[samtugwell]

samtugwell on May 25, 2021 at 6:48 am · in reply to: Relapse #54284

Hi,

the MRI came back relatively clear (no new major damage, maybe a couple of new meniscus tears, and something about hoffa’s fat pad. There was also some cartilage damage though my Orthopaedic surgeon thinks that is related to the damage previously fixed with novocart).

My physio is pretty optimistic that there is no structural damage based on the range of movement, but that I need to come to some inner peace to let my autonomous system get to work. Also that some of the problem is neurological and my system is being overprotective of the knee.

I’m currently still using a crutch as a walking stick. When I weight the knee it collapses / leans inwards, causing a limp. Cycling is still good.

I am hopefuly that I can strengthen up ove rthe next few weeks and get back to walking properly at least. Next year will be for some bigger goals 🙂

Thanks for your replies Thomas, I can’t stress how helpful it is to be able to “talk” to someone else about it.

Onwards and upwards,
sam

[samtugwell]

samtugwell on May 3, 2021 at 5:29 am · in reply to: Relapse #53636

Hi Thomas,

The doctor was inconclusive – looks ok, feels ok, isn’t ok…

MRI scan in 2 weeks. Until then I will get outside on crutches to avoid going insane, and keep indoor biking (or e-biking to pick up my kids from kindergarten).

Maybe crutches for 2 weeks is what it needs to rest a bit. I will find out!

[samtugwell]

samtugwell on April 6, 2021 at 1:03 pm · in reply to: Cartilage replacement – next 10 years #52832

Hi Thomas, thanks for your excellent replies. I was taking some time to digest “give it a year” before Pete came in with the second year body blow :).

If I may, I’d like to clarify a few things.

I’ve used Uphill Athlete plans before and was planning on keeping the same structure here – that is 4 aerobic days (2 walking and 2 bike), 2 strength days (Killer Core & General routine) and one rest day.

On top of this I will do stability / proprioception work each day, as well as 1-2 x 30mins on the bike trainer.

Does this sound like a reasonable plan, with enough focus on bike?

For reference, walking will be in the forest on rolling terrain. Bike will be mountain bike on the same terrain but nothing too steep and with no fall potential.

Secondly are there any exercises in the Killer Core & General routines to avoid? I just ran through it and skipped Hitler’s dogs, side planks, TGUs as they didn’t feel sensible.

Thirdly, I was hoping to get a rough timeline on activities… nothing fixed but i figured from 6-9 months I might be able to start jogging. I also kind of thought Golf might be on the cards soon (the injured knee is the back leg so not as load bearing). Further still I was reallly holding out hope for a scramble in September – this would be 10 months post op. I can’t tell if this is too optimistic or if it is reasonable. The feedback from my physio has so far been to try things out and see what goes.

Thanks again for your replies, it helps a lot.
sam

[samtugwell]

samtugwell on March 29, 2021 at 10:35 am · in reply to: Cartilage replacement – next 10 years #52498

Hi Thomas, thanks for your reply.
I’ll share what I can remember, hope it’s not too much.

The location of the cartilage damage was the inside of my left knee… I think. Sorry I can’t be more precise, it was all a bit much at the time.

An MRI revealed a torn ACL, a tear in the meniscus, and a 1-2cm tear in the cartilage (complete tear, not sure of the technical term). Also a bone bruise. The plan was an arthroscopic OP to drill into the bone marrow, as well as repair the ACL with a patellar tendon and sew up the meniscus tear.

When I woke up from the OP I was told that the cartilage tear was much worse than they thought – 3-4cm, so I would need further surgery. The surgeon saw no damage to the meniscus however.

A second arthroscopic OP removed samples of bone and cartilage for developing in a lab to be implanted later. I think this was called Novocart but that may be a trademark.

The third and final OP was not arthroscopic, but everything was cut open. The lab grown cartilage was implanted (I still find that crazy), the ACL was repaired but using a tendon from the back of the leg, and this time they did find the tear in the meniscus and sewed that up.

I have been having physio since 6 weeks after the final OP. The focus has been on mobility and improving the circulation by loosening the scar tissue. They have given me strength exercises, including using a foam cushion to balance on. I have been walking more and more, including up/down small hills. The indoor bike has become more of a recovery tool for getting the knee turning to loosen it up at the end of the day. Overall the physio is positive that I will be back to 100%.

Can you give any more recommendations for strength exercises? I can’t full squat, lunges are painful, walking downstairs is about 70% there. I tend to assume that doing more walking will be good for strength, but I have planned to add a pure stair session as one workout.

The surgeon said I should do more cycling for the next 20 years, rather than running. I’m mostly concerned with scrambling, and whether alpine descents will be possible, and using trail running for training. Let’s just say I’m not fully on board with cycling, though I will do some mountain biking and add in swimming when the pools open.

With regard to positivity – I flit between being sure I will come back stronger, and paralysed at the thought that I won’t improve any more, and certain things are no longer possible. I guess the line is somewhere in the middle, but the further I get away from the OP the fewer bad days I have.

Sorry if that’s a bit of an epic read, I tried to stick to the facts!

sam

[samtugwell]

samtugwell on March 17, 2020 at 2:03 am · in reply to: Online Uphill Athlete training zone calculator #39606

Hi, good work – you could add a homemade drift test calculator to determine AET.

I made a quick one in Excel as I don’t have premium Training Peaks, I’ll try and attach it. I had been meaning to share it but wasn’t sure – you have spurred me on 🙂

For info I turn off the auto lap on my Garmin, do my warm up and press lap manually, then do half the test and press lap again, then again at the end to start cool down. This keeps it in one activity. You don’t need to fill out the warm up and cool down, they are just info fields.

I’m sure you can format it much better if you want to put it on your site.

Intereseted to see if this would give the same results as the Training peaks analysis.

sam

[samtugwell]

samtugwell on March 2, 2020 at 1:23 am · in reply to: Questions on Luke Nelson's 50k plan #39105

Great, thanks for clearing this up!

[samtugwell]

samtugwell on November 22, 2019 at 4:01 am · in reply to: Hill sprints for strength/endurance #32448

Hi, I read this as relevant to me and was starting to think about looking for an old tire… I found one on my way home today, seems ot was meant to be.

My terrain is occasional hills around 10%, with flat forest trails in between. Is there any value in dragging the tire with me on my trail runs or is it specific to sprint workouts? What (if any) are other applications for my new found tire…?

Thanks, sam

ps goals are splitboard tour (day or weekend trip), easy alpine climbing (ridge scrambling UIAA 2-4), non technical Hochtour (around the PD-AD level)