How the heck can that knee change so fast for the good? Oh yeah! Now we’re talking. Hitting the gym, over lunch, and 8 out of the 10 cyclinders are starting to click.
What do I mean by that? I shoot some hoops as a warm up to lifting. I haven’t really been able to jump very well with the left knee and leg since the patella was broken. I’m right handed which means, in basketball, a jump shot is predominately lead by the left foot. Today was the best my jump shot has been in awhile. I even did some wind sprints. Almost full speed. Even decelerating was a whole lot easier. I was always really quick and agile on my feet and be able to do this again feels so good to be getting back an important part of me. I never really cared to much about going running, except cross training in the winter, but boy o boy do I ever now just because I can.
I even did weights with the legs, which I hit hard yesterday, because they were feeling so good. I upped the the leg press to 310 lbs isolating each leg. Even the leg extension, at 95 lbs, is getting fairly easy with the left leg.
Going on 3 years, with a lot of pain and discomfort in that left leg, and things are really turning around.
I’ve gone back to the gym starting this past week hitting it on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I had quit going about 2 month ago. At Joe Martin Memorial Stage Race, last weekend, I noticed that my left leg just isn’t quite as strong as the right. Well, this isn’t the first time I’ve noticed it’s just been an ongoing thing since I broke my kneecap in September of 2009. Below you’ll notice some information and links from ExRx.net . My go to site when I want to understand fitness movements and exercises.
What I’ve noticed, in the gym, is that my left hamstring is still a bit weaker than the right. I struggle to get 6 sets 6 reps with 95lbs with the left leg. The right leg no problem. I do these one leg at a time, instead of using two legs, so I isolated and not favor my right leg. ( scroll down for the rest of the article. Dang, I can’t figure out why there’s this white space )
Increased risk of knee injury (instability) occur during knee extension activities, specifically when knees are flexed more than 90°. When hip and knee are simultaneously extending during a compound movement, hamstrings counter the anteriorly directed forces of Quadriceps. Also see Knee Stability and Angle of Pull for force vector explanation. Hamstrings / Quadriceps strength ratios should be greater than 56% to 80% depending on the population tested.
I have an easier go, this time around, when using the leg press.
Knee Stability
Closed-chain exercises like leg presses and squats can improve knee stability. The stresses placed upon the joints and muscles during closed- chained movements are more functional and offer more natural stresses on the body as compared to open-chain exercises like leg extensions. Also see Hamstring Weakness.
The quadriceps also seem to have a lot of atrophy. I’ve been using the leg extension just like the hamstring curl that I described above. The left quad has gotten stronger. I’m able to do 95lbs fairly easier than a couple months ago. Easier but not fast. First I’ll work on getting it stronger. Than I’ll work on explosiveness.
Increased risk of knee injury (chondromalacia) occurs during knee extension activities. The patella becomes laterally displaced with the pull of the vastus lateralis. This patella tracking problem can produce wear on the inferior patellar surface. Greater pain is usually experienced during leg extension activities in which the knee is a greater than a 20 to 30 degree angle. Avoiding full range of motion (i.e. not locking out) during Quadricep exercise may not allow the Vastus Medialis to be fully strengthened since it is more fully activated at these final degrees of knee extension.
Also, I’m going to do the upper body workouts again. Mostly focusing on the core. From the arms, down the trunk, to the legs it all interconnects. So I better keep at the upper body to help the lower body. It’s a simple routine but effective and efficient. One push, one pull, ab crunches with resistance and lower back extensions with resistance.
I am still seeing improvement. The last go around, in the weight room, had me concerned that I wasn’t going to get any better. That weakness and hobbling would be the norm. That riding a bike would keep on being painful. There’s still a lot of room for improvement. It’s going to take a lot of time as going on 3 years has shown.
I finally found out what they exactly did to my shattered kneecap. The pictures of the wires sure look all neat and tidy. I never did get to see the x rays of the fracture itself. I was told it was shattered into many pieces.
From pubmed ” Patella Fractures“: When accurate reduction and reconstruction of the retropatellar joint surface cannot be achieved in multi-fragmentary fractures, partial or total patellectomy should be considered. Since it always results in loss of quadriceps muscle power, the decision for this procedure should be made cautiously.
I can tell that the kneecap is larger than the other. Did they add bone? I think it’s just deformation. I definitely have loss of strength in the quad and can see the atrophy. The patella is very rough on the outer surface. There is still a lot of crunching going on when I do deep knee bends. This is going on 3 years. One thing, though, is I still see improvements. Small ones, over great lengths of time, but the leg is still getting stronger.
I see why gangsters of old took a bat to someones kneecap.
Never ever give up. I’ll bury myself if there’s something I want to achieve. This is my strength.
My older brother taught me this when I was younger. We had a pool table, in our basement, and he would never just let me win. I always came back for more. Those times I did win I would gloat a little. Then I would get my ass kicked again.
Pheasant hunting was another leason. It’s better to hunt when the snow is deep and it’s cold. The birds won’t run. They stay huddle for warmth and protection. It was rare to hunt on nice days. Trudging through snow, loaded down with a shotgun, vest, ammo, boots, clothing, and sometimes a bird could easily be an extra 50lbs. You would make a sandwich, an apple and some candy for an all day event. There were times I wanted to give up. It was ok with him. He would say, ” then walk back”. Well crap, I’m out here anyways. Keep moving. It always ended up for the better.
This is what’s made me a bike racer. It’s a tough sport. It’s competitive. I like that. Non stop combatant. Never give up.
As most of you know, I’ve had issues with my knee after being hit by a car and breaking the kneecap, in September of 2009. They had to wire the kneecap together. It was shattered into many pieces as the doctor said. In May of 2010 I had to have the wire cage removed because the wire had broken and was trying to come through the skin. That was another surgery. The doctor said he got all the wire removed.
Besides the kneecap, I had fractured the 7th cervical. The doctors said I was really fortunate. The vertebrae was clearly cracked all the way through. I’ve dealt with partial paralysis, in my left arm, all my life. It’s a struggle. I guess I’m lucky, in one respect, that I’ve had to deal with less use of the left arm all my life. I’m used to it. If I was to loose use of my right arm that would be an ” oh crap moment” in life.
This past week the knee had been giving me a lot of grief. Mostly pain and crunching, more so than usual. Off the bike it’s fairly difficult to get in and out of chairs. I have to lead with the right leg a lot. With cycling I usually favor the right leg also. Tuesday seemed things seemed worse. Starting off my ride yesterday the pain was a little higher than normal but it dissipated about 30 minutes into it. I did get in a good upper tempo ride effort in for 1hr20min. Once I backed off, the pain resumed but not as bad. During the evening things didn’t seem quite good. It was more painful and harder to get in and out of a chair. Now jump to this morning, Wednesday, and there is a complete turn around. The pain and crunching are almost completely gone. I’m getting in and out of the chair easier.
It’s funny how this physical ailment is progressing. I’ve never had an injury take this long to heal. I keep seeing improvements even though at times there are setbacks. It’s really frustrating because I love being competitive on my bike. I also love riding my bike. The competitiveness gives me a challenging way to staying healthy. It would be a struggle for me to be laid up permanently. That is my physical nature.
Examples of affected exercises:
