This prison of injury and my sadistic wardens

[HereBeADragon]

My left knee is torn to shreds. Lateral ligaments stretched and torn, intieriour ligaments torn completely through, maniscis(sp) cant recall which is halfway torn. This is all my fault mind you. 2 years of stubborness has finally got me, but this is a prison. I cannot seem to do any form of exercise other than climbing stairs with crutches (unavoidable in my house) and falling down them from time to time (no injurys from that yet). I cannot seem to find any activity I can do for physical health that does not aggrovate my knee. Its almost maddening. As for my "wardens" I dont even get to see the orthopedic specialist until January! MediCal sucks! Even prisoners are given a release date but all I do is sit and hope to hear something. So if anyone has any ideas for a physical activity I can engage in I am all ears. Thanks

[Doug Szolek]

At the very least you could do upper body mobility drills while sitting on the floor. And mobility drills for the healthy leg while lying on your back. Stay as mobile as possible to keep a knee injury from wrecking your whole body.

[HereBeADragon]

will the drills in that tape set work for me right now?

[Doug Szolek]

First it'd help to know just what tape set you're refering to.

Second, one of the big problems with an injury to our means of mobility (as in the legs) is that we can tend to become depressed with the loss of ability rather than continuing to develop the motion of which we are still capable. It happened to me when I broke my ankle and it took me months to overcome the hole I dug for myself while wasting away in that cast.

:!: You need to fight this :!:

Let me know what mobility you can comfortably perform (as in standing, walking, etc.) and what resources you have at your disposal (instructional material, equipment, etc.) and we'll work something out to keep you working out 8)

[admin]

For what it's worth, I tore a miniscus in my knee several years ago and it took almost 2 years to completely heal. It would have taken less if I had not kept hurting it by using it too soon.

For a refreshingly sober and inspirational point of view about physical disability, check out Kevin Sander's article in Full Circle: http://www.circularstrengthmag.com/13/interview.html

Hope you heal well and quickly!

[James Boelter]

In, sorry to hear about your injury and your current situation. In the words of PsyCrow (from 'Earthworm Jim'), that's "Major Suckage".

Assuming you can stand (or sit) in one position for several minutes to half an hour, may I make a suggestion? Have a look at the 12 posture "fist set" version of Da Mo's 'Muscle Change Classic' (Yi Jin Jing or Yi Chin Ching) in Dr. Jwing-Ming Yangs "QiGong: Health and Martial Arts". It is a combination of dynamic tension, deep breathing, isometrics and muscle control that is very simple to learn and practice, requires no jumping around or weight shifts (except for posture 12, where you raise up on your toes, and posture 8, where you put your weight on your heels and try to dorsiflex your feet as much as possible). If you are unable to stand, you can perform the sequences sitting down until you are able to stand. CNCKI also has a 22 posture version which includes better instructions on breathing and where to put your attention during each posture...this version was published as a vhs tape called "Yi Chin Ching: Ancient Calisthentics for Outer Strength" which has professional production values and attractive models.
See the link below:

http://www.goldhil.com/catalog/oriental-secrets--ancient-calisthenics-for-outer-strength---yi-chin-ching.htm

I bring this up because this version of the Muscle Change Classic is a tremendous stress buster - between the deep abdominal breathing, the repeated tensing and relaxing of the muscles in each of the positions and the mental focus on each of the areas along the central channels, you can pretty much blow off a ton of tension, protect your health from "outside evil" and get a very good start at building true 'internal power" and excellent muscle tone in your upper body. I love this version of the YJJ and consider it the perfect choice for people who don't care to practice Standing Meditation postures or fancy forms and footwork.

Drop me a line at lemon_magic@hotmail.com if you have any questions about this form...once you see it demo'd I think it will be pretty self explanatory, but I will be glad to help in any way I can. Good luck...hope you heal up soon.