First day of Prehab

My first day Prehab went pretty good. Did some isolated stretches and movements with now weights/ body weight: 

Bridging

Glute sets

Hamstring curls

Heel raises

Heel slides

Quad sets 

Shallow knee bends

Straight leg raises 

After loosening the knee joint I went onto the stationary bike, only managed 5minutes but I realise that it's going to take a long time and take small steps to get to back to where I was a month ago. 

How it happened to now.

So it was just over a month ago that i decided to go and tear my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL).

I was was warming up for for a rugby match (my big call up to the 2nd team) when, turning quickly, my knee completely gave way and i collapsed as if i had been shot. At first i thought that i had just sprained it and that RICE (the acronym  not the food) would help it out. It was only when i woke up the next morning and couldn't move it that i realized that there was something seriously wrong with it.

Once at minor injuries the true extent to the damage became apparent as the doctor started throwing jargon around the consulting room...

" meniscus tear, Lateral and collateral pull and Anterior Cruciate Ligament".

After some x rays and touchy feely from the doctor on my knee i was handed a set of crutches.

Initially they were amazing, people standing up on the train and offering me their seat to my flat mates helping me with shopping but soon the novelty wore off and they became the bane of my life. I was on them for 2 week until the physio and doctor suggest i came off them and started exercising it more to try and regain the strength in my knee.

A further 2 weeks had past and my knee was still no better and that is when i fell down some stairs (SOBER) and did further damage to my knee. So it was back to hospital and back on the crutches. 4 days later and i was back in the Fracture clinic which was very ominous. Here i met a Professor who examined my knee properly. He concluded that i had almost torn my ACL in half and i effectively didn't have an ACL. My heart sank as he said

" you will require reconstructive surgery"

That basically meant taking a piece of my hamstring and grafting it onto my knee in place of my ACL.

So that is where i am at right now. I have been advised to take paracetamol, cut the booze and to strengthen my muscles (QUADS & HAMSTRING) around my knee pre-op. This will allow for a speedier recovery as it is expected that i will lose around 20% of the muscle in my leg after the operation.

I am planning on sharing my journey to recovery, step by step, to help anyone in the same situation as myself.