I have got to say it does not matter how old or experienced you are clock watching / calendar watching just burns brain cells unnecessarily and adds weight to stress levels. No matter how much you tell yourself stop, you just cannot help yourself. I have tried hard not to look too far forward but I find myself drifting post Mon 21st September… Fracture Clinic with my Consultant, Peter Hull.

Mental Aspect…

Again, a positive week as I reach the end of this incredibly frustrating non-weight bearing phase. I have not allowed myself any negative thoughts about ‘what if the fracture has not healed correctly’ (until now… ha ha). I know I have stuck to the prescribed plan, worked hard with the Compex use, included subtle exercises with resistance bands, thrown in the Theragun and all that has allowed my mind to be at ease with the progression. Whether I could have pushed the boundaries further or not is not really a thought, this feels right to me based on all my historic post-surgery recovering exploits.

With so much time on my hands you do find yourself momentarily drifting off to all those negative places that need thought and action. COVID and its restrictions have knocked employment out of the ballpark and some of the other consequences I have hinted at in previous blogs. My head space will flitter from outright defiance to ‘oh shi*’ we are totally ‘cattle tracked’. Influenced by conversations with my coach Dave, who popped over with a visit this week, and a realisation that this is not something that I could have controlled or influenced I am in that accepted frame of mind that life has changed… both physically and now practically and it is time to be creative.

Health, fitness and wellbeing is my priority, with that I can challenge my mental state head on… the old adage ‘fit body, fit mind’ makes a whole lot of sense to me… and something that I would absolutely encourage. My immediate thoughts are aligned to gaining back my whole-body fitness and channelling energies in that direction, the rest of my ‘baggage’ will follow, and I can deal with that as & when.

 

Recovery…

So far so good… No surprise that I feel focused, sleep is still impacted by nerve activity and being restricted to sleeping on my back.

If you picture the ‘Northern Lights’… rays of light bouncing in the sky with the intense bursts of colour, those visual pictures are how this nerve activity feels. I assume that this intensity and sometimes restrictiveness will lessen as time progresses. The interesting aspect will be to gauge from my consultant if I am where he expects me to be…

The hip movement restrictions and the lack of muscle intensity affected by atrophy will be the next exciting challenge. It will be uncomfortable, it will be sore, it may well hurt but as I keep saying, “this is nothing that I have not been through before”.

I remember when I was 7 years old, when I ripped my arm off, I was confined to my bed for months because of the extent of the injury and the multiple surgeries. I lost all my leg muscles (not that I had much at that age) but I do vividly remember my then full upper body plaster coming off and then the physiotherapists sitting me up and swinging my legs over the side of the hospital bed. As I straightened up vertigo set it, feeling nausea and dizzy. As the two physios balanced me off the bed down onto my feet my legs forgot what their purpose were and just gave way. Caught by them I was encouraged to steady myself and bang I promptly threw up everywhere… thereafter each day was a progression, encouraged by tiny little steps. These vivid memories totally supress any negativity I have today. I have a reference point, a benchmark to remind me that I have done this before. Modern medicine, knowledge, equipment has moved light years ahead from those 1975 times… I need to leverage everything I can to avoid issues going forward and prepare the body to heal and beyond.

Rehabilitation…

Ruled by one word… Routine…!!!

• Nerves : Compex ‘TENS / Capillarisation / TENS’… 1 hour 5 mins repeat 3 times per day
• Atrophy : Compex ‘Strength 1’… 28 mins both thighs.
• Resistance bands / exercises… 30 mins mat work
• Theragun… 10 mins

Ideal for me when the Tour de France is playing live on the TV, so whilst some will say it must be boring, accepting that I am non-weight bearing, I can multi-task.

I am learning quite fast the practicalities of the Theragun & Compex…

Theragun I used extensively for recovery from exercise, I now am using for recovery from surgery. I have set up a ‘YouTube’ account and will do a product test video explaining the difference, hopefully it will help others understand the subtle differences in its use.

Compex has a Compex Coach app that informatively directs you to its programmes. Something of this nature, if misused, could cause complications so the source material is informative, articulate and needs to be read and understood. The onus is on the user to use the product correctly and with Ben Wright’s direction I have utilised his practical experience to great effect.

Patience and listening to your body are also attributes that I have understood more as I get older and embraced practically this time around. It has been very tempting to push the boundaries… get back on the bike, take the odd step walking, be less patient getting around. This time it is different because of the significance of the injury and its complexity. Do things right this phase and it affords a strong platform to move the next phases forward and have some fun working hard. Plus, I have Lola bending my ear at every opportunity “SLOWLY DAD”.

 

 

What have I learnt this time around…?

• Strength of body, without a doubt.
• Lola is capable of living on her own.

Previously, I have spent much of my time focusing on saddle time and whilst I did a couple of sessions a week on the core and upper body to tick things over, I never saw this as a necessity. Sitting here reflecting I now fully appreciate the reliance I have upon the rest of my body; I have been fortuitous that I have been fit enough to get through this phase. It has certainly influenced my thinking and approach going forward and within my rehabilitation regime I will be working on the whole-body fitness with supplementary turbo sessions. Not to say I will be holding back on the cycling, but I will be pushing longer and harder on the whole of the body.

As this non-weight bearing phase comes to an end and my next active phase is about to begin, I am under no illusion that this is going to be a quick turn around in fitness. Initially I was told that these types of injuries can take up to 12 months recovery time. More typically I have read (ah, the powers of the internet) that 6 months if you listen and have the support network. Reading articles and shared experiences, the state of mind together with a structured rehab programme are important factors to hit my goals… my next immediate goal is to walk properly, unaided and without a limp.

 

In other news… my Blue Badge assessment returned a ‘you satisfy the requirement for a blue badge’… Essex CC have finally conceded that the damage I have done to my body over time warrants some assistance now & again.

Sadly, the Tour de France will finish today… it has been my ‘recovery buddy’ and part of my daily routine. You would have seen professionals pushing fitness boundaries, you would also see crashes and significant injuries… but they bounce back, that is what we do. Add into yesterdays once in a lifetime performance by Tadej Podacar and this edition of the TdF is certainly not something I will be forgetting in a hurry. You have got to love the sport of Cycling… !!!!

Pssst… Did I mention that I have one day to go…? It is like waiting for Christmas morning.