I posted a while back asking for some help with a grade 2 hamstring strain (which eventually took a little more than 5 weeks to recover). Thanks for Charlie, no23 and all the other members who offered advice.
I finally got back to my sport, after one week of great training and hitting tackles like a football linebacker (I’m a rugby player), I was ready for Saturday. First 5 minutes of coming on, I landed a big hit which winded the opposite guy and made him lose the ball (apparently). I did not see what happened because I was on the ground after taking a knock to the side of my knee!
Got x-rays done, luckily no fracture. Doctor didn’t tell me exactly what it was, but from my small knowledge of anatomy, it seems I have damaged my medial or lateral collateral ligaments. I can’t walk at all at this stage, can’t stand properly or put any pressure on my right foot.
To make it worse, the other two guys in my position played out of their skin and scored three times between them!
Laugh if you will, but I think my recent run of bad luck and injuries can only mean that God is punishing me for my evil sins!
When I wake up from this nightmare, I’ll further contemplate my immediate sporting future. I’m giving serious consideration towards temporarily ‘retiring’ for the rest of this season although it is definately frustrating because if it weren’t for these stupid injuries I would be playing some of the best rugby of my life!
I have some questions, would be very much appreciated if anyone can help.
When to begin physiotherapy? I heard physio within 72 hours of injury can be more harmful than good.
What kind of movements will I be restricted from doing due to this kind of injury? (ligament damage on side of knee). Squats are obviously a no-no as well as plyometrics and sprints. It is currently far too painful to even stand properly, but when that clears up, is it alright to do romanian deadlifts as well as glute-ham raises?
What are some rehabilative exercises for the knee? I see all kinds of erector spinae rehab/prehab exercises and heaps of rotator cuff exercises but was very suprised to find nothing for the knees.
At this stage, I’m thinking of using this time to go on an extended hypertrophy phase. I had planned to bulk up further at the end of the season, so this time is as good as any! (only drawback is that I cannot call on the big compound lower body movements). How about this plan? (remember, there is no other work being done whatsover, except for maybe cardio on the handcrank machine)
Weights done with maximum intensity barring failure (not lifting to failure but close to it).
Current bodyweight: lean 84kg.
Goal bodyweight: lean 92kg.
I do not think the extent of this injury is too bad. It’s very painful and immobilizing right now, but at the time when it happened, I don’t remember the pain being too bad (certainly not something which would’ve felt like a complete tear of a ligament).
The doctor didn’t really tell me a thing. He sent me down the corridor to the radiologists who x-rayed it and he could not find any fractures. Then they basically just strapped it up with some bandages and sent me home on crutches and a bag of anti-inflammatories (what he did say was that it was impossible for him to know what exactly the injury was. He said it was was probably ligament damage, and possibly damage to meniscus but unlikely).
I’ll probably meet up with my physiotherapist or give him a call when he starts work on Monday morning and ask him to refer me for a MRI scan. I realise how important a correct diagnosis is (can’t understand why the doctor did not discuss further diagnosis).
I can’t really see myself coming back strongly at this point in the season. It’s been 6 weeks into the season already (with hardly any game time due to the hammie injury) and even if it takes the bare minimum amount of time to heal, I can’t see myself coming back before the 9th week. It’s almost impossible to keep up match fitness using only upperbody methods (tried it before) and to make it worse, the other two guys filling in my position are currently playing some incredible rugby. I don’t see the coach doing me any favours here.
lebeau, thanks for the offer but I think Os Du Randt’s injuries were far more serious and on a totally different level to mine!
get an MRI. quad strengthening will help with some knee injuries, but if you tore a ligament forget it. i would not go through a hypertrophy phase injured, it just doesn’t make sense.
Your first step should be understanding EXACTLY what your injury is, so you then know how to heal it. Your doctor should tell you what the injury is. You may need am MRI to get a better picture of the injury. Xrays don´t reveal problems with soft tissue. See another doctor, one who specializes in sports medicine or trauma.
You can´t make a plan to fix a problem when you don´t have a handle on the problem. A false or missed diagnosis could lead to making the injury worse.
One more thing: this is a quote from The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, by Joseph Murphy:
God, or life does not condemn or punish you. The forces of nature are not evil. The effect of their use depends on how you use the power within you. You can use electricity to kill someone or to light the house… Good and evil come right back to the thought and purpose in a person´s own mind.
End quote.
Quotes can be taken out of context and misundertood when removed from the source. I am just trying to say don´t see this as a punishment. But get a good solid diagnosis and a prescription for therapy once you know what the injury is. If you incorrectly rehab or train the knee and it doesn´t get better, or perhaps gets worse, you aren´t being punished for your sins, the consequences are merely the result of acting on ignorance.
Wish you all the best with the injury, especially the first step of a correct understandable diagnosis.
I have learned the hard way what the first step is in rehab.
don`t lose hope David, sometimes your season goes great, sometimes up to a bag of sh!t, i can tell you that one of the falcons rugby players had the same sort of symptoms, and he tried alot of different things, then he tried something called Remedy Blue on his knee i think four or five times a day, with hot/cold treatments, and he recovered within a couple of weeks, so i dont know if your willing to give it a shot, otherwise i can ask some of the guys who helped out os du randt with his knee problems?
seriously though keep us updated as to what your physio says, the mri, also to keep you busy, post each day what you did regarding the injury recovery, would be interesting!
Bad luck David - hope u recover soon - if u can’t get back to rugby just move to sprinting -
I faced that choice with football ( soccer ) and although I really miss the team sports aspect and having a laugh with me mates - I must admit I wish I’d packed it in sooner and concentrated on something which actually seems to improve my body rather than knocking lumps off of it -
as for rugby - my love for it died after breaking my collarbone on frosty ground age 14 lol
Wullie - cripes ur just a spring chicken lol - football is so harsh on the body tho - the enthusiasm and adrenalin makes you do stuff you regret afterwards .
Now this is weird - I’m turning 40 next year and can’t wait - cos of the masters status - I never thought I’d live this long and mebbe if I can keep goin til I’m ancient I might get a world record along the way lol
and mebbe if I can keep goin til I’m ancient I might get a world record along the way lol