My right knee has been causing me problems since earlier this year when I did hundreds of burpees a day in the Freeletics workout. I think it was the landing from the jump forward, not mindfully executed and landing with bad alignment and impact to the front of the foot, coupled with tight abductors, causing the knee irritation.
Anyway, after India, it got a bit worse and during practice a month ago, there was pain and then there was swelling. That was not good.
Rest, Recovery, Rehab
Since then, it has been all about resting, recovering and rehabilitating the right knee. At first, it was more about seeking help: advice on acupuncture, Bowen Therapy fascia release; seeking medical treatment (in Malaysia, it usually would be a recommendation for some kind of expensive procedure – as an aside, who really trusts their doctors?); or could I wait and see?
So for about a month, I have been exploring my knee and the whole upper limb of my right leg. I won’t go into too much detail but my right knee is much better now, only aggravated when I drive or don’t spend time stretching and releasing the tight muscles or if I forget to ice.
Limited Exercise
At first, I didn’t really changed my activities that much. I still practised and I still worked out. I found that running seemed to make the knee better, perhaps because of better blood flow. Not too long, maybe four minutes to ten minutes only.
Then during the course of the month, it got a little worse. I did a session of EMS (electro muscle stimulation), which really helped the knee but caused great tightness in the glutes. That of course made movement difficult and driving caused even more aggravation to the knee.
Also in the interim during practice I have been very careful especially with external rotation of the knee (as in half lotus and half lotus binds) on the right. This is when I discovered that my glutes, especially piriformis area up to low up, all along the lateral side of the right leg was super tight. So poses like revolved triangle on the right actually caused a lot of relief, although difficult to execute.
So anyway after that EMS session, I stopped any kind of exercise for about a week, just spending time stretching, foam rolling and icing. Things are looking up!
Plans Ahead
So now, I find some cardio to get the blood circulating, some strength to stay in shape and the rest of the time stretching really helps. About a ratio of 1:2:4 in terms of time for each session. I hope to begin Ashtanga Mysore again soon, and that the half lotus binds and upward bow won’t be a problem.
We’ll see whether or not I get into second series this year…
As for fitness, I must admit that I am bored with what I am doing. I was considering joining a gym again but honestly can’t be motivated to go there (the amount of time wasted!). More updates to come on that front!
What about you? Ever rehabbed yourself through an injury? What are your thoughts?