47 weeks and 2 days

A year ago today I blew my ACL. Its been a crazy ass year. Thats all I have to say. I am so glad I can think about lab work, train, and start planning my next fight without worrying about my knee. On a scale from 1-10, whats the pain level? I give it a 0! I was looking at older posts about the pain level and for the entire year I have given the pain level a 1. I always wrote and told my doctor that the level of pain was the lowest. It was probably really a 4 and a 5 on the days when I had PT. I guess I just didn't want to admit the level of pain I was really in and I wanted to convince myself that I could still do everything and more.

Im 6 weeks away from the fight and the one thing I am really worried about now is my weight haha! I am strengthening and conditioning for my fight and trying to manage my weight cut smart. I feel strong and Im sure I am going to be very strong for my fight. I want to be in the best condition ever. I am extremely excited about it. All I do is imagine fighting. I just visualize my attacks. What I will do if she comes forward. If she stays on the outside etc. I can't wait to meet her in the ring and fight her. When I close my eyes, I see myself landing an elbow and a hard knee. I imagine being the best muay thai practitioner I am training to be. Then my hand gets raised. haha!

45 weeks and 3 days

So its been 45 weeks and 3 days. I am cleared to fight again. I have been training only 5 days a week. 2 days of rest to make sure my knee has time to recover. I am resting a lot more than I ever have haha. I am set to fight January 31st. I dont have an opponent yet, but I am just going to be ready for it anyway.

How does my knee feel right now?
If I sit too long, I get stiff. I have to move it around.
It is numb on the side and I am still getting used to the numbness being the norm.
Every now and then I hear a loud click/crack. My knee just needs to adjust.
I can kneel on my knee. It still feels uncomfortable on the scar/patella area. I think the patella is still sensitive and I wonder if it will last forever.
I can do all these things now: Spar with kicks, push kicks, knees. I can jump! I can double jump. I can do jumps (knees to chest) all the way up to 10! I can sprint. I can jump rope for 3 rounds just like before. I can to a jump to my feet starting with my knees to the ground. I can do strength training on my leg. I can take 8 muay thai/kickboxing classes a week plus do mitt work plus strength and conditioning :-)

My other knee feels achy and I need to be careful. I got these knee compressions for both knees. I am wearing them when I train now. I thought I tore my meniscus on my good leg :-( but I think it was achy. I pushed through a training session and it magically felt better. It was achy over Thanksgiving. I think the rest was actually bad for it! I cant go more than 2 days without training or doing something active.

I am ready to fight. I dont care what the result is. I just hope to be healthy and strong to fight and keep on fighting after.

Week 33 ~8 months post acl and meniscus

I saw my surgeon yesterday and I am finally cleared to spar muay thai. He didnt clear me to fight though  :-/ I am sure my PT was let me start competing by now. I was lectured that I need to be careful and ease my way into sparring. I think its dumb because sometimes sparring can be super hard like a fight.

25 weeks

I talked to my PT yesterday and he said...if I feel like I can spar with kicks...do it. I am not going to go all hard and crazy. I am just going to work on my technique. I havent sparred yet. I am waiting for my knee and legs to get stronger to do it.

I did some single leg hops today and they didnt hurt! a few weeks ago, they would feel uncomfortable when I landed. But not anymore! As of today, the landing is so much smoother. :)

Week 24 6 months!

I am into my 24th week!
Saw my surgeon Thursday and I have good news....He has cleared me to start training again. I have been training for about a week now so I dont feel like I pushed it. I have done everything I possibly could leading up to today to get me where I am now...able to train! I see the doctor again in 6 weeks.

I am not allowed to spar yet. I have been sparring boxing and so for the next 6 more weeks, I plan on focusing on my hands and getting them better. I have to get my quad strong again as I wrote before. The surgeon didnt seem too bothered with my quad being 50% weaker than the good side. My hamstrings are kinda equivalent and so he was content with that. He said that the hamstring is more important than the quad since it supports the acl. I already knew this and have been working on hamstrings since surgery.

He wants me to wear my brace when I do agility training or side to side movements. I dont see the point in this and so Im not doing it. The brace just makes me have this false confidence. I feel stronger and good with out it!

For some reason Im not super excited about anything. I just feel tired. Ive been working hard at getting able to train and been stressing and worrying about not being able to train hard for competition. I am stressed out about not getting where I want to go with muay thai. But, I cant do that. I just hope that this is the last nasty injury. I know its not going to be the last but I hope and pray or plead that this acl injury is the last time....and I am hoping for no more concussions.

5.5 Months Now

Ive been slacking big time with my blog! Anyway, things are going well! Things have progressed in a way where I think something bad has to happen. I have to proceed with caution to be safe. I worry about re-injury.

Last week I visited another gym and had the chance to take their classes. I was really hesitant at first to kick. I am not kicking with full power but I kick at about 50%. I am not even trying to kick hard. All I do is just focus on my technique and throw the kick...not holding back but letting my leg go.
I did roundhouse kicks and switch kicks. I was fine.

 Yesterday, I did 2 hours of class. 1 hour of simple boxing drills and for the kickboxing class...I kicked lightly for at least 5 rounds and held pads for the new people.

Today, I did my last PT session. It kinda sucked and my knee is paying for the session. I started off on the treadmill. We had a re-evaluation and did the following:

-single leg hop
-triple hop
-triple crossover hops
-then did this bio-something machine where I kick out and pull in at different speeds.

My quads are weak as hell. At the slowest speed, my quad is 50% weaker than the good side. My hamstrings are equivalent. The kicking out motion really got to me. I think I am still sore from yesterday...I should have gone easy so I could do well in PT. but oh well. I see the surgeon tomorrow afternoon and I dont know what he will say.

My new plan is to strengthen my quads as much as possible and get my strength even on both legs. I cant kick spar yet. Thats ok with me. I am just going to do classes a couple days a week and just focus on developing my skills and strengthening my legs.

Week 20

6-10

Last night I did 4 rounds of pad work with kicks. I just focus on rear leg round kicks. It feels normal! I dont kick hard but I feel confident with my knee.

Today in PT, I focused on plyometrics.
10 minutes on the Treadmill.
Stretched out. The heel can touch my behind now!
Double leg jumps- 5
Single leg jumps on a very short stool. I have a hard time jumping high. 20 reps
Single leg side ways jumps 20 reps

Friday, I did rigorous plyometrics.

10 minutes on the Treadmill
Stretched out
Skipped
Kareokes
For the following, I did them until I did them right...Probably did 5-8 down the "track" and back. Very tiring.
Squat jumps
Side ways squat jumps
Quarter squat jumps

Single leg squats...ice-skater ones I guess
Planks
Single leg jumps on the body weight machine.

I am still sore from it!





Week 21

Friday

End of Week 19

On Tuesday June 3rd was a damn good day. I kicked, very lightly, for the first time since before December 20th, 2013.

In PT, we do plyometrics. Single leg jumps all the time. I feel like I can do all of that on my own! Anyway, PT ends at the end of the month and I see the doctor in almost 4 weeks. So every day, I got to work on strength and conditioning. Im beyond excited to train again!

Week 18 Recap

I have overcome a plateau in my recovery process. Since I hit the fourth month mark on May 16th and since I started jogging May 20th, I have felt so much more stronger and confident with my knee. 

Recap with PT routine:

10 minute jog for warm up (start with 4.5 and work up to 6mph)

Stretch out. My extension is near normal and my flexion is normal.

Single leg hops forwards, backwards, side ways, clockwise, toe touches, "shuffle" 2 feet in and 1 out.    

           -2 sets of each thing.

I get on this machine and kick my leg out and pull in. We do 3 different speeds.

Resistance cord, 5 reps in each direction.

Mountain climber using sliders and suicide.

I need to make a video clip of all the exercises! Its hard to explain on here because I don't know the words.

In PT I jog for 10 minutes as a warm up and do lots of plyometrics. The first week I didn't do any leg days. I was worried that I would do too much so I stuck to upper body and core workouts...along with pad work with Jason. We'd do all hands of course and focus on straight punches and upper cuts to be cautious with hooks. 

Last week, I did incorporate 1 leg day in between PT days. It did not interfere much with my PT. I had PT Monday and Friday. My leg day was on Wednesday. I was able to do everything in PT Friday except single leg hop backwards. I could go forwards and in a circle but going backwards was a little slower than usual. Last week I did pad work 4 days, 5  rounds of boxing. Saturday, I wasn't sore one bit and got in my first sparring rounds in (me in blue):

I was super surprised at how confident I felt with my knee. I could bounce around as usual. I am so glad I kept boxing since my surgery...Even those days where I had to sit down and punch mitts. I don't remember ever writing about those days, but those were tough pad sessions because I couldn't use my legs and I had to make sure that all my power came from my core and shoulders. Now, standing and punching feels easy. I am bummed that I can't kick yet, but thats ok! I am going to focus my attention on my boxing and improve my footwork, my punches, and my head movement. By the time I can kick, which is in like 2 months, I will be so good with my boxing. I am also gonna keep working my upper body and doing strength training for my legs. I want to train my whole body and get it ready for my next fight!

Words of Encouragement to Self and All

I have to admit that I haven't always been pleasant to be around. Especially my boyfriend. From the few weeks before my doctors visit in April 21st till the week before May 19th, Ive been crazy. Very angry all the time, waking up upset, driving to and from work crying, lots of crying before going into the gym. I hated going to the gym and I didn't want to be there. At the same time I needed to be there. It was love hate. I didn't want to see anyone! Seeing people train in class, for fights, or work out in general was really upsetting. I would sit on the stationary bicycle and just dislike the situation so much. Looking at my knee pissed me off. I wanted to explain to my boyfriend what I was feeling but I couldn't. I still struggle with the words because I feel stupid feeling those things.

So, everyday, don't just do the same routine. After a week or two of doing the routine, change it up. You got to. For me, what kept me going was upper body workouts. For the first 12 weeks, I had the same routine. That drove me crazy! Don't do that. Write out a plan that you can stick to and build up on. I got help from teammates at the gym and they wrote out a 4 day upper body workout and 2 leg day plan. I have stuck to it the last 4 weeks and I feel so much better. Focus on what you can do, make goals, reach them! Make new ones and keep moving.

For me, I am going to be strong as shit for my upper body and core. I want to look strong and lean so doing that also requires eating cleaner. So, I have been eating more meat and veggies. I will get my leg strong again. Its just going to take time and diligence. So, everyday I am either moving closer or away from my goal. I want to fight amateur muay thai this fall. Id love to by November. Thats my goal so I got to reach it and prove to myself that I can do it. I graduate next Spring...or plan to, so i want to get this fight in before 2014 closes. Then I want to compete at WKAs next March and IKF in the summer. Theres too much stuff going on for me to miss another year. So, goals are set and must be reached!

Recap a day after running

So, I still don't have any swelling after the run and single leg jumps. PT is at 8AM. I am ready!

Today, I taught boxing and muay thai classes. My PT wants me to gently use my leg to get it used to the motions of kickboxing. So I am. I was a little scared to demo switch kick but I did it. I will be ok!

Running and single leg jumps

In the middle of week 17:

Ran 10 minutes at PT.
Started off jogging at 4 and by the end of the 10 minutes I was running 5.4 miles per hour.
Good leg can hop 150 vs 75 on the bad leg. Not bad.

Not swollen but sore.

 I feel good!

16 weeks complete...on to week 17

So Im feeling pretty strong right now. I haven't been to PT in 3.5 weeks. But, I have been doing everything I CAN do to build strength in my leg and maintain some kind of conditioning.

To sum up the week, I took it pretty easy on my knee because I wanted to make sure that my knee wasn't swollen for tomorrow. I see the surgeon Monday at 2pm. I hate going to him, because its expensive and he always has bad news....or news I don't want to hear. I don't want to be a pessimist, but I think its important to prepare for bad news rather than go in being hopeful and then leaving disappointed and angry because I can't get closer to training. Last time I went I expected to be told that I could start jogging, single leg jumping, and start squatting with heavy weight. This time around, I do expect to start jogging and jumping. I really do! I am also running tomorrow regardless of what he says. I know I am ready for more! My knee doesn't hurt. On a scale from 0-10, I have 0! No pain.

I do get stiff after sitting for too long still. The transition from sitting for 30 minutes to walking is always uncomfortable, but when I get going, Im fine. If I keep moving, I am fine!

Things I have been doing that makes me happy are bicycle for 10-20mins, upper body weight lifting, and most of all...Padwork! Ive been doing pad work standing for 2 weeks now. We have been doing 5 rounds. Its the only thing that makes me sweat.

Week 15, light at the end of the tunnel

Been working on a different workout to help me get through this month.
Last week I did 2 leg days. Each day was different. I did experience a new kind of soreness as I walked but it went away after a day. This week I am also doing legs 2X, but instead of breaking up the routine in 2 sessions I am just going to do all of the exercises in one session. Ive been doing the bicycle for 10-15 minutes as a warm up.

I have been able to do bag work. I work my hands and defense. I am able to practice shielding kicks...I use my good leg to check and stand on my bad leg. I am also able to lead leg push kick. I can shadow box and throw kicks in the air. Jump rope is getting easier and kicking the soccer ball is fun. Yesterday, I tried kneeing the bag gently...putting my weight on my bad leg. It wasnt too bad...but mentally I was concerned I would ruin my graft. So, for now I will stick to push kicks, punches, and defense.

I dont experience a lot of pain. Its a 1. I do get really stiff if I sit too much. Sitting and then standing is uncomfortable but when I get moving I am fine.

Another thing I can do is hold mitts for others. Boxing only though.

Working on my diet this week is my new thing to develop. Im 133 at the end of the day, so Im going to try to walk around at 130 by the time I see the Dr. again.

Milestones:
Heel touches butt (Week 15)
Boxing (Since week 14: light pivoting, pushing off back leg)
Jump rope (Since week 12)
Kicks and knees to soccer ball (Since week 12)
Push kick on the heavy bag (Week 15)
Holding mitts for students (boxing only) (Week 15)



Today,
Bicycle 10-15 minutes
Leg workout
Ab work
Neck exercises
Heavy bag work 5 rounds-incorporate the elbows
Mitt work 5 rounds
Shadow boxing 3-5 rounds

Monday of Week 14 (routine not included)

So the next visit with the surgeon is May 19th. I have to get this swelling down by then. Hopefully, he allows me to start single leg jumps and jogging. By then, I will be 16 weeks out or 4 months post op.

Friday was my last PT appointment until May 20th. My PT said there was no point in doing the same thing I can do on my own. So, every day Im going to be extra diligent and record what I did for accountability.

Filling in blanks:

Week 10
Elliptical 10-12 mins
Stretched
Hamstring curls 30 reps 2 lbs
Single leg press 40lbs 30 reps
Yellow sports resistance band, same 5 reps in 4 directions
2 laps of monster walks
Started jogging on the trampoline for 5 mins new thing!
Hach squat 30 reps 50 lb weight
Iced for 10 minutes

I saw my surgeon March 17th and he said no elliptical for 2 weeks. I didnt until the second week of April. I listened!

3 Months Post Acl and Meniscus

I am 12.5 weeks away from my surgery now. I saw my surgeon yesterday for my 3 month post op appointment. I have some swelling in my knee. Its not that bad at all! Here are the surgeons orders:

-No jogging.
-No elliptical past 15 minutes. No elliptical every day.
-No jumping.
-No squats past 45 degrees.

I cant do anything until the swelling is gone. I am completely confused and frustrated. My PT thinks I am ready for more.

Heres what we did last week in PT.

Warmed up for ten minutes on the elliptical.
Hamstring curls 30 reps (2.5 lbs)
Single Leg press 30 reps (45 lbs)
Sports cord. 5 sets in each direction.
Hach squat 30 reps (50 lbs)
Mountain climber with "sliding plates" 2 sets of 10 each leg.
Other kind of slider exercise, I dunno what the name is! with "sliding plates" 2 sets of 10 each leg.
Using the big ball, I do a single leg hammy curl 2 sets of ten each leg.
Single leg ball toss. forwards and sideways. 20 throws.
Kicked a soccer ball. For about 3 minutes or so my PT and I kicked the ball to eachother...He would kick it far away from me so I had to walk/run and get it.
Jump rope for 3 minutes...using 2 feet. My knee is too weak to alternate feet.
Did this skating kind of drill, I got on a slippery surface and slid from side to side.
Lateral walks using the heaviest band.
Iced for 10 minutes

4 more weeks until the next visit. Im really hoping the swelling goes down until the next visit. I cant wait to train.

5th week, ACL recovery

Its day 33...half way into the 5th week since the surgery. So bored with my exercise routine. I cant wait to train 100%. Yesterday, I snuck in uppercuts on the punching bag. I tried hard to not pivot. PT told me that I have to strengthen my thighs and knee before pivoting. I have muscle atrophy since the injury so I have to really make an effort to hold back and just focus on getting the leg strong. Its only the 5th week and Im already frustrated with the slow recovery. Woosah. Still working my upper body...getting stronger in that area. At least I am going to recover one day...just not now. Im getting a little impatient because right now isnt the best...but I know the future is going to be awesome...so I just have to wait!!

Swelling is sitting above and around the sides of my knee cap. I have a big scar. Im still limping, but its getting better!
Did PT this morning. Last time, he stretched the hell out of my knee. It was so sore the rest of that day and I couldnt do much PT on my own for about 2 days. Since that day, I have been stretching more to prepare for the next painful stretching session.

Things I did in physical therapy today.

1. Did the elliptical for 10 minutes. Started off slow and went fast!

2.  Stretched out a little.

3. Hamstring curls, face down. 3 sets of 10 reps. These are getting easier. Before I struggled to do 20. The first 10 always are the worst but I can feel my hamstring muscles get stronger each rep.

4.  Single leg press. 3 sets of 10 reps.

5. Body weight machine, face up. 30 hamstring curls.

6. Inclined squat machine with weight on my shoulders. Below my feet is this balance thing so equal weight is distributed on each leg. 30 reps.

7. Body weight machine, single leg press. 30 reps.

Thats it!

Today, If I am not sore, I will do my own PT at the gym starting off with 20 minutes on the elliptical. Found out I can be on the bike or elliptical for 30 minutes every day. I will do that!

Week 3 Post Acl and meniscus surgery

Its been 3 weeks now since the surgery. Ive been doing physical therapy 2x a week since 5 days after the surgery. I have been able to walk without crutches for a week now. I can finally sit comfortably with my leg bent at a 90 degree angle.

I did PT today and this is what I did:

1. 10 minutes on bicycle. I go super slow at first because I get stiff. I go so slow the bicycle doesnt register that I am on it! I work up to 60 rpms halfway in and try to maintain that pace.

2. Stretched me out for a little bit. Today, Jeane ran me through PT. I am able to bend 90 degrees on my belly. On my back doing a heel slide, I hit 115 degrees!

3. Did 30 squats while standing on these squishy discs...one under each foot. I dont know the name.

4. Then, using the lowest weight, did single leg presses 3 sets of 10.

5. The worst next were the hamstring curls. On my belly, I raise the weight using both legs as close to my butt as possible. Then, using my "bad leg" I slowly extend. Did 2 sets of 10. Those suck and I took forever doing them.

6. Next are these knee bend exercises. Its like a pull through. Instead I face the weight machine. Left leg stays straight and I bend my right leg. Did that 30 times.

7. On the body weight machine set to level 2, I did a single leg press 30 times.

8. I stayed on the body weight machine. This time we raised it back up and did some seated hamstring curls 30 times.

9. The got this resistance band around my waist and walked away from it back facing the band, then facing the opposite side, then lateral walks. Did 3 sets in each direction.

10. Put a resistance band below my knees and did some "lateral squatting walks" 3 sets (10-15 steps) back and forth.

11. The last thing was 30 squats on this balance ball.


Sorry, I need to figure out the names of instruments and exercises!

Day 11

I got my stitches out yesterday. Heres what it looked like (Figure 1.)...

Figure 1. Stitches removed Day 10.

Today (Day 11), this is what it looks like (Figure 2)...

Figure 2. Day 11.

Progress made for today at PT.

• 89 degrees flexion.
• did squats using my own body weight
• marching knees with assistance using the parallel bars
• single leg raises using parallel bars
• single leg squat, dont know the name...
• hamstring curls

About Day 1 PT, 5 days post ACL reconstruction & meniscus repair

As of today, I am at day 6 after ACL reconstructive surgery. I injured my knee December 20th, 2013. My new ACL is a patella tendon autograft. Its considered the gold standard...I guess we will see after I start kicking again.
Here are some before and after photos of what is going on inside my knee (Figure 1). A picture of my leg is also posted (Figure 2).

Figure 1. Before and after "intraOperative" photos.

Figure 2. Right knee.

My first PT session was yesterday January 29th, 2014. The PT started me off laying down on my back doing heel slides and straight leg raises. Sat up and let my leg dangle at a 90 degree angle. Last thing was laying face down, knees hanging down off the table. In that position I hooked my left (good leg) around my right leg and slowly did a hamstring curl.

The hardest part about doing all of it is that the knee feels like its going to implode or explode. The surgeon and PT say that, that is normal and the knee is actually going to be alright. Its all mental.

I hate doing leg raises. I feel like I cant. I hate feeling like I CAN'T do something more so I will try as hard as possible to raise it until I CAN. I can feel my knee cap tighten up and hurt. It feels like its going to break. But I can get my leg up if I put everything Ive got into it. Its like that moment in Kill Bill when The Bride is paralyzed and is telling herself out loud to wiggle her big toe...http://youtu.be/vHl24Kjp5Vs.

If the surgeon and the PT are telling me that I can then its all in my damn head. So today, and everyday, until my next PT appointment, I am going to get that damn leg raising.

First post

I haven't kept a blog in years. Looking back, the one thing I should have been more careful documenting was my muay thai training. I always tell new students that they should record their progress. After nearly 4 years of training, I'll start now.

I thought last year was the hardest year because I had to slow down training for nearly 4 months due to a concussion and a relapse. Not moving and not developing is living death to me so even on days when I felt like my head was going to explode, I'll continue pushing.

So, I found out yesterday that I tore my acl and my meniscus. The injury happened before christmas. I'm going to get everything reconstructed and its going to take several months to get back to full training. I probably wont be able to compete until next year. Unlike the people I work with, close friends, my mom, & maybe even the people I train with, I do not see this as a sign to quit and try a different "hobby". I love training to be the best at what I do and I see the setback as another challenge to reach my goals.

I saw this quote somewhere: "Giving up on your goal because of one setback is like slashing your other three tires because you got a flat." Like, one of my favorite blogger & muay thai fighter would say, "Dont act like a b#tch" -Ross. If one part of the body cant function 100% in training, then develop the other damn parts! I used to question this before because people always look at me at the gym and think Im crazy for training with injuries. When I saw pictures of my favorite fighter Miriam Nakamoto training after her surgery, I knew for sure that always moving forward is the right thing to do...and all these other people are wrong!

The best thing someone told me yesterday was that, "Things can only slow you down. Nothing can stop you but you." Im ready for another challenge and Ill embrace the pain and obstacles yet to come.