notes from the universe Archives

ACL Post-Surgery 15 weeks

by ninaeliseh | May 23, 2014 | ACL, Blog, Health & Fitness

15 weeks Post-Op Summary

Can run in less than 1week! May 29th, to be exact 🙂
Still going to PT every other week until I run! I have been doing PT/Yoga/workouts 3-5 times a week, so no need to go in.
Knee feels about 90%… Seriously. When I say “back to normal,” I mean I am walking without pain, my workouts feel easy and I am able to straighten/lock out my left knee (my right knee is hyper-extended, so this is “normal” for ME).
When bending up/down my knee still “catches” every once in a while – I assume this is just from the last swelling
knee usually feels stiff in the morning – its hard to get my heel to my butt, but after some stretching/yoga, I can sit on my heels.
Lots of handstands and Yoga going down at my house… Everything gets easier week by week!
I did a hip-hop class at work yesterday.. it was great cardio and a lot of fun! My knee did lock out which was really uncomfortable, but I was fine the next day

PT Exercises/Workouts

Elliptical at the beginning of my workouts, 15-25 minutes
Balancing on BOSU ball, ball side up on injured leg – bring other leg as far out in front, to the side, and diagonally behind you. 2-3 x 10
Lunges w/twist to side – lunging forward on a bosu ball w/ 6 lb ball – 2 sets of 30
Monster walks to the back/side (stand looking forward with a slight squat, side step left leg & to the back – so stepping not to the side or to the back, but in between) – 10 each side, 2x
Holding onto bands on wall, squat on one leg then back up – 3×10
Side-lunges while holding onto TRX band – 3 sets of 10
On injured (left) knee – holding 10 lb weight in right hand – lean forward, balancing on injured knee w/weight hanging down (think warrior 3 position) – 2 sets of 10 on each side
Lay on ground – put both feet up on an exercise ball. Bridge hips up & pull feet towards body – 3 sets of 15
Step up onto a platform (with bad leg) while holding a weighted ball (6 lbs). Bring up, then slowly come down. 1 set of 15
BOSU ball, ball side down – squats w/ 6lb ball – bring down to one side & swing slowly up across body over shoulder. 1 set of 20
Crunches on Ball – 3×100
With 6lb ball, lay on back, with arms over head. Crunch all the way up, keeping ball over head. do 20 times, then immediately after do 100 russian twists. Rest 30 seconds, repeat, but 15 crunch-ups & 75 russian twists. Rest 30 seconds, repeat, but 10 crunch-ups & 50 russian twists.
Workout at gym 1-2 times a week, doing PT exercises above
Stretching after every workout
Bikram Yoga/Yoga (1x a week, if I can find time)
Workout classes! Did a hip-hop class at work the other day – so much fun! Great to mix up my workouts 🙂

I have been practicing my handstands and doing yoga at home almost every night, sometimes in the morning. I love it! I feel like I am stronger and more flexible than I was before my surgery. With my knee feeling almost 100% back to normal now, I am still being careful. However, my flexion is getting better every time at yoga. I am even doing back bends again!

I am itching to start running again… less than one week! I do a little jogging/running for a few seconds from time to time, and I have no issues. I cant wait! Below is a t-shirt I should probably get to celebrate running next week – my 2 favorite things – sloths and napping.

ACL Post-Surgery 11 weeks

by ninaeliseh | Apr 25, 2014 | ACL, ACL 2+ months, Blog, Health & Fitness

Almost 3 months post-op! Summary is below 🙂

11-week Recap

Saw my surgeon on Monday – he said my knee looked great! Still a little swelling, but it should go away soon. The pain under my knee cap is caused by weakness in my quad, and it will eventually go away. No running till 16 weeks – my surgeon said even professional athletes that do rehab every day shouldn’t be running till 16 weeks – too much risk of stretching out the graft.
Surgeon also said I could wear heels now if I wanted – he said it just depends on if I am willing to risk wearing them! Obviously more risk of twisting my knee… I asked since I have several weddings to go to this year, and he said I can wear heels, but dancing should be my biggest concern.
Told PT my hamstrings have never really been that strong, so we worked hamstrings a lot this week – the back of my leg bruised a little bit, so I am taking a little break
Had a skype session with Sargam Mishra, and she performed (long distance) Pranic Healing on my knee from India. I should start to notice a huge difference in the next few weeks! The rest of the day after our session, my knee was really hurting. .This morning, though, it feels pretty good!
Flexibility is back and my Bikram Yoga classes are getting easier!

PT Exercises

Elliptical at the beginning of my workouts, 10-15 minutes
Side-lunges while holding onto TRX band – 3 sets of 10
Single-leg squats while holding onto TRX band – 3 sets of 10
Balancing on Bosu-ball on injured leg, ball side up. Holding 4 lb weights in each hand, 1) punch forward, slowly, 30 times. Rest. 2) Punch to the side (left & right), slowly, 30 times. Rest. 3) cross-punch in front of you, slowly, 30 times. Rest. 4) balance on bad leg and bring other leg as far out diagonally behind you, then to the other side. 1x 30
Balancing on Bosu ball, ball side down – lower into a squat and reach down and to the side like I am trying to touch foot, then back up and around to other shoulder (twisting) – 2 x 30
Plank hold, lifting one leg up, then the other while balancing on bosu ball, ball side down w/ankle weights– repeat 10x each leg for a total of 3 sets.
On injured (left) knee – holding 12 lb weight in right hand – then lean forward, balancing on injured knee w/weight hanging down (think warrior 3 position) – 2 sets of 15
Lunges w/twist to side – lunging forward on a bosu ball w/ 12 lb ball – 2-3 sets of 20
Monster walks to the back/side (stand looking forward with a slight squat, side step left leg & to the back – so stepping not to the side or to the back, but in between) – 10 each side, 2x
Without stopping – 15 seconds leg press, 15 second hold @ 90 degrees, 15 seconds leg press (on injured leg) – 3x
Sliders – in plank position on hands, bring one leg out to the side and back. repeat on other side. then bring both legs out & back. Repeat 10 times, 3 rounds.
Lay on back w/sliders under my feet. Bridge stomach up, then slowly slide one leg out and back. Repeat on other leg -2-3 x, 30 seconds
Lay on back w/sliders under my feet. Bridge stomach up, then slide one leg out and back. Repeat on other leg , going as quickly as you can, non stop -2-3 x, 30 seconds
Workout at gym 1-2 times a week, doing PT exercises above
Stretching after every workout
Bikram Yoga/Yoga (1x a week, if I can find time)

Now that its confirmed I cannot run for another 16 weeks, I am a little bummed… its been so hard not doing cardio! At the same time, I have been reading about people running at 12-14 weeks, and they have a lot of issues from starting back too soon. So maybe it is a blessing in disguise!

I have the house to myself this weekend, and I am planning on lots of sleeping, reading and meditating. I am also going to a yoga inversion class! Now that I feel comfortable enough to do handstands again, I want to really start working on getting my balance even better. Below is a pic pre-surgery!

This e-book was created as a guide to help everyone – Adults, Kids, Athletes, and Non-Athletes – recovering from ACL surgery. After reading this guide, you will have a better understanding of what to expect, surgery options, costs & insurance, and a detailed timeline for recovery.

Purchase the Guide for only $3.99 >

Improve your range of motion, increase your strength, and feel more confident post-surgery with a 2 month yoga progression plan.

Learn More & Purchase the Course

ACL Post-Surgery 10 weeks

by ninaeliseh | Apr 18, 2014 | ACL, ACL 2+ months, Blog, Health & Fitness

Hi! First things first… Check out my Yoga for ACL Recovery Course. The 2-month course includes 1-2 videos a week you can do over the course of your recovery, quickly improving ROM, strength, balance, and flexibility. Based on my own recovery, I created this course specifically for anyone recovering from ACL surgery, and includes 15+ videos full of safe & effective postures & flows that progress with you.

Secondly… 10 Weeks Post-Op! Great things happening… see below for my 10-week recap 🙂

10-week Recap

Reached full flexion/ROM (After walking on treadmill)… Finally! I have really struggled with getting my heel to my butt, but I can now get full ROM after a decent workout filled with elliptical & treadmill work. I usually wake up with 2-3 inches in between, but a lot of walking helps loosen my knee up
10 weeks! 10 weeks! That means I am “Out of the Red” – my ACL is pretty much good to go… just need to build up a little more strength in the next few weeks
I can run in about a month! Even though I feel like I can now 🙂
I am meeting with my surgeon on Monday, and my PT is going to sit in on the appt. He thinks I might be ok to run at 14 weeks!
Doing more lateral movements in PT
Almost all swelling is gone in knee – just a little in the front
Can finally sit Indian-style! Lost a lot of flexibility, but it will come back
Working on setting up a skype session with Sargam Mishra to do some energy/healing work on my ACL next week – more to come later (She actually completely healed a torn ACL on someone!!)
Scar still looking the same, maybe a little lighter… using the Vit E 2x a day!
Feeling stronger in balancing exercises – knee not so wobbly

I see my surgeon on Monday, and I have a few questions to ask him. I think he is a little more aggressive on what I can do physically versus what my PT allows me to do, so it will be interesting to see how he thinks I am doing.

I went to Bikram tonight, and I can’t believe how much more I can do! I could do almost all of the poses! Not a lot of the sitting poses, but I could definitely see my progress in class. Below is a chart of all of the poses I did – I Xed out the poses I didn’t do. A lot of the poses I tried, but stopped if there was any twisting/pivoting of my knee. The poses marked partial, I only did the right leg and not the left.

http://www.feelyogakingston.com/services/bikram-hot-yoga/

Hope this helps anyone getting back into yoga after ACL surgery! Of course, everyone is different, so listen to your body 🙂

If you are itching to get back into yoga, or are looking for a way to improve your ROM, strength, and flexibility in addition to your PT appointments, check out my Yoga for ACL Surgery Recovery Course! It’s a 2-month progression course that aligns with a typical ACL recovery, beginning at 3-months post-op.
If you are past 3 months but are still looking to get back into yoga, this course can be done by anyone, no matter how far along you are in your recovery!!

This e-book was created as a guide to help everyone – Adults, Kids, Athletes, and Non-Athletes – recovering from ACL surgery. After reading this guide, you will have a better understanding of what to expect, surgery options, costs & insurance, and a detailed timeline for recovery.

Purchase the Guide for only $3.99 >

Improve your range of motion, increase your strength, and feel more confident post-surgery with a 2 month yoga progression plan.

Learn More & Purchase the Course

ACL Post-Surgery 9 weeks

by ninaeliseh | Apr 11, 2014 | ACL, ACL 2+ months, Blog, Health & Fitness

I wish I had more to report, but I feel like week 9 was the same as week 7 & 8. My ROM has pretty much stayed the same, and no change in how my scars look. Recap is below!

Week 9 Summary

Better strength & Flexibility
Different exercises in PT
Still a little IT band pain on left side of pain, comes and goes
Doing more in Yoga – still careful, but am surprised by how much more I can do! I only wish I had more time to go to class
Have been doing headstands AND handstands, no problems 🙂
Knee is feeling more stable
Still a little swelling in front of knee, which prohibits me from getting past 147 degrees flexion – any tips on how to get past this?? I am icing 1-2 times per day.

Workout classes at work! A mix of pilates, boxing, yoga, standing core work, etc. Next week is total body conditioning. I feel so out of shape during the classes! 2x a week
Stretching after every workout
Yoga – Slow Power Flow & Bikram (1x a week, if I can find time)

I chatted with my PT the other day, and I asked him about running. I was curious as to why 16 weeks was when they had people start running, versus 12 weeks. I really just wanted to know the structure of the knee and healing process that the decision was based on. Apparently, 16 weeks is good for the “average” person. There are people who recover quicker, and they can start sooner. Then there are other people who have a tough recovery, so they don’t run till later on. Since my surgeon/PT center bases everything on studies, they opted to go for the “average” recovery timeline. The reasoning being: A while back, a soccer player recovered from his ACL surgery in 90 days. 90 days! (study info can be found here and here) So, naturally, more studies were done, and the recovery process was pushed to see if other people could really recover in 90 days. What the studies found was this: not everyone is a professional athlete, so 90 days might be a little much to shoot for. LOL. Apparently not everyone is an athlete (prior to surgery), have personal trainers and physical therapy most likely every day or the money/resources to recover as quickly as a professional athlete (no shit). Also, the survey found that people’s grafts were stretching out/more issues arose when the recovery timeline of 6 months they were shooting for was being pushed shorter.

So, even though my PT said my leg is most likely strong enough to run/jump now, he said “better safe than sorry.” Since I am at the 9 week mark when my graft has probably stabilized, there is still a chance of it stretching out (6-10 weeks is the time when your ACL is technically still healing/stabilizing). And I would rather be safe than sorry and have to go through that painful surgery again! However, if I accidentally jog to my car like i did last week or jump up and down when I am excited – I won’t sweat it 🙂

Can't wait for the day where I can jump & Run again!

Can’t wait for the day when I can jump & run again!

Until next time!

This e-book was created as a guide to help everyone – Adults, Kids, Athletes, and Non-Athletes – recovering from ACL surgery. After reading this guide, you will have a better understanding of what to expect, surgery options, costs & insurance, and a detailed timeline for recovery.

Purchase the Guide for only $3.99 >

Improve your range of motion, increase your strength, and feel more confident post-surgery with a 2 month yoga progression plan.

Learn More & Purchase the Course

ACL Post-Surgery 2 Months

by ninaeliseh | Apr 6, 2014 | ACL, ACL 2+ months, Blog, Health & Fitness

I have been waiting until after my PT appointment to write this, to see if I there were any updates…. but there aren’t. Knee is still truckin’ along, about the same as week 7. I notice I have good days and bad days, and it just fluctuates depending on how active I am. Summary is below!

Scars looks the same
Knee feels almost back to normal
Not 100% ROM where my heel can meet my butt, but pretty close
Jogged to my car the other day on accident (it was raining and i forgot!)
Still experiencing pain on right right of knee, slight bruising – where the screw was drilled into bone
IT band pain pretty much gone
Hyper-extension on knee is starting to come back (to match my other knee!)
1.5 months until I can run again!
Got a massage the other day – the lady did an awesome job of working out a lot of knots on both of my legs! Def recommend to get the blood flowing and give your legs a break from working so hard.

Went to Bikram Yoga again the other day and I almost fainted. I felt nauseous, light-headed… I already am not doing a lot of the poses, but had to sit down for most of the class. That has NEVER happened to me in all of my years going to heated/Bikram yoga. I usually start to feel great after 20 minutes in. I think I had a slight ear infection, and I spent the rest of the night laying on the couch after class. I am going again this week, so fingers crossed it doesn’t happen again!

Asked my PT about the discoloration on the numb part of my leg when I start to sweat – they had no idea! Looks like I will have to check with my surgeon in a few weeks. I also will be working with more with my other PT, so hopefully some new exercises are on the horizon as I continue to get my leg strength back.

Until next time!

-Nina

This e-book was created as a guide to help everyone – Adults, Kids, Athletes, and Non-Athletes – recovering from ACL surgery. After reading this guide, you will have a better understanding of what to expect, surgery options, costs & insurance, and a detailed timeline for recovery.

Purchase the Guide for only $3.99 >

Improve your range of motion, increase your strength, and feel more confident post-surgery with a 2 month yoga progression plan.

Learn More & Purchase the Course