One year post op!!

I can't quite believe it, but it's been one year since my second op (for those who don't know I had my original knee recon on the 1st of October and 2nd op on the 11th of October 2010 to clean out the staph infection I had). This time last year I was celebrating my birthday in hospital awaiting my second op so I'm quite relieved not to be in the same position this year! I've come quite a long way since and on Sunday played my 2nd cricket match although it was a friendly.

The week before that I played in my first match and it was quite nerve racking to be honest. Although I did have 5 training sessions prior to it, playing in an actual match is always more intense. It was a 20/20 game and we fielded first. After warming up I started fielding at my customary mid off/on position. Thankfully I didn't have to dive around to much during the 20 overs although I was definitely cautious with my knee which will probably take time to overcome. At one stage I had an opportunity to slide and keep the batsmen to one run, however I decided to run after it instead which allowed them 2 runs. I figure I'd rather look after my knee than worry about giving away an extra run!

Unfortunately with the bat I didn't stay in long enough to test my knee as I was out clean bowled for one on my 3rd delivery which was a great ball by the way :) Overall it went well and it was good to play my first cricket game in over a year which gave me some confidence! I then played my 2nd game on Sunday which was a 'friendly' match due to the official game being cancelled due to weather conditions (which was a bizzare decision as it wasn't a bad day!). It ended up being a 30 over game which was a really good test for my knee.  I ended up having a great day, making a good solid 19 (batting for approx 7-8 overs) and taking 2 really good outfield catches which tested my knee! I also captained our team to a 2 run win :) The recovery was quite good even if the knee was a little sore in the evening. Overall I am really happy with where I am at and looking forward to the official season commencement this Sunday hopefully!

Solid progress 11 months post op

I've made solid progress in the last month since returning from my overseas holiday. I resuming training at the gym and have managed to put 3 kgs (mainly muscle I hope) during that period. My operated leg feels a lot better now that I've resumed doing stationary bike riding, leg presses, leg curls, calf raises and glute work. I can see now why people say that once you've had a knee reconstruction rehab is on going!

Not that I mind though as I've always been into the gym anyway. One area where I have slackened off is running though. Apart from the fitness sessions I've conducted at my cricket club I haven't done as much running as I would have hoped for. I am to step this up in the next couple of weeks. I am really happy to be in a position where I'll be able to play cricket this season. I attended my 3rd pre-season training session last Sunday and once again it went really well (I had another session 2 weeks prior to this one). This Sunday we have another training session and the following week will be my first game for one and a half years as I will be taking part in a 20-20 match. Hopefully all goes well.

Back from holiday & 10 months post op

It is has been a while since my last update as I only just got back recently from a 6 week holiday in Europe. The holiday was absolutely fantastic although it has impacted my rehab program! As my wife and I were only staying a few days in each city in made it nearly impossible to visit a gym so as a result I have not done any weights for the last 6 weeks. As a result I've lost a fair bit of muscle from both my upper body and legs. I actually dropped 5 kgs (mostly muscle) and now weigh 92 kgs. I haven't measured my legs as yet but I'm sure I have lost a lot of size from my quad and hamstring from both legs.

The only good thing was that we did a lot of walking whilst in Europe (on same days 10-12 kms) so at least I have been active in this sense. I also did go for a bike ride or two but clearly not enough to prevent muscle loss. I am not too concerned though as I'm planning to start back in the gym this week and re-commence with my running program. Hopefully in a few weeks time I'll be back to where I was. I am also planning to attend my 2nd pre-season cricket fitness session this Saturday so it will be interesting to see how it compares with the first session 6 weeks ago!

Nearly 9 months post op (1 week away)

It is now nearly 9 months post my original op (had a 2nd op 10 days after the original for those who haven't followed my blog up to now) and overall I'm very happy with how I'm going. For the first time (last Thursday) I was very tempted to take part in a kick around at training but I came to my senses and decided not to! Not until I get clearance from my surgeon that is. It doesn't make much sense to be risking anything at this stage as I am going overseas for a holiday next week! Apart from that I'm continuing with my usual routine of gym 4-5 times a week along with running, riding the excercise bike and doing the cross trainer from time to time.

I had another breakthrough approximately 1 week ago when I ran a fitness assessment for a few of the players for the cricket club I play for. I was pleasantly surprised that I did quite well in the activities I participated in. I took part in a 1km run and did it in 4 minutes and 28 seconds. Next I did a beep test and managed Level 8/2. Although not at my best I was still happy with the results. I plan to run a few more fitness sessions before the season starts so hopefully my results improve! I won't be updating this log for a while as I will be overseas so until then take care and hope everyone is progressing well with rehab!

First round of golf post op!

Quite a bit has happened in the last few weeks but I haven't had a chance to update my blog due to being extremely busy at work! As you can see from the photo below I played my first round of golf post my op. I played at the Waterford Valley golf course in Knoxfield on the 5th June with a couple of my close friends. The course itself is 6.5km in total so it involved a lot of walking which was great! That along with teeing off and testing my right knee during my iron shots etc gave my knee a really good workout. After the game I felt fine in general although my knee did feel the effects but nothing a little icing didn't fix! I iced my knee for 15 minutes or so and the next day I felt fine. It was a great feeling to finally do something sports related and to pull up well.

Unfortunately last weekend I got sick (again) but I was able to recover fairly quickly. It has meant that I haven't been to the gym this week at all, however I am planning to go tonight after work. Interestingly as a result of not doing much over the last 5 days my right calf in particular stiffened up a bit. I did see my physio yesterday who also noticed that my flex wasn't as good as it has been and he worked on the back of my knee. After massaging the area for a while my flex was back to normal which was a relief. The mix of being sick and not doing much in the last week was probably the main reason. I did manage to go for a good run last night (around 4kms in total) and it was great to do some activity again. It also helped my calf niggle a bit although it still remains a bit tender today.

There is approximately 2 and half weeks before I go away on holiday to Europe for 6 weeks. In this time I hope to get back on track gym wise and running wise and get myself as fit as possible. As for Europe I am sure it will involve a lot of walking and my physio has also encouraged me to do as much as possible and to also do the odd gym session or two. Until my next update take care and hope everyone is doing well!

Nearly 8 months post op (1 week away)

I had my 'final' appointment with my surgeon this morning unless I want to go ahead and play soccer next season in which case he will do an assessment to ensure I am ready. Once again my surgeon was very happy with how I've progressed and says I've come a long way since the early days and the complications I had. He asked what stage of my rehab I was up to and I filled him in saying that I have started weaving between cones when running, hoping between 4 different points of a square whilst supporting my weight on a bench along with all the usual activities - leg weights, bike riding, walking, using the cross trainer and running.

He then said I was ready to start light cricket training (batting in the nets) which is great news! Mind you since I've been cleared to play golf I still haven't done so up to now! I'm looking forward to playing both golf and cricket hopefully and will provide an update once I do so. My surgeon agreed that my plan to first play a season of cricket and then decide whether I want to soccer or not is a good one. So overall a good outcome and I can not wait to get back to playing sport!

Next Phase of Rehab

After recovering from a virus I'm now back on track and enter the next phase of my rehab program. I haven't been able to do as much as I would have liked lately due to the virus I had an work but I'm looking forward to stepping it back up especially after seeing my physio yesterday. The following is a summary of the session with him:

• He stated that my knee is looking very good, the graft is strong and the supporting muscles are coming up well
• He took a measurement around my quad/hamstring. The first measurement was taken 7cm up my quad and the next one was taken 18 cm up my quad. Each time there was only 1cm difference and he was impressed with the progress I've made. The measurements (relaxed) 18 cm up for the good leg was 56cm whilst the operating leg was 55cm
• He got me to hop without support on each leg. He said that I'm still thinking about it when hopping on the operated leg whilst with the other leg it's more natural. He said that there's not as much spring in the operated leg and I'm clunking on it on landing
• He wants me to hop between 4 points of a square diagonally whilst supporting my body weight on a bench or table
• He wants me to commencing weaving between cones (5m apart) when running. In 5-6 weeks time I can reduce the distance between the cones
• He wants me to do more walking, 3 times a week 6-7 kms each time
• He wants me to continue running, bike riding and weights twice a week
• He said I will be able to kneel with comfort after around 12-18 months (after I asked the question)
• He said that returning to cricket in September still on track and should be no issues. I can commence playing golf :)

My next appointment with my physio is on the 16th of June. I went for a run last night at training (approx 4km in total) and did some weaving as well as some hopping between the 4 different points of a square. It's great to be able to do something different and I'm looking forward to hopefully making good progress in my next phase of rehab.