knee rehab

I just had knee arthroscopy yesterday and currently home recovering. They said i had a old tear in the knee they had to repair plus a great deal of arthritis under the knee cap. I am hoping to rehab myself once i am cleared for exercise , If anyone has any suggestions or ideas of exercises that would help this process i would so appreciate!! i have at home a reformer, wunda chair, and various props,
Thanx, Jamie

Hi Jamie! Rats! Surgery is never fun. Give yourself the proper amount of time to recover but Pilates can be an excellent form or rehab for the knee. I would imagine many of our subscribers have had this situation themselves or in their studios. I hope you get some good advice.

Hi Kristi, thanks for responding. Yes I am very discouraged with the whole thing! They told me the tear was so bad it had shredded and I have developed grade 3 arthritis under that knee..so now I am going to be desperately looking for modifications in my pilates routine to keep me going! Do any of the instructors here specialize in rehab ? If so I would appreciate any ideas.. meantime i am healing nicely and researching online.. thanks!! Jamie

Hi Jamie-
Sorry for your setback. From what you've written it sounds like this was a chronic as opposed to acute injury?
First, I hope you have some physical therapy prescribed by your doctor, and it would be great if you found a PT with Pilates experience (many are getting certified and incorporate the principles and exercises).
Although I can't give specific advice on this, I do know that this is a great opportunity for careful examination of the activities/patterns that may have attributed to a chronic injury. You'll have more insight into this than any PT, as you live in your patterns 24/7. Walking, running, cycling, squatting at work (repeatedly!) to change clients' springs, cue, etc., etc.
I suggest you work with a Pilates-speaking PT and make sure you give him/her as much information about the other 23 hours of your day as possible so you can build a powerful rehab program together.
And be patient (not my forté either, but needs to be said, right?). Best of luck to you.

I don't have any specific help for you but just wanted to say that I found pilates when I was unable to continue with my bodybuilding due to severe knee problems. With the help of my trainer I am in the best shape of my life, and my legs look great, even though I have to omit some excercises due to knee issues (but not many) or modify others. Pilates is a Godsend for people with bad knees, in my opinion!

Thank you Ann and Layla for your wonderful insight. I do know the doc has intention of me doing some PT. I originaly had considered not going for PT and to try and rehab myself but after reading your posts i have decided it prob going to be smarter to go. Hopefully i can find one with some pilates experience. But if not maybe i can take what they teach me and incorporate into what I already know about Pilates , Thanks again for good advise!!!
Jamie

I tore my ACL 15 years ago and had surgery. I recommend a PT to gain insight into proper rehab exercises for your situation along with pilates. I paid particular attention to knee flexion, (stationary bike), strengthening all the support muscles around my knee (think lunges on the chair front and side), matwork (side leg kick series) and reformer (hamstring pulls, footwork). Regaining full extension and flexion as well as strength takes effort and consistency. Post op atrophy and weakness will be evident so get your knee as strong as possible prior to going under the knife. Something that has helped my arthritis has been a mini plunger. I apply suction to the top of my bare knee for 20-25 seconds and then remove. It elongates and untangles the gnarled up stuff in my knee. There is less crackling and odd relief. It was recommended by an orthopedic PT!! All the best to you.

Hi DeeDee, I am intrigued!! Where in the heck did u find a mini plunger?? I gotta look into this one.. thanks for all the helpful advise. I had my first PT today and could not believe how weak I was. Cant get into full extension yet so yea its gonna take some work on my part. Tried to get on Wunda yesterday but the extensions really still hurt.. my PT has no experience in pilates.. cant find anyone here who does..the icing and electrodes seemed to help since i do have a good bit of swelling still in the knee.. she taped it too so that gives me some support.. thanks guys!! Jamie

Jamie, just get a sink plunger from your local hardware or home improvement store. Some are actually nice looking with lucite handles. ;) Mind you, this is used miles down the road after your recovery!

Hi Jamie! I'm actually a PT and I did my Pilates teacher training at BASI back in 2002. I always incorporate Pilates into my PT treatments daily, in addition to teaching privates, semi-privates and mat classes. I contract at two clinics in Orange County, Ca (specifically in Orange and in Costa Mesa). Feel free to contact me if you have any questions ebethbailey@gmail.com .
Best of luck to you!
-Elizabeth Rogers