inflammatory reaction adjacent to the meniscal body.  There is modest bulging of the medial collateral ligament secondary to meniscal extrusion.  The ligament is intact.
The lateral meniscus is intact.
The anterior cruciate ligament is ruptured with synovitis in the intercondylar notch.
Posterior cruciate ligament is intact.
Patellofemoral joint is unremarkable.
 Summary:
 1.  Bucket-handle tear of the medial meniscus.
2.  ACL rupture

Was wondering on people opinions on how serious this is or if they've had similar experiences?
From the original injury I've tried playing football a few times but keep on hurting it again, feeling of a grinding motion in the knee, though right now I seem to be able to run without much pain.

[Welshred]

If you want to play football or any sport again you'll need an ACL reconstruction.

If you're not that arsed you don't need an ACL to do quite a lot of things, you can get the stability you want/need through muscle strengthening, plyometrics and proprioception.

Bucket handle tears aren't the greatest ones to have, they generally lead to a lot of locking of the knee, but can be managed through strengthening and proprioception of the knee. At some point you'll probably need surgery to debride and repair the meniscus.

Either way, whatever you choose, you'll more prone to osteoarthritis in that knee in later life so start looking forward to your total knee replacement when you're in your mid to late 60s

[Lucho_LFC8]

Either way, whatever you choose, you'll more prone to osteoarthritis in that knee in later life so start looking forward to your total knee replacement when you're in your mid to late 60s

Hopefully by the time I'm 60 they've invented some sort of exoskeleton suit for civilian use 
I've spoke to my GP & Physio and both said that I'd need surgery but never explained it in detail like that so cheers   
Though I thought with the ACL rupture I would have struggled to do the most basic movements, so it caught me by surprise.

If I was to go ahead with surgery as soon I can, would it be best to start some sort prehab programme to make recovery easier?

[Welshred]

Ok so the ACL's function is to prevent excessive inward rotation and forward movement of the tibia in relation to the femur. What we know from the extensive research into ACL's is that most people can have very good function without an ACL, as long as they don't want to do any activities that involve fast pacing turning and cutting actions. If you're happy turning slowly and being able to run in a straight line you'll be fine. However if you want to return to any pivot sports like football, rugby or tennis you'll need surgery.

Surgery is relatively straight forward. Surgeons have the choice of 3 grafts that all have their advantages and disadvantages:

1) Hamstring graft - they'll use a bit of one of your hamstring tendons as your new ACL. Disadvantage is that it can be quite a weak graft and prone to rerupture, however post-op is less painful and rehab can be quicker.

2) Bone-patella tendon-bone graft - they take a portion of your patella tendon along with bone from either end and use that as the new graft. Advantage is that it's stronger due to the bone being able to heal into the ends of your tibia and femur, disadvantage is that it's more painful and rehab can be slower.

3) Quadriceps tendon graft - they take this from just above your knee cap - this is relatively new so not a lot is known about the procedure or what benefits there are of using it. No long term studies have been conducted.

Either way you'll have a strict protocol to follow post-op, you'll only be able to do ertain things at certain times. Sports wise you'll be able to return to non-contact sports after 6 months, contact sports after 9 months so it's a long, long rehab period.

Prehab is definitely needed prior to surgery. The surgeon will most likely use a hamstring graft so you'll need to do loads of hamstring work prior. Generally though the stronger and better you are pre-op the better your outcome will be post-op.

Hope this helps.

[mabbympb]

Well long story short, coming up 2 years in February I injured my knee playing football, remember twisting it and hearing a loud pop. Fast forward to June just past I got an MRI:

There is a bucket-handle tear of the medial meniscus with a sizeable displaced fragment displaced into the intercondylar notch.  The tear involves the posterior horn and body.  There is no significant osseous bruising.  There is some inflammatory reaction adjacent to the meniscal body.  There is modest bulging of the medial collateral ligament secondary to meniscal extrusion.  The ligament is intact.
The lateral meniscus is intact.
The anterior cruciate ligament is ruptured with synovitis in the intercondylar notch.
Posterior cruciate ligament is intact.
Patellofemoral joint is unremarkable.
 Summary:
 1.  Bucket-handle tear of the medial meniscus.
2.  ACL rupture

Was wondering on people opinions on how serious this is or if they've had similar experiences?
From the original injury I've tried playing football a few times but keep on hurting it again, feeling of a grinding motion in the knee, though right now I seem to be able to run without much pain.

I had meniscus tear occur in August 2014, by the time It was diagnosed and operated on at new year a few months later the body had attempted to heal itself. The surgeon performed trephination of the menisus to reinjure and stimulate repair. I was ordered not to do significant bending of the knee for 12 weeks and did physio etc. I got back to riding my bike around about 4/6 weeks after in the house, and 8 weeks on the road. With regards to football I waited around about 7 months before I felt comfortable and confident. I have had no issues since. I cannot comment on the other part of your injury which sounds more serious. Good luck

[Lucho_LFC8]

Like I said above, all I got back from my MRI was the report and neither GP or the Physio I seen never explained it in detail like you have, so thanks again.

At least now I know what I have to look forward too, a frustrating year or two ahead 

[Lucho_LFC8]

Thanks lad, quite a frustrating injury, seems like the meniscus damage is giving me the most pain as it seems to be coming from the inside of the knee. Also managed to miss two cup finals in two years which is hard to take, but these things happen.
Good to see your back on your bike and it doesn't bother you anymore, long may it continue 

[SwissV]

Ok so the ACL's function is to prevent excessive inward rotation and forward movement of the tibia in relation to the femur. What we know from the extensive research into ACL's is that most people can have very good function without an ACL, as long as they don't want to do any activities that involve fast pacing turning and cutting actions. If you're happy turning slowly and being able to run in a straight line you'll be fine. However if you want to return to any pivot sports like football, rugby or tennis you'll need surgery.

Surgery is relatively straight forward. Surgeons have the choice of 3 grafts that all have their advantages and disadvantages:

1) Hamstring graft - they'll use a bit of one of your hamstring tendons as your new ACL. Disadvantage is that it can be quite a weak graft and prone to rerupture, however post-op is less painful and rehab can be quicker.

2) Bone-patella tendon-bone graft - they take a portion of your patella tendon along with bone from either end and use that as the new graft. Advantage is that it's stronger due to the bone being able to heal into the ends of your tibia and femur, disadvantage is that it's more painful and rehab can be slower.

3) Quadriceps tendon graft - they take this from just above your knee cap - this is relatively new so not a lot is known about the procedure or what benefits there are of using it. No long term studies have been conducted.

Either way you'll have a strict protocol to follow post-op, you'll only be able to do ertain things at certain times. Sports wise you'll be able to return to non-contact sports after 6 months, contact sports after 9 months so it's a long, long rehab period.

Prehab is definitely needed prior to surgery. The surgeon will most likely use a hamstring graft so you'll need to do loads of hamstring work prior. Generally though the stronger and better you are pre-op the better your outcome will be post-op.

Hope this helps.

Not necessarily true. I did my ACL back in 2004. At the time I was playing state level football (League below the national level), playing basketball, boxing and working a manual labour job as well. The doctor recommended that I didnt have the surgery despite knowing how much agility work I needed to do. He told me due to the nature of my specific injury and my fitness levels that building muscle to compensate was much better than having a knee reconstruction. He did say that eventually I will need it when Im in my 50s but for the time being slowly building up the strength and building muscle to compensate were the best option. Ive only had one scare with it since which was a few months after the initial injury. Other than that everything has been fine and Ive had no problems since.

[Welshred]

Not necessarily true. I did my ACL back in 2004. At the time I was playing state level football (League below the national level), playing basketball, boxing and working a manual labour job as well. The doctor recommended that I didnt have the surgery despite knowing how much agility work I needed to do. He told me due to the nature of my specific injury and my fitness levels that building muscle to compensate was much better than having a knee reconstruction. He did say that eventually I will need it when Im in my 50s but for the time being slowly building up the strength and building muscle to compensate were the best option. Ive only had one scare with it since which was a few months after the initial injury. Other than that everything has been fine and Ive had no problems since.

You're right, but it all depends on the individual person. You can support it through muscle strength and building up proprioception on it's own but I think studies show that only a small % of people with ACL tears are able to do that. Everyone's individual, what's right for one person isn't right for another. Right now the gold standard treatment for ACL's is to have reconstruction surgery.

Have a read of this, Lee Herrington is a very major player in ACL rehab - http://www.physioroom.com/experts/expertupdate/interview_herrington_acl_injuries_1.php

[Pheeny]

Some 6 weeks ago I had surgery on my knee,ACL replacement and meniscus tidy up.

Before I had the op I did some google research and seen all these videos of people walking without crutches and leg braces just a couple of days later.

What a load of bollocks that was.

For the first 2 weeks I was using two crutches and the leg brace 24hrs a day.

Week 3 still leg brace 24hrs but with one crutch.

After 4 weeks I was finally allowed to adjust  the brace so I could bend the knee slightly so I could then walk with no crutches.

Week 5 - slowly build up to walk etc with no brace and could finally sleep without it.

Week 6 and can now get back on the bike albeit just indoors and only for 10/15 mins easy.

For the first 4 weeks I had physio 5 days a week, now on 3 days a week but more intensive.

Went to see the surgeon last week and he was well pleased with my progress and send my recovery time was above average.     

[Welshred]

You went through the standard protocol for an ACLR with meniscal repair, the femur comes into contact with different parts of the meniscus as it rolls when you bend your knee and the repair has to be protected initially otherwise there's a high risk the repair will fail. That's why yours was a little bit longer and it doesn't sound like it was explained to you clearly before the surgery.

What you saw on the videos would have been people who just had the ACLR without meniscal repair. If rehabbed properly these people can be fully mobile with full movement in their knee 3-7 days after their surgery, which makes life a lot easier.

My question to you though is what was the reason for having the ACL repaired? Your a cyclist aren't you? What other activities do you do?

[Pheeny]

My question to you though is what was the reason for having the ACL repaired? Your a cyclist aren't you? What other activities do you do?

I also run and do a lot of gym work,plus my leg/knee was very unstable and the surgeon who was excellent and did explain everything before hand recommended that unless I was planning on just sticking to the cycling then I should have the surgery.

[Welshred]

I also run and do a lot of gym work,plus my leg/knee was very unstable and the surgeon who was excellent and did explain everything before hand recommended that unless I was planning on just sticking to the cycling then I should have the surgery.

Sounds like you explored it thoroughly then. The instability bit I can understand but there is a lot of good evidence out there stating that unless you want to return to pivoting sports (rugby, football, squash, etc) then you don't necessarily need ACLR - and there's even research starting to come out stating that you need it for the pivoting sports either, although I'd personally still advise it.

[Pheeny]

Both my surgeon and the sports doctor that sent me there in the first place said that normally someone my age does not need the surgery, but as I'm extremely active and my knee was rather unstable, then the only real option was surgery.

[WhereAngelsPlay]

Last time I had to have some rehab when I knackered my ankle,I was just about finished and decided that I would take a trip to the pool (was working away),went to the edge happy as larry and jumped in

































To the fucking shallow end.

[Poet]

So I trained on Monday and now I have somer serious pain below my left knee. Hurts to touch, hurts to walk.

I'm not sure if it's the knee itself or  something else. It doesn't really hurt if I bend it, just when I walk. Any ideas of what it could be?

[the 92A]

I normally found in the cycling thread but hope some of the knowledgeable can help me, I've just had a slight tear or pull in calf sprinting at end of a run,  it was the classic on acceleration, knew straight away and stopped dead to prevent more serious problem, my own fault caused by lack of recovery, going for a run with a mate after hard run night before.

I couldn't weight bare for two days, put ice on it with elevation to prevent swelling but my injured calf has slightly swollen with no bruising but today, the third day, there is a marked improvement, finally can put weight on it cautiously with slight pain can stretch with no weight on and have full movement of foot, with this speed of recovery reckon  I should be alright in a week or two, is it all right to start running on it with slower pace than normal when I feel no pain. I know no one can give any guarantees over the internet but just after general advice as my poison is cycling, I only run 5ks for pleasure and cardio fitness and don't know much about re starting training after an acute injury. Would assume start slowly build up gradually and no intervals for a few weeks after starting. Any help would be appreciated

[Welshred]

Firstly, don't stretch. Its useless unless after a fracture.

Secondly, to start your rehab work you'll need to mobilise your foot and ankle within pain free ranges which you can do as much as you want as long as it's pain free - basically just flex and extend it. This gently reintroduces load.

As pain allows you can start seated heel raises and add weight into it as you feel comfortable by using your hands to apply pressure. Then you can progress to standing heel raises on both legs, adding weight in as you feel comfortable, then progress to single leg heel raises +/- weight, then progress onto plyometric exercises such as jumping and hopping on the sport.

That's just for Gastrocnemius, apart from the seated heel raises. It's important not to forget Soleus too, by surface area its one of the biggest muscles in our body and provides the majority of our propulsion during walking and running. A solues squat is really good for this. Basically stand with your back against a wall and slide down it until you're in a squat position, then go up onto your toes whilst maintaining the squat and down. Keep yourself in the squat position whilst completing your repetitions. It's a great glute, quad and solues compound exercise. Again add weight in as and when you feel comfortable.

You can add eccentric heel drops off a step in as well, double then single leg, to go for the full shabang with your rehab.

It's really important to work to fatigue too, otherwise muscle strengthening won't be as efficient. It doesn't matter how many reps it takes or how much weight you're holding the important thing is to work until you get that burning achey feeling.

Return to running - intervals are exactly what you need to be doing but not full paces ones. Something like 30 second light jog and 30 second walk, then building up the time and intervals before eventually reducing the intervals with increased intensity until you're back to doing what you normally do.

The strengthening work should all take approx 3-4 weeks, possibly longer without constant monitoring. The running 5-6 weeks and it's ok to start when pain free.

[the 92A]

Thanks Welsh Red, really appreciated that advice, you're a star. Started sitting heel raises today with my hand providing resistance, calf still sore inside the muscle on the back inside nearest my other leg but I'm walking with less pronounced limp which is good as my hip and neck on the other side of my body are sore from limping about with the weight on one side

[Welshred]

Good stuff, more than happy to help! Keep on strengthening though to avoid it returning in future

[GiorgosCarraGoonies]

Welshred, you may be able to advise my best course of action here (I've read this thread and you're knowledgeable on knees!)

OK - in 2009 I dislocated my kneecap (left knee, kneecap flew outwards towards outside of my leg). Was in a brace for a month and had one or two physio sessions only, then I moved to England for uni and that was that really, didn't sort out any more physio appointments.

Have only ever attempted to run a handful of times since, and when wearing some sort of support. Can't jump or sprint or turn quickly as my kneecap is unstable (it has slipped out a few times but has slipped back in upon me falling to the ground, thankfully).

I'm my own worst enemy in that I didn't continue physio, but also that I wear a little neoprene strap on my knee every day I leave the house, which obviously won't have helped strengthen my muscles.

What are my options? To be honest I don't have much pain in it normally. It clicks/grinds loudly going up and down stairs but my daily life (minus sport) is perfectly manageable (unless I need to run for a train - just can't do it).

I've gotten very overweight due to this. I've been going to the gym again for the last few months, is there anything I can do to stabilise the kneecap or has that ship sailed?  I'm 30 years old, if that matters. It's the only regret I really have - not sorting it out when I was 22 years old and still active.

[rakey_lfc]

32 and just been told my ongoing knee problems are because I’ve got quite a moderate case of Osteoarthritis already! Gutted. Always been very active and I’m a PE teacher. In the short term it seems manageable with Physio and a change of exercise. No more running training for tough mudders for this year at least which I feel really gutted about.

Long term, my GP said the only real fix is to have knee replacement surgery.