Previously…
I managed to rupture my ACL in mid-February whilst skiing. As a physio, I knew what I had done immediately and MRI confirmed it a few days later.
At the ripe old age of 51, evidence suggests that I was going to be unlikely to need reconstruction as for many reasons other than old age, the knee stabilises itself better in this age group.
Despite my knowledge of this, I was convinced that I, who love sport and an active person, was going to need the surgery. Then lockdown came!!!
The hard part…
Just before lockdown, I managed to escape to Sussex where I now spend most of my time. We had to close all our clinics and try to adapt to this new world and keep the business going. This was a hugely stressful and worrying time for all of us. Would we have a business at the end of this and what would we do to see our patients in the meantime? Most of the team were furloughed and the rest of us saw you online and kept going somehow. We are still here so well done us!!
Despite it being probably one of the most stressful times in my career, I had the time to do my rehabilitation for my ruptured ACL. I was also outside of London and could do some lovely long walks and outdoor exercise.
So, what do you do if you are not good at doing repetitive exercises on your own to regain strength? You get your poor unsuspecting friends to do it with you!! In Sussex, I had a few local friends who were keen to try and keep fit in lockdown so I set up a zoom High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) class, three mornings a week. Luckily nobody complained that most of the exercises were “leg” orientated!
We all got fitter and stronger, some of them started to do the “couch to 5km app” ( started to run!) and so did I. I was soon pain and swelling free.
By June, I was back in London and cycled to work every day as well as continuing our HIIT classes online and then as we were able to, in gardens and on the beach. We are back on zoom now of course!
And now…
Now, I play tennis, golf, swim, run, cycle and do long walks. My knee feels more and more stable and I really will not need surgery which is great. The big test will be skiing but I think my steep couloir days were numbered anyway, so I am sure I can manage a few easy runs and a long lunch!
You can read all about Tash’s original injury here.
You can find out more about knee ligament injuries in our help hub of common conditions on the website.
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