See BamaDave Run (and Lift)

[BamaDave]

WED. 12.20.06
AM WORKOUT

I. CONTINUOUS DYNAMIC LEG EXERCISES FROM THIS LINK (Thanks Lisa~ ):

- this is a dynamic lower body warmup that calls for each exercise to be done for 10 yards distance. Since this was really my whole lower body routine, I did them for more like 20-25 yards apiece. Plus I was learning the movements, so needed the practice!

A. High Knee Walk - felt a litte knee pain when first put weight on left leg... but got better quickly

B. Cradle Walk - okay, but need to improve flexibility on the high leg crosses

C. Heel to Butt - ok

D. Opposite Hand Heel to Butt - felt some pain in left leg when that one was raised with foot to opposite hand

E. Heel to Butt SLDL - unstable on left foot at first...

F. One Leg SLDL (Forward) - unstable again at times on left foot

G. One Leg SLDL (Backwards) - OK -- this one only about 10-12 yards distance

H. Lunge to Hamstring - Good Except I can feel hammy tightness -- what is up with that? 11 days post-marathon...

I. Overhead Lunge Walk with Side Bend - okay, some weakness on pushoff from injured left leg -- in this exercise I felt like there might be some glute weakness on that side

J. Reverse Lunge Walk with Twist - okay

K. Lateral Squat Walk - okay

L. Crossover Walk - okay

M. Backwards Inchworm - okay

- oh yeah, I am feeling pretty sore from this routine as of this evening! I foam rolled before doing this, and on a good note... for the first time, foam rolling the ITB on that left leg was not nearly as painful. Also improved on the right side. Not painful at all, more like an itchy sensation. LOL! Another good note - this routine did not aggravate my knee, and my walking was essentially back to normal.. felt like the leg was actually working properly.

II. UPPER BODY EXERCISES:

A. PULLUPS: +30#: 6; 5; 4

B. BENCH PRESS: 175#: 7; 6; 4

C. GAGNE'S CYCLONES: +25#: 10 ea.; 10 ea.

D. PUSHUPS: 25

- Didn't have a lot of time left after spending a lot learning the dynamic leg warmup. Maybe I'll see some upper body strength regained during this down time on the legs.

I still don't feel ready to test the running waters... I would prefer that residual pain at the knee disappear completely before I try it.

[kuri]

Give yourself time to heal Dave, you'll be better off down the road. I have the same problem in being impatient, my back troubles being an example. Haven't DLed in more than a month now and don't care though. Many other things to work on and we're all gonna be a lot happier being able to walk/run/jump so years from now.

laters,

C

[UpNorth]

Glad to see you're feeling better. That routine looks fantastic, ~Lisa is an amazing resource!

[Lisa~]

Great report! Thanks for the detail for each of the movements. That helps me a lot. OK, I have a few questions:

1. Are you still taking the anti-inflammatories and, if so, how long do you intend to stay on them?

2. Your first PT session is tomorrow, right? Who are you going to see? (BTW, don’t exercise before this visit.)

3. When you foam roll your TFL, ITB, and lateral quads (both sides), can you determine where you have trigger points or knots? We want to determine if there are trigger points in the center of the ITB or at its attachment points; or if there are fascial adhesions; or TFL or lateral quad muscular strains. Any of these can pull on the ITB and cause pain at your knee. Even if the initial injury was from the shoes allowing pronation, these potential issues could have shown up as a result, been created as a result, and may linger after your knee pain decreases. So, where does it hurt?

4. Same question for your calves. Where does it hurt, if any where, when you foam roll your lower legs?

5. During the single-leg deadlift variations, was the instability on the left foot due to coordination or pain?

6. I’m surprised the lateral squat walk didn’t hurt when you stepped to the left. Can you see in the video how the guy places all his weight on the leading leg, has the trailing leg straight, and drags the trailing leg back to standing? He gets low into the single-leg squat too, rather like a pistol. The technique requires the leading leg to take almost all of your bodyweight during the return to standing. Did your movement look like that, and with no pain?

Answer those questions and I want to put together some additional exercises to do after the warm-up. It will depend somewhat on what the PT says and what they have you do.

Today (this is a non-lifting day, right?), you should foam roll:

TFL
ITB
Quads
Lower legs
Glutes

And then stretch:

Seated glute stretch
ITB stretch(es)
Quad/hip flexor stretch
Hamstring stretch

If you need more info on the stretches, please ask me.

[twinsavsvikingsfan]

Dave- It looks like you're in good hands between the PT and Lisa. Have to make sure you've got no excuses at Indy.

Lisa- crack that whip!

[BamaDave]

Hey Lisa!

Originally Posted by Lisa~

1. Are you still taking the anti-inflammatories and, if so, how long do you intend to stay on them?

Oh alright, so I haven't filled the prescription yet. My wife is picking it up today. The doctor wanted me to take it for two weeks. I'm a reluctant pill-popper!!

2. Your first PT session is tomorrow, right? Who are you going to see? (BTW, don’t exercise before this visit.)

Actually it's rescheduled for next Thursday. I forgot when I scheduled for tomorrow, that I won't even be in town!! Next Thurs. was the first available.

3. When you foam roll your TFL, ITB, and lateral quads (both sides), can you determine where you have trigger points or knots? We want to determine if there are trigger points in the center of the ITB or at its attachment points; or if there are fascial adhesions; or TFL or lateral quad muscular strains. Any of these can pull on the ITB and cause pain at your knee. Even if the initial injury was from the shoes allowing pronation, these potential issues could have shown up as a result, been created as a result, and may linger after your knee pain decreases. So, where does it hurt?

The worst pain is pretty much in the center of the ITB. I foam rolled again this morning, and it felt similar to yesterday. Still improved versus where it was a week ago for sure! Maybe a little pain (discomort) at the upper part of the hip as well.

4. Same question for your calves. Where does it hurt, if any where, when you foam roll your lower legs?

My calves feel good now. No pain with foam rolling those.

5. During the single-leg deadlift variations, was the instability on the left foot due to coordination or pain?

I think coordination plus some weakness (maybe due to not using the leg as much for several days?). It wasn't pain.

6. I’m surprised the lateral squat walk didn’t hurt when you stepped to the left. Can you see in the video how the guy places all his weight on the leading leg, has the trailing leg straight, and drags the trailing leg back to standing? He gets low into the single-leg squat too, rather like a pistol. The technique requires the leading leg to take almost all of your bodyweight during the return to standing. Did your movement look like that, and with no pain?

I think I was doing it right or close to right. I'll have to try again. I did the exercises again early this morning (with less "yardage") and honestly had more trouble leading with the right leg for whatever reason. It wasn't painful. I'll try again today -- maybe even in my office!

Answer those questions and I want to put together some additional exercises to do after the warm-up. It will depend somewhat on what the PT says and what they have you do.

Today (this is a non-lifting day, right?), you should foam roll:

TFL
ITB
Quads
Lower legs
Glutes

And then stretch:

Seated glute stretch
ITB stretch(es)
Quad/hip flexor stretch
Hamstring stretch

If you need more info on the stretches, please ask me.

Thanks, Lisa!! I really appreciate your detailed help and input. I'll log in my workout from this morning later. I basically did the leg routine again plus some upper body stuff I missed yesterday.

[BamaDave]

Originally Posted by kuri

Give yourself time to heal Dave, you'll be better off down the road. I have the same problem in being impatient, my back troubles being an example. Haven't DLed in more than a month now and don't care though. Many other things to work on and we're all gonna be a lot happier being able to walk/run/jump so years from now.

laters,

C

Thanks, Chris! Yes, you're right about all of this. One thing I learned doing NROL Strength (especially Phase I) is that it is possible to bounce back and even reach new heights after some down time or scale back on a particular activity.

[BamaDave]

Originally Posted by UpNorth

Glad to see you're feeling better. That routine looks fantastic, ~Lisa is an amazing resource!

Thanks, Jeff!! Yes, Lisa is a very generous and helpful person!! Thanks, Lisa!!!

[BamaDave]

Originally Posted by twinsavsvikingsfan

Dave- It looks like you're in good hands between the PT and Lisa. Have to make sure you've got no excuses at Indy.

Lisa- crack that whip!

Hit me, whip me!!

Yeah, right now I definitely want to be back in racing shape for Indy at least.

[Lisa~]

Originally Posted by BamaDave

Oh alright, so I haven't filled the prescription yet. My wife is picking it up today. The doctor wanted me to take it for two weeks. I'm a reluctant pill-popper!!

If you haven't started them yet, I'm not sure there's any reason to do it. Do you think there's still a lot of inflammation around your knee? You are feeling much less pain now, so I'm guessing the inflammation has reduced on its own. These are an initial first step for an acute injury. It's been 3 weeks already, right? Up to you, of course, but I doubt I'd even take them at this point.

Actually it's rescheduled for next Thursday. I forgot when I scheduled for tomorrow, that I won't even be in town!! Next Thurs. was the first available.

OK, then I want to give you some stuff to read and do while you're gone. (How long will you be gone?)

The worst pain is pretty much in the center of the ITB. I foam rolled again this morning, and it felt similar to yesterday. Still improved versus where it was a week ago for sure! Maybe a little pain (discomort) at the upper part of the hip as well.

Read this:
http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/...redericson.htm

You might have to read it a few times, lol. It's not an easy read.

Think about the causes of your injury and try to relate that to what he says in the article.

Continue to foam roll and stretch daily, focusing on the painful areas. You can do the dynamic warm-up stuff daily if you want to, but if exercising gives you some post-workout swelling or stiffness, be sure to let your knee calm down before you do it all again. Do the warm-up barefoot if you have the option.

Try the little exercises from the article: side-lying lifts, step-downs, and pelvic drops. Unless they seem way too easy, and therefore ineffective, add them as exercises for sets and reps, something like 3x15 or whatever. You could even ankle weight them. You can also add static lunge holds for time as an exercise. Just hold the bottom position of a lunge for 30-60 seconds, 3 sets. It's harder than it sounds, lol.

When you feel ready to try a run, the article says that short easy sprints will have a lower risk of knee pain than a long, slow jog. So begin with level, short, easy sprints and see how it goes.

Have a Merry Christmas. You're on the road to recovery.

[Lisa~]

Dave,

The more I read, the more I am convinced that your change of footwear either directly caused your injury or at least opened the door for a weak spot to become a full blown injury. The recovery process is the same no matter what the cause, but knowing the cause is important so that you can not have the injury again.

Here are some additional snippets from my research:

From Supertraining (Siff):
""Any form of shoe which offers some level of shock absorption tends to increase shock transmission elsewhere up the body, because the body attempts to maintain much the same overall mechanical stiffness of the body, so that if you wear shock-absorbing shoes, then more stress is imposed upon the knees, hips and spine.""

From:
Michael Warburton. Barefoot Running
http://www.sportsci.org/jour/0103/mw.htm

Warburton (2001) states:
""Chronic ailments such as shin splints, ilio-tibial band syndrome and peri-patellar pain are attributed variously to excessive pronation, supination, and shock loading of the limbs (Siff and Verkhoshansky, 1999, p.451). When running barefoot on hard surfaces, the runner compensates for the lack of cushioning underfoot by plantar-flexing the foot at contact, thus giving a softer landing (Frederick, 1986). Barefoot runners also land mid-foot, increasing the work of the foot's soft tissue support structures, thereby increasing their strength and possibly reducing the risk of injury (Yessis 2000, p.124)……

The modern running shoe and footwear generally reduce sensory feedback, apparently without diminishing injury-inducing impact–a process Robbins and Gouw (1991) described as the "perceptual illusion" of athletic footwear. A resulting false sense of security may contribute to the risk of injury (Robbins and Gouw, 1991). Yessis (2000, p.122) reasoned that once the natural foot structures are weakened by long-term footwear use, people have to rely on the external support of the footwear, but the support does not match that provided by a well functioning foot……

[BamaDave]

Thanks for those links, Lisa! I do think the shoes contributed to some degree. Just seems like too much of a coincidence. Running on hills is supposed to be a big risk factor, but I've been doing that for 4 years with no problem. The extra cushion plus the change to less pronation protection = hmmmm. UpNorth should come in here and tell me he told me so regarding the cushiony shoes!!

I haven't had any post-exercise swelling. My wife got the drug filled, but I don't feel like I need it, either. A couple of people told me that knocking down the inflammation could help with healing, but I feel like it's healing well anyway.

[BamaDave]

THURS. 12.21.06
AM WORKOUT

A. DYNAMIC LEG EXERCISES - same as yesterday, except reduced distance for each to ~ 10-12 yards... whatever it is across my basement floor!

B. BB MILITARY PRESS: 120#: 7; 4; 4

C. BENT OVER BB ROWS: 170#: 6; 6; 6

D. DIPS: +50#: 7; 5; 4

E. KNEES TO ELBOWS (HANGING): 16; 14

F. SWISS BALL CRUNCHES - EXPLOSIVE WITH "THROW": +20#: 13; 14

-- Kind of crunched for time again this morning. I felt weak on the BB shoulder presses. OK on the BB Rows. I was a little leery of doing those, since I didnn't know if my knee would get dinged while deadlifting up the bar or just while stabilizing me during the exercise, but it felt fine.

I stopped adding ankle wts to my hanging leg raises since this knee thing, and I think I'll permanently quit using them. I feel like I am really isolating the abdominal muscles better without them. Probably used my hips too much when I added the wts!

[BamaDave]

FRI. 12.22.06

-- Just did some foam rolling and stretching. Initially, foam rolling of the offending ITB felt much better, but then more painful as I kept it up. Still not as bad as before.

From Lisa's link, I tried some of the exercises for gluteus medius strengthening. I didn't have any trouble with the "advanced" exercise - pelvic drops. That's supposed to be the last one you have to master before resuming running attempts. I didn't even bring my running shoes over here to Atlanta, so I wouldn't be tempted! Next week, in Louisiana, I may try some short, fast paced intervals, as my brother-in-law family live in a very flat place with a great rails-to-trails nearby.

Actually, I can never run again. My 96 year-old grandmother told me this afternoon, "Alright now, Davy. I don't want you to do no more of that! When you get old, these things is going to give you trouble."