Wednesday 28 January 2015

NIGEL's BLOG - WEEK 10 - 16

This takes us up to now!

Sorry I haven’t written about my experiences recently, but I have been too busy in gyms and more recently I have been out cycling on a road bike, but only about ten miles and avoiding steep hills, it has to be said!

My knee is slowly recovering and becoming stronger, but it takes time and a lot of hard work, to try and build the muscles of your thigh (quadriceps and hamstrings) and the muscles around your hip back up.

In the gym I am working on static bike, cross trainers and rowing machines and I can pretty much fully straighten my knee and I am staring to achieve more bend (flexion) in it, which is especially helped by the rowing machine.

I spend about three hours a week in the gym, trying to go three or four times and I also swim.
I can now push 40kg with my right leg, on the leg press machine, which has been hard won!
When I started on the leg press I could only press 5kg, because of what is called reflex inhibition. It’s a strange feeling, because you do not feel especially weak in the leg, it’s more that you just can’t do the push required, you might if your life depended on it, but somehow your brain is not switching your muscles on!!!!!!!!!!!

Walking is still a bit of a problem. In that I have to be careful to walk properly and people still say to me, usually if i’m tired, ‘are you limping’?

Although I can now achieve five or six mile walks, even on the Downs, quite happily, without repercussions.

I spend some time, in the last two weeks, on the treadmill, in front of a mirror, watching how I walk, but I still avoid running, but I hope to soon.

Physiotherapy is going well, with Alison  and we are working a lot on balance, hop activities, squats, lunges and continued awareness of quality of movement and control.

Next stage, aim to run, get back to mountain biking, increase twisting and turning activities and join the opera!


Speak soon and remember ‘Mind your body’!!!!!!!!!!!!! NIgel