[maxhwhite]

Hello UA,
I’m in week 5(transition period) of the 24 week Big Mountain Plan and tweaked my knee stretching on my rest day(stupidly). I have a partially torn ACL and before starting my plan did 8 weeks of stabilization training to beef up the injured knee before starting the plan. I have several ski touring and winter climbing trips this year that I planned on training through (with advice from Scott J. on how to do so without overtraining, thanks Scott!). My question now is that with the tweak happening 3 days ago, I’ve been icing and continuing my plan doing one workout of Core and General Strength which felt fine, then yesterday’s AET run on flat I backed off half way through due to a weird feeling in my knee, not sharp pain but dull and General weakness. Curious as to where this leaves me now. My first trip is in 3 weeks to Chamonix for some moderate mixed objectives with long approaches since the trams will be down. As per Scott J’s instructions I was planning on an easy week before I leave , but wondering if I should extend that period to now so I don’t cause any more damage. Sorry for the novel of info, just trying to get as much out of a bum knee as possible. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Max

Topic

[Stuart]

Stuart on October 29, 2019 at 10:08 am #30929

Have you been maintaining any kind of rehab/stabilization training on the knee since you concluded your 8 week stabilization training?

Any feelings of instability in your knee?

How long ago was the initial injury to your knee?

I’d suggest dialing things back a little bit/finding some alternative options for the knee. Biking/swimming and resuming your rehab exercises for the knee. If you haven’t already, purchase a knee brace to give it some support.

Last thing you would want to do is flare up the knee more and spoil your Chamonix trip. May be worth getting an evaluation to assess if there is any laxity or instability in the knee. Which if so, would warrant some reconsidering of your plans.

[maxhwhite]

maxhwhite on November 10, 2019 at 1:50 am #31590

Hi Stuart,
Sorry for the delay in response. Thanks for your response. The original injury was 8 years ago. 75 percent tear of the ACL, but surgeon said that I could postpone surgery with physical therapy. At the time I was a competitive freeskier and was referred to a top notch physio center that gave me the rehab routine. Obviously years have past and I was slacking on the training up until the last couple years when I’ve gotten back into alpine climbing. It’s been almost 2 weeks since I tweaked it this time. Pain has subsided after cutting my 24 week plan way back. I’ve just been doing my stabilization and knee strength exercises, no running just hiking. Knee seems stable and getting stronger. Still have a week before I leave. Planning to climb conservatively and avoid any high stepping on my right side.
Thanks again,
Max

[Pete Dickinson MS,PT]

Pete Dickinson MS,PT on November 10, 2019 at 8:43 am #31600

Max,
Given your symptoms and injury history, you likely have some knee laxity that rears its head when its inhibited from a ‘tweak’, or acquired weakness. Strength is your friend when it comes to instability so a return to single leg strength exercises will assist in gaining knee stability once two legged strength movements are good. Slow progression into dynamic activities on that side is warranted, gentle side or front lunges with an aggressive return to standing you might try without resistance. The risk with an unstable knee is a meniscus injury.
Best of luck on your trip!
Pete

[maxhwhite]

maxhwhite on November 15, 2019 at 12:48 pm #32051

Thank you Pete! I will work on the strength exercises. Zone 1 running, extremely easy jogging in my case, feels stable with a little pain under my kneecap afterwards, but no instability. Would you say the soreness is normal or would you recommend backing off running all together until I’m back to 100%. Obviously there are several factors that weigh into this, just curious based on your experience what you’d recommend in comparison to other cases you’ve seen.
Thanks again,
Max

[Pete Dickinson MS,PT]

Pete Dickinson MS,PT on November 18, 2019 at 1:05 am #32138

Max,
I would consider it a positive if you are having patellofemoral symptoms instead of instability symptoms with your running. Give some kinesiotaping around the patella for running a try, and do some soft tissue massage to the medial quad region and posterior hip PRIOR to running to see if this helps with the discomfort. Continue with strength and progress as tolerated. Stop short of flaring up your knee with all your activities. I’m not a ‘backing off’ type of guy if you can work around it without flaring it up with your upcoming goals.
Keep in touch.
Pete