Sunday Story…Recovery

This morning someone asked me what the recovery is for knee surgery of this nature. The answer is difficult. According to my doctor and all the literature the recovery to full range of motion is 6 months and 1 year to full 100% recovery.

The problem with these numbers is they represent an average result over a large population. In other words, your results will vary! At this point, I am 6 weeks or so post-op. I have been probing the edges of what is possible. There is no blueprint for this process.

I have restarted my 15-minute GoWod mobility work with some precautions (no 2 minutes in the bottom of a deep squat yet!). I’ve continued to do the prescribed exercises from the physical therapist. This is particularly important because those exercises have been proven to be beneficial. They are “low-hanging fruit.” Easy to do (for me), yet you can push into the pain cave on certain movements to continue to improve.

According to my physical therapist, I am far ahead of anyone he has ever seen. Most people don’t have the desire to do more than get off the couch and go to the bathroom independently. I have a snowboarding trip scheduled for early March, just over 3 months post-op. Oh and don’t forget the CrossFit Open starts on February 27 ^th . I have a 13-year streak I don’t want to break!

Recovery, like many things, is determined by how hard you are willing to push, how much pain you can endure, and how badly you want to get back to 100%. All of that and not going too far over the edge that sets your progress back. This is where the rubber meets the road. Can you push to the limit and not fall off the edge?

John Mariotti

www.sunday-styories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

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