ALLISON MANN

I’m in the midst of weeks 7-8 of recovery from proximal hamstring repair surgery. All 3 of my hamstring tendons were completely torn from the ischium almost 10 weeks ago, and on Monday, September 10 it will be 8 weeks from surgery. At this point in my recovery, from a few things I’ve read, I’m in between the stages of bone growth to secure the anchors in the pelvis (4-8 weeks) and the tissue forming to replace the sutures that hold the tendons to the anchors (12-16 weeks).

As of 8/27 I was Rx’d physical therapy 2-3x/week to move to full weight bearing and hamstring stretching. The Sunday before I went in to PT I was just feeling comfortable enough to move around the kitchen without constantly hanging on to my walker. That first day of PT I learned how to one-crutch, though wasn’t allowed to implement it, and promptly got home and started walking around the house on my own. It felt “right”, I wasn’t nervous about it, was very careful and deliberate, and with no kids or dogs underfoot, didn’t have to worry about being knocked over by anything else.

I went to PT three times the first week, eventually progressing to Friday’s session where Kris told me to stand on my leg and try to balance. From following some of the rehab protocols for recovery I knew that one of the progression criteria to get from Phase II (typically starts around 6 weeks after surgery) to Phase III (usually three months after surgery) was being able to balance on the leg for more than 15 seconds.

I balanced. For at least 30 seconds, without issue. I was pretty proud of myself. I also got to move to one-crutch at work to start 7 weeks post-surgery. FREEDOM! One-crutch means I can open doors and carry a cup of tea.

Week 7′s Tuesday session I did some resisted knee extensions and hamstring curls, sitting on a massage table. And, I got the green light to try lightly resisted stationary recumbent bike spinning.

At this point, there’s still not a lot that I can do. Justin has given up his training time on weekends to hang out with me. We did get out a few times and have a good Labor Day three-day weekend:

Shooting the blue moon

Opening of Brew-Ligion

BBQ with AWESOME friends

Annie and I on injured reserve

So, I’ve got a long way to go before I can even think about clipping into bike pedals again, but, I’m getting around.

Wednesday I even got to pedal, for the first time, since the moment I crashed. It wasn’t exactly an S-Works on my favorite trail, but, baby steps!

It’s just like riding a bike. Right?

Happy pedaling

Well, it’s a start

10 minutes of recumbent pedaling.  It didn’t feel too bad, so I did it again the next day

In addition to doing a short set of my PT exercises on Thursday at a real gym, I also did a short upper body weights machine circuit – seated rows, lat pulls, shoulder press, chest press, and standing with dumbbells: overhead press, bicep curls, and upright rows.  Not quite the gym routine I was figuring I’d be doing this time of year, but it’s a lot better than no gym at all.

I’m seeing the surgeon(s) later.  Not sure what that visit will yield at this point.  I’ve made a lot of progress since my last visit three and a half weeks ago.  I’d like to know about core exercises I can do, and if I can progress on the spinning, possibly even riding my own bike on a stationary trainer.  Getting on and off the recumbent presented only a small hiccup.  My road bike I think will be much more difficult to maneuver.  Not that it can’t be done, just maybe it shouldn’t be done at this point.

While my left hamstring, glute, and my lower back are sore basically every morning, I still think that my progress is solid and steady.

As much as I’d like to get in more pedaling, I have no desire to over-do it or push myself too hard, too soon.  There are lasting effects if I do, and I’ve already come this far.  What’s a little more patience?  Maybe it’ll make the end result that much sweeter.