Kneesy does it

[andygates]

I spent the morning being bent and prodded by a sports physio. The answer: A combination of powerful driver muscles, feeble stabiliser muscles and poor flexibility is what done it. The iliotibial band pulled my patella just a sniff out of line, which irritated (but wasn't noticed) and that led to swelling which moved through the 'ole and put pressure on the tibial nerve - hence the sudden shooting pain, even though the joint had full range of movement. I would have gotten away with it if I hadn't done something as long as the Druid.

How tight was my ITB? So tight that when he said "I can do some acupuncture to ease the immediate pain" (and to my eternal shame I thought "Whee! I'm Mike Dixon!") one of the needles bent. Yes, I am made of leather.

Good news: nothing is structurally wrong with my knee!

Bad news: all my bad habits - not stretching, not working stabilisers, dire posture, generally blagging it - are responsible. My 'catwalk' foot placement is one of those big red "medial glutes! medial glutes!" indicators, for example.

Best news: I can continue weights around bodyweight stuff, which is what I was doing anyway. Walk until that is pain-free then jog and cycle a little, letting pain be the guide when to stop. Return to the sea pool. If I keep up the remedial exercises, I should expect to be mostly good in 4-6 weeks, and these exercises should form part of my regular carcass-maintenance routine. I must now be diligent and patient. Heh.

Comments

[andygates.livejournal.com]

You mean if I go, I'll look all young and buff like the brats, er, stars of Twilight? That's almost worth enduring Plank humiliation, that is.

I had to explain to the nice man who Mike Dixon was...