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Old 08-29-2010, 03:00 PM   #3
Michael Hackett
Dojo: Kenshinkan Dojo (Aikido of North County) Vista, CA
Location: Oceanside, California
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,253
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Re: Recovering from knee arthroscopy

I had my knee 'scoped on May 18th and am back on the mat without any problems. I still can't get all the way down into seiza, but can shikko and do suwari waza. Mine were torn menesci, so that is pretty benign by comparison.

I have three pieces of advice if you have the surgery:

1. You will come out of surgery and feel great for several hours and THEN the pain comes on when the analgesic they "squirt" into the joint wears off. Don't be a tough guy! Start taking the pain meds they give you before the pain sets in and it will be very manageable. If you don't, the pain will be impressive and the pain meds will be playing catch-up.

2. Do the physical therapy, do the physical therapy, do the physical therapy, and then do it some more. It will help you bounce back faster and it will give you something to focus on.

3. Talk to your PT doc about aikido and the movements you want to recover. Most have no idea what a tenkan is. Once they have an understanding of aikido movement, they can plan a regimen for your recovery. Also, be aware of your own body structure. I walk like a darned duck and the PT doc tried to get me restructured and that just didn't work very well. Perhaps if I were six or sixteen, they could have altered my natural stance and gait. Once we figured out that just wasn't working, the PT started to have real results.

Obviously each situation is different, but I think the tips I gave are fairly universal. Good luck on the surgery and hope you have a quick and uneventful recovery.

Michael
"Leave the gun. Bring the cannoli."
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