After Injury - Knee

Coming back from an injury
by Andrew and Emma Nelson
www.getfitnyc.com


We were recently presented with a situation from one of the athletes on Team WE Sports: She is a cyclist and a runner who has pain in the knee. The MRI showed significant edema, inflammation, and bursitis. The bursitis developed from a fall. Inflammation is often the result of trauma; edema is a fluid buildup in the tissues of the body usually the hands, legs and ankles and can be from injury or pregnancy).

As a longtime athlete, she has worked hard to overcome some injuries (Runner’s Knee, most recently) and is concerned about losing the fitness she has gained.
The doctor gave her 3 choices - 1) cortisone shots; 2) 4-6 weeks of immobilization and crutches; 3) PRP, physical therapy, and complete rest (not even swimming).

Here is our take from years of coaching, running, racing, and being athletes:

1- If you can manage it financially, get the PRP and the PT.

2- If you gained fitness once, you will not go back to “zero” if you take the time to heal. It may seem like you are "losing ALL of your fitness," but the reality is that is just not the case. If you make things worse by not recovering fully then you will be out longer.

3- Treat fitness and exercise as an investment in your body; a long term investment. There will be ups and downs; as well as plateaus. Fitness and health are not just for this season or this training cycle. Athletes, especially highly competitive ones, do get injured.

4- You can strength train without mobilizing the knee joint. Straight leg raise w/ankle weights, hip abduction w/cables, straight leg dead lift- all of these will strengthen the hips/legs without bending the knee.

5- Swimming can be done while still immobilizing the knee. Swim with a pull buoy and a band around your ankles (and maybe even your knees). It feels strange at first but makes your upper body swim form and rotation come from the hips; where you’re stronger anyway.

6- Take it slow! If you were running 6-10 miles/session before the injury, start with a 1/2 mile easy jog. That’s right, 1/2 mile. Your body will need to reestablish neural pathways for optimal muscles ordering. This will help the body to break the old injury cycle. If you try to come back too quickly and resume where you left off, you risk re-injuring yourself.

Even great doctors who are athletes often fail to see what great trainers and coaches are able to do to keep athletes moving.

We understand the head game of an injury, but the “career” of an athlete can be cut short by not taking the proper downtime or doing too much too soon after an injury. Take time to recover fully from an injury. Sometimes a longer time recovering can mean a stronger next season and a longer athletic career.

Stay Healthy and use a great coach to help you achieve better results for next season.