Anyone had a go on one of these?

[Glynne]

I had an operation on my knee to sort out a sports injury, torn and extruded meniscus (cartilage in old money) just under 3 weeks ago. I had my first physio appointment after 6 days (complete with stitches) and my 2nd today which involved going on one of these: -

You wear what are essentially wet suit shorts which have an attached "skirt" not unlike a splash cover for canoeing. This gets zipped into an air bag on the treadmill and gets inflated to take up to 80% of your body weight to make it easier to exercise.
I was quite looking forward to having a gentle trot with the machine taking most of my weight but physios aren't quite that genteel. I ended up with a 5 minutes "warm up" on an a adapted exercise bike at a high resistance (which showed the effort applied by each leg), followed by a 15 minute jog at 75% of my body weight. When I say jog, read gentle run rather than fast walk. The knee was fine, not sure about the rest of me as I haven't run for nearly 12 months. I have another session arranged for next week and I'm guessing I'll have to support more if not all of my body weight.
I know there a lot of people on this forum with far more serious and debilitating conditions but I have to say I am hugely impressed with the care and treatment I have received and running, albeit assisted within 3 weeks of an operation under a general anaesthetic is a tribute to the medical staff.

 

[doctor Bob]

Looks impressive.
I'm an avid runner, doing 5 or 10km most nights, lot of treadmill work as I'm a bit of a wuss when it's cold. I used to get recurring injuries, sore heels, shin splints, until I changed my running style completely.
I used to toe strike, I have switched to a flat strike with a shorter stride, now I never get any issues and my times are much better as I have continuous training.
I'd like to do a marathon next year, when I'm 50, but i'll only do it if I can run a sub 4 hr one.

Good luck with your recovery.

 

[Woodchips2]

Well done Glynne, good to hear somebody appreciative of the health service =D>

I don't think physios are made to be genteel, their mantra is 'no pain, no gain!' :lol:

Keep improving.

Regards Keith

 

[Glynne]

Thanks Guys.
I know in relative terms I'm very lucky, but for every negative story I'm sure there are loads more positive ones. For some reason we don't publicise good news which is probably a media thing, but whilst the NHS is really under the hammer, there are still a lot of positive things that should be said. I am absolutely chuffed at the care I've received.
Keith - no physios are never genteel. Apologies to anyone who has a relative who is a physio but I'm convinced they have an extra sadistic gene. Absolutely a good thing in the end, but not at the time. If you're ever offered a sports massage, make sure you really need one unless you're a masochist.
Bob - not sure if I will get the go head to carry on running but I'm hopeful. I know exactly where you are coming from with the 4 hours. I've only ever run London once in 3:40, but whatever happened I had to go < 4 hours. I normally hate treadmills as I have to concentrate on not hitting the display or going off the back (more likely), so being fixed in was really good. if you get the opportunity to try one its really good.
I'm not convinced it's completely true, but I'll go along Tom Petty when he says "If you never slow down you never get old".

 

[Alexam]

Well done Glynne. Not easy when the legs don't do wha they should, so hope you are back to full strength soon.

Malcolm

 

[Glynne]

Great news. I am now able to run, ski, and mountain bike - which is brilliant as I was never that good at any of them.
Had another go on the machine which the physio "allowed" me to start running at 80% of my weight and then racked it up to 90%. And that is my lot. Back to the tarmac with walking and jogging intervals, slowly reducing the walking and increasing the jogging until it's just running.
4 weeks + 1 day after an operation under a GA, that is a pretty good tribute to our NHS.

 

[Mar_mite]

I think nick Mathew (top squash player) had a similar operation earlier this year. He was back competing in the commonwealth games a few weeks later and won gold. Amazing recovery period.

 

[Jacob]

When I did my knee in (quadriceps tendon break 2 1/2 years ago) I didn't need a lot of physio as it was more about slow rebuilding of strength as gently as possible. Felt like growing a new leg. But as soon as I could I put my bike on a Tacx trainer and spent quite a bit of time on it. Very handy because your weight is supported and you can exert as much/little effort as you feel like and watch the telly read the paper while you are doing it. Quite a long time to get back on the road however, but it certainly helped and was also good for heart/lungs etc.
Managed a 1k mile cycle tour this year so I'm back to normal except 2 1/2 years older.

PS and the NHS was brilliant - couldn't be better. My only complaint was the hospital food which was appalling, having recently been privatised and contracted out.