Training when injured

[Aengus]

As I had posted in another forum, I've strained the meniscus in my right knee. I've let it rest, iced it down and took mortin for the pain and done Intu-Flow everyday with it and it seems better. I've even had a friend make a poltice of comfree root and bone-knit to put on the knee.

When I walk, I'm not limping like I was but I do still have some tension in the hamstring right before it attaches to the knee. The Calf is tight but not uncomfortable.
My question is how do you train with something like this. I can walke and squat slightly but but to much past 90 degrees. In Prasara I can perform Downward Dog, Upward Dog but, ShinBox is right out.
I'm getting a bit frustrated to tell the truth.

[Kathryn Woodall]

Dale,
While I hear and have previously felt your frustration, you really don't train with an injury. You let it heal. I tell my patients that they can either relax and give their body the time it needs or they can keep doing minor damage over and over which will cause it to take exponentially longer before they are back to 100%. Hang in there!

Are you seeing someone to get professional help with it as well? That is another way to get to where you want to be faster.

[Aengus]

I'm trying deep tissue massage. I'm trying to avoid having it cut on. With the Lambda seminar coming up, it's frustrating to be gimped up when I need to be working on things. I know the smart thing to do is rest it because it will cause more damage.

It doesn't mean I have to like it though.

[Coach Bentz]

Dale,

Are you having deep tissue work done on the muscle bellies, or on the tendons?

[Aengus]

Muscle bellies. Very sensitive. Almost a scoot off the table level!

[Coach Bentz]

If RPD is that high, I'm wondering if they are possibly going a little deeper than your body is ready for just now? (or at least, going in a little too fast)

[wadem]

I am not offering advice, as it is best left to the Coaching staff, but I can identify with your knee pain. I just had arthroscopic surgery to clean up my right knee, which had a partial meniscal tear.

I think I may intimately understand the discomfort you feel with the Shinbox. I tend to feel a bit of pressure on the inside of the knee of the leg that points back. But I realized that undue pressure was being put on the knee because my hips are so tight. I have found that when I breathe relaxedly and try to "open" my hip area, the leg rests more flat and the knee discomfort diminishes greatly.

A humble observation from one injured soul to another. :)

[Kathryn Woodall]

I'm trying deep tissue massage. I'm trying to avoid having it cut on. With the Lambda seminar coming up, it's frustrating to be gimped up when I need to be working on things. I know the smart thing to do is rest it because it will cause more damage.

It doesn't mean I have to like it though.

Nope, you don't have to like it. The delightful and frustrating part of CST is that it utilizes the whole body. There is no "isolation" or even pretended isolation with it. Something you can do while you are resting the knee is to watch the dvd's repeatedly so that when you are ready to engage in training again, you mentally own the material well enough to be able to work through your own physical issues more easily.

Without sounding like a broken record, did you talk to your doc about the possibility of therapy to help you heal optimally? Some docs just don't think about it until the patient asks.

[Coach Bentz]

Dale, have you come across this article. (http://www.rmaxinternational.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3785&highlight=healing) by Coach Sonnon yet? Some possibilities to consider in there.

[Aengus]

I am not offering advice, as it is best left to the Coaching staff, but I can identify with your knee pain. I just had arthroscopic surgery to clean up my right knee, which had a partial meniscal tear.

I think I may intimately understand the discomfort you feel with the Shinbox. I tend to feel a bit of pressure on the inside of the knee of the leg that points back. But I realized that undue pressure was being put on the knee because my hips are so tight. I have found that when I breathe relaxedly and try to "open" my hip area, the leg rests more flat and the knee discomfort diminishes greatly.

A humble observation from one injured soul to another. :)


Thanks for the advice Wade,

It's funny but over the holidays, my sciatic flaired up(a first for me) and caused good deal of pain. Anyway, doing Intu-Flow® and hip circles helped it a lot and this with Coach Sonnon's article about his back got me wondering if this knee issue could be "connected" so to speak.
I'm going back to the Doctor the first of Feb and ask for some therapy treatments if it's not better by then.
I really just concerned on how it's gonna affect me and the seminar is all. It's tough having to throttle back.

CST has completly change my perspective on exercise and fitness but sometimes those old feelings of "suck it up and Deal" leak through.

[Aengus]

Dale, have you come across this article. (http://www.rmaxinternational.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3785&highlight=healing) by Coach Sonnon yet? Some possibilities to consider in there.

I've read it before but now under a completly differnt light.

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

[Aengus]

I've been watching what I do this week after rest and Intu-Flow last week. I'm using the Pigeon Pose to help open up the hips to see if will ease some tension. I can ease slowly into a shinBox but I can't do anything with any type of quickness. Squating (not past 90 degrees) is not painful but does create a lot of tightness in the lower porton of the hamstring. As does box jumps so those are right out.:)
I've been working on the 4X7 with in my limits right now and the Prasara seems to help but I'm not going to over do it so as not to compromise me making it to Lambda.
Doctor appointment again next week so we'll see.

[wadem]

No problem, Dale. I can relate to the urges to overdo things. As you will find out by continuing to read Coach Sonnon's vast amount of writings, the whole body is connected. I am completely fascinated by the methods used in CST to diagnose and prescribe movements and hope to learn a lot more myself going forward. From what I have gathered, a large amount of that is learning through your own movement practice.

[Aengus]

So for the past week, I've been working on Prasara in the evening focusing on poses that either don't affect the knee much or I move into them slowly judgeing the discomfort level. Also woking on poses that loosen and open the hip joints. Most of my tension has been in the lower hamstring. I can feel it tug when I walk plus, if my leg stays bent from sitting, it stiffens up. Well last night in Karate Class, I noticed that it didn't hurt at all felt rather good. I could move fairly easy without a lot of discomfort. So this morining I tried to see what I could do.
It was the low intensity Day of the 4X7 cycle so it was a Prasara/Body FLow day. First move was a trinity squat so I eased into it slow just to see where the discomfort was. NONE!! WooHOO!! Moved through the rest and up until I tried to roll from a spinal rock to a flat foot squat everything was fine. Then TWINGE! Nothing bad just enough to let me know it was still there.NOTE- Don't move the knee past the toes!!.
So after 2 weeks of rest and Intu-Flow, it's in a LOT better shape than it was. Baby Steps.