PCL Recovery Exercises

This posting is my answer to Hamlet’s question in my previous entry. Since it’s longer than I’d expected (with pictures as well) and I’m now hoping that it could benefit other people as well, so I decided to put it as an entry on its own. Here it goes:

Hamlet said: .........do you mind sharing with me at least type of exercises u did during ur PT session? What did u do? Did u go to the gym? etc.

Hamlet (and other PCL survivors),

From your posting in Pam’s blog, I assume it’s been 6 months since your surgery. I hope you are progressing well. At this stage I was already mixing the Physiotherapy at the hospital with my own exercises at the rugby field.

Have you regained you full range of movement yet? Keep pushing, and ice it regularly especially after an exercise. I always knew my knee would not heal completely to its previous state prior to the incident, but one thing I really wanted was to regain full range of movement in my knee. I can’t imagine performing my prayers sitting down for the rest of my life. So despite the pain I kept pushing through till I finally regained full ROM, can’t remember when but after about 6 months I think I got enough bending in the knee to be able to perform my prayers sitting down (though not at full ROM but close enough, and with the associated pain that came while doing it).

As for doing the exercises, I was quite lazy to do it at home (with twins running around….very challenging). My therapy was mainly at the hospital twice a week and at the rugby field three to four times a week.

Exercises at the hospital (at about 5 month point) include:

~ Cycling. I gradually increased the resistance to develop my thigh and leg muscles which had shrunk significantly after the surgery. I normally cycled for about 30-45 minutes for each session.

~Steps. “Up & down” steps were very useful. How to describe this? It only has two levels of steps; let say you step up with your left, then up with you right and you are already on top of the stairs. Then you continue to step down. Repeat this for let say 5-10 minutes varying the way you step. It promotes bending of the knee and develops strength.

Steps similar to the ones I used

~Trampoline. I used to bounce on it with one leg on and the other leg off the trampoline.  I vary the bouncing going forward, side-ways and backward. I liked this exercise as it also made me sweat.

~Standing on a Half-ball. Standing on a flat surface suspended on top of a half ball helps especially to improve flexibility and balance.

~Standing on inclined surface. This is the easiest thing to do and you can vary the inclination based on your progress and tolerance to pain.

~Terra band. This rubber band may be used in various ways to provide resistance. I used it a lot. And they are colour-coded depending on their strength and elasticity. The strongest one is black, and I was taught to perform various exercises using them. You can do this at home as well, but unfortunately in my case, I didn’t do quite as often as I should (we are talking hundreds of reps for each type of exercise daily). I also bought a set of weights that can be wrapped around my ankle and I used it in similar manner as I would with terra bend.

The elastic terra rubber bands

~Water exercise. The hospital has a water therapy pool that generates waves at varying speed to provide resistance during the exercise. It was fun but I only managed to do it like 3 to 4 times.

~Gym sessions. I did a little bit of weight training, mostly doing “leg extension” (front and rear extension). Increase the weight gradually as your leg becomes stronger. I did this only for a short while (maybe up to 10 sessions) towards the end of my 9-month therapy at the hospital. Due to my work commitment, after 9 months I only did exercises at the rugby field while coaching my team. For exercises using weights, you’d better consult your PT staff as it involves a little risk depending on what exercise you perform. I think a gym rat like Pam may also give you some really good pointers on this one.

Leg extension machine

Exercise at the rugby field:

~Running. I ran circuits, varying the distance. Something like this: run 50m, walk 50m, run 50m and walk 50m. Increase the distance, the speed and the repetitions when you become more comfortable (never do sprint at this stage!! I have not done any sprint even today). I also ran sideways, zig-zag, backward, striding etc. I used to be a sprinter in secondary school and the knowledge did help me to be a bit more creative with the running exercises. I also used weights around my ankle and walk with them as I conducted rugby practice.  I eventually did hill exercises, climb a 1000ft+ hill and ran 5km with my players.

These exercises worked for me, but they are not the only ones.  Do consult the experts before attempting any of the exercises I mentioned.  You must know your body, your limit and your threshold for pain.

All the best to you Hamlet, and all you guys PCL survivors out there.

An Inspiring Blog - "My PCL Surgery"

I wrote an entry a while back about an injury to my PCL which occurred during a rugby practice (my blog entry titled My Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) Surgery). I wrote about the experience and my strife towards recovery after I decided to undergo a knee reconstruction surgery. The surgery has helped to improve my condition tremendously, although the journey to get to where I am today has been nothing but a real challenge.

Not long after I jotted in my PCL story, I stumbled upon a wonderful blog about a lady who experienced a similar situation. The blog rightfully known as “My PCL Surgery” outlines in great details her personal journey to recover from a PCL surgery. Known as "Skinnygurl" in her blog, the lady has captured the attention of people from the world over through her inspiring stories about her daily battle to get better after the surgery. I consider myself as one of her many fans now, and I draw a lot of strength and inspiration from her stories to move me forward in my own struggle towards recovery.

She has been kind enough to feature my PCL story in her blog. You can find her blog entry about me here. But more importantly, please take some time to browse through her stories in the blog. Her effort to document in intricate details her progress is really admirable as it clearly portrays her utter grit and determination to beat the injury. Her stories have definitely inspired me and I am hoping to do my bit to promote her blog to others. So, if you know anybody who is suffering from a PCL or an ACL injury, please introduce him/her to this blog. I hope this blog, “My PCL Surgery” which belongs to a friend of mine “Skinnygurl” will benefit others the same way it has benefited me. Thanks.

My 5 Day Trip To England

What the trip was about - AW159 aka the Wildcat

I just got back from a for 5 day trip to go to England. I was invited (together with my boss) to attend a seminar hosted by a company to introduce it's newly flown helicopter called the AW 159. The helicopter is another variant of the Super Lynx currently operated by the Malaysian Navy, only better and further enhanced in many aspects. The helicopter first flew in November 2009, and I was glad to I be amongst the 70 plus delegates from at least 10 countries who were privileged to witness the helicopter in flight.

The 13 hour flight to London was long, and I always find it hard to sleep in a long haul flight like that. The new seat called “Flatseats” by Skytrax that could be inclined all the way to become a bed did help, but still my sleep was restless. As a result, between the two round trips, I ended up watching three movies (The Twilight Saga-New Moon, Confession of A Shopaholic & the marathon Avatar) and managed to read a Dan Brown novel called Deception Point half way through.

A "Flatseat" similar to the one that housed me for 13 hours

The weather was not on my side as it rained almost the whole time. A typical English weather and a really wet one for sure. I was put up at a nice hotel called the Sumer Lodge at a small village called Evershot in Dorset. The village has a registered population of 181 and as the website mentions, “This population includes children, but not hotel workers and other temporary residents who do not get themselves on the electoral roll”. Despite its location, the hotel was extremely nice. Everything was impeccable, from its decorations which were given intricate touch to the last little details, to the staff who would go the extra mile to make you feel really pampered. The hotel had a fair share of brushing with movie celebrities as it was used to accommodate casts of the movie “Sense and Sensibility” and Gwyneth Paltrow was also there while filming the movie “Emma”. Hah..hah...had to look up this info in the internet after seeing Gwyneth’s photo proudly displayed on the hotel wall.

What the Summer Lodge would look like on a beautiful day

 

The best shot of the hotel building during my stay...shortly before heavy rain set in

I was mesmerised the moment I arrived.....at the hotel lounge

My posh English room

The Conservatory where I enjoyed a wonderful English breakfast

Gwyneth's photo was on the hotel's wall

The seminar was a long one day event. The whole morning session was crammed with presentations and talks by various people who gave us insights to the project which was developed to provide replacement helicopters for the UK Mod Navy & Army Lynx fleet. Immediately after lunch we were ushered to the flight line for a wonderful 15 minutes of standing in the rain session to watch the Trial Helicopter’s flight demo. It was wonderful but since the helicopter was fitted with the same engine as our navy’s Super Lynx and looked somewhat the same, the flight profile was nothing new to me. It was the gadgets inside that I was interested to know more about. Cold and a bit damp, we then went in for a closer look at the helicopter inside the hangar which was fortunately nice and warm. Apart from seeing the various systems fitted to beef up the aircraft, we were also introduced to some of the major systems manufacturers who gave further illustrations of what their equipments were capable of. The day was concluded with visits to the simulator and the training centre. As a whole, the event succeeded in showing the AW 159 or Lynx Wildcat as a lean and mean fighting machine for the UK Mod. The question that remains to be answered is whether it can be a lean and mean machine for the potential foreign customers as each has its own set of requirements and specifications. Unfortunately folks, the whole premises were understandably highly restricted and nobody was allowed to take photos except for the company’s designated photographer. So I have no photos for the seminar to share.....bummer.

The formidable UK Army and Navy versions of the Wildcat

Tired and still a bit jetlagged, the suggestion by our host Peter to dine at a local pub that evening was a very welcomed gesture. The dinner at this only pub in town called the Acorn Inn was very relax and cosy, thanks to the law that prohibits smoking in public and work places. It was a wonderful evening in the company of a kind host, great food and equally great company.

The cozy and smoke free Acorn Inn

A nice evening out in the little village's pub

My work was not over as the following day I was scheduled to meet with the company’s Customer Support representatives to discuss various issues related to our Super Lynx. I told our host Peter that the meeting should not take more than one and a half hour but as it turned out, we took a good extra one hour to finish it. Wow...two mugs of coffee and almost non-stop discussion, I didn’t anticipate that.

The company's Customer Support team that has worked closely with me

With that meeting over and done with, there was no more work to worry about and it was time to make a quick trip to a factory outlet called the “Clarks Village” located about 30 minutes drive away. A fairly small factory outlet, and as the name reflects, the main attraction is obviously Clarks shoes at factory outlet prices. There were many other brands there including Cotton Traders, Timberland, UCB, Marks & Spenser, Adidas, Nike etc. After two hours of “quick” shopping, we were driven to London to check-in at a Malaysian hotel called the Holiday Villa.

The Clarks Village is well known for its cheap......you guess it, Clarks shoes:)

It was well after 7pm when we arrived at the hotel, just in time for a quick change before going down to the restaurant next door called Lagenda Restaurant. It was a “balas dendam” session as I devoured a whole plate of Nasi Goreng Kampung and a side order of fried chicken, which were nicely downed with Soy Bean Cincau and then, Nescafe Tarik. The evening was while away with watching a football drama on TV featuring Arsenal's great come back to level Barcelona 2-2 in their first leg of the Champions League quarter final.

The Holiday Villa Hotel

The Nasi Goreng Kampung at the Lagenda Restaurant was a much welcomed treat

Based on our flight details, we had until late afternoon the next day to see a little bit of London and a short “tour” of the famous Oxford Street. The early morning was nice with lots of sunshine when we made our way to the nearest Tube station. The early spring scene at the St James's Park was beautiful as we took a stroll from Buckingham Palace to the Horse Guards, and then slowly finding our way to the Houses of Parliament and the Thames River. The weather took turn for the worse when we arrived at the Oxford Street. But it didn’t dampen our spirit and our tired legs were push to pave almost the whole stretch of the busy shopping street to look for bargains....not that we had much money to spend anyway. We had to brave the rain at the end as we made our way back to the Holiday Villa just in time to pack all our stuff and take a nice long shower. The transport from the Embassy arrived right on time and we were on the way to the airport shortly after 6pm.

Early spring at the St. James's Park

At the Horse Guards

Big Ben looming in the background

Basking in the hustle and bustle of the Oxford Street

I got home shortly after midnight on Friday. It’s been a nice trip and I’m glad to be back with my beloved wife and kids again. I have to write a report of the trip now, minus all the details about hotels, the Clarks Village, the spring scene in London and the tour of the Oxford Street of course. I was rewarded upon my return with a fine rugby match as my Navy ORCA boys overran their opponents 34-0 this afternoon. The 5 day trip to England is history now........I can smell it’s going to be a chaotic week come Monday.....I can’t wait!!!!!

The Navy Mini Olympics 21/2010 – Rugby Final

Every two years the Navy holds a sports carnival called the Mini Olympics. For a period of about 10 days, RMN personnel participate as players, coaches, organisers or simply staunch supporters for the more than 25 sports that are being played. The “Navy People” are divided into four Formations known as the Fleet, the Fleet HQ, the HQ Support and the Naval Education & Training Command (NETC).

The Fleet HQ March Pass Team During the Opening Ceremony of the Mini Olympics

I am part of the Fleet HQ but as the Chairman of the Navy Rugby Association (Navy ORCA), I am supposed to remain a neutral party. My main task is to organise the rugby tournament which includes making sure the facilities are all set to host the 6 scheduled rugby matches. Not a problem as I have all the assistance I need. I am also the Chairman of the Appeal/Technical Board, responsible in handling any protest/appeal, as well as determining the level of punishment for any red card offence.

The rugby tournament came to a successfully ending today. The Fleet HQ deservedly emerged as the Champions showing a very dynamic Game Plan on the way to beating the HQ Support in the final. The tournament format only allowed each team a maximum of 5 Navy ORCA players to be on the pitch at any one time, forcing teams to use either junior players, previously “retired’ players, or in an act of desperation, even new players to make up the rest.

The two teams going head-on in the final

It was a dream final. The best of Navy ORCA players were divided between the two teams. Teammates were formidable rivals for 70 minutes. Forget my Navy ORCA game plan, their minds were only set on one thing; being crowned as the Mini Olympics Champions while earning the bragging right over the losing side for the next two years!!!!! The final was closely contested for most of the game, and the Fleet HQ only managed to increase the lead significantly towards the later part of the second half.

Emotions were running high, and at some points little “brawls” almost erupted between some of the players. Yellow cards were flashed resulting in a few players spending 10 minutes in the sin bin. Adrenaline rush sometimes triggers temperamental reactions and in the hype of a competition; common sense may not always prevail. There were deafening screams from the spectators which were further amplified by the thunderous beating of big drums by each formation. It was just electric!!! I know some people may have a different opinion about what they saw today. It was a brutal final alright. There were some really crunching tackles, but unlike the first day when two players ended up needing medical attention, every player in today’s final came out okay except for some bumps and bruises which I’m sure will heal in the next few days.

The Fleet HQ Team Captain receiving his medal from the Fleet Commander.

I for one really enjoyed the game. There were plenty of wonderful moves throughout the game and some of the tries scored were really incredible. The Fleet Commander and his wife were there and I believed they got what they came for.....a spectacular final full of actions and drama from the word ‘go’. I am very proud of all my Navy ORCA players who took part in the final. They played instrumental roles for their teams and it was somewhat cruel that only one team could be declared as the winner. At the end, I was extremely glad...and relieved, to see my players embracing their opposite numbers as Navy ORCA brothers, and all the rivalry, the crunching hits, and the battle scars were things of the past that they could talk and laugh about.

Both teams are Navy Orca brothers again

And yes...boys will always be boys!!!!!!

I LOVE THIS GAME!!!!!!!!!!

My family with Dato' Kamarul & Datin Azrina

The Real Malaysian Idols

Nicol David just won the KL Squash Open today and Lee Chong Wei was last week the singles champion of the All England badminton. I consider these two as true Malaysian sports idols. They are World No. 1 in their respective fields but that’s not the reason why I adore them. I love them because they are the template for true sports heroes. Both have all the attributes I imagine in a champion. Good attitude, good fighting spirit, very competitive, very focus and above all, they consistently display inspiring persona of true champions.

Chong Wei fighting spirit is admirable

I love watching these two on TV. I know both will not disappoint me no matter whether they win or lose. Lee Chong Wei lost miserably in the Olympic final, but I was okay with it because I knew he gave his best against Lin Dan. And as we expected, he has bounced back hungrier than before. Nicole has been consistent in winning most tournaments but she too had some losing spell last year. But it did not seem to affect her focus en route to winning the KL title. How does she do it maintaining her No.1 title almost unbroken for 5 years? Incredible feat isn’t it?

Nicol in action dominating her opponent

How do they get to become who they are? I do not personally know these two personalities. I only heard details from the game commentators and news I read in the newspapers about what kind of training regime such champions go through. The sacrifices they make, including personal ones. Blood, sweat and tears that they have shed to arrive at the highest pedestal’s of their sports. As I watched Chong Wei when he went around the arena celebrating his hard fought win in the final against his Japanese opponent, I felt proud and elated to see a true Malaysian idol.

If you look at these two individuals, they seem to be really humble and down to earth. They are not arrogant in their speech, and above all, they are very much respected all around, even by their opponents. So Malaysian, we should seek individuals like these to become our idols. Forget Malaysian Idols, AF, Mentor…… and the likes (I don’t even want to list Bintang Kecil……don’t even want to get started). Save your energy, reserve your cheers and screams for real idols like Lee Chong Wei and Nicol David.

These are the real Malaysian Idols

The latest photo of the Real Malaysian Idol "borrowed" from Nicol's FB

Life is wonderful

Life is wonderful. When all hopes seem to have vanished, all of a sudden, out of the blue, a silver lining appears. I encountered this experience recently. Wow…what an experience it was. The whole episode re-affirms what I’ve always believed…..”Just do your best, have faith and leave the rest to fate”. It’s not always easy when the odds are not really in your favour. But I’m glad I did not give up. I did not wallow in self pity…..and now, looking back I think I’ve also learned some invaluable lessons. Trying to capture the positive ones always, and l hope I’ll become a better person in the process.


And life goes on…..and I know there are more obstacles ahead. I hope I’ll always be ready for them. Alhamdulillah for your continued guidance and blessings.

No update...??? Huh??

Too much going on lately.....can't even squeeze a little time to jot an entry into this blog. A lot of things to say though, but I'm worried by the time I get around to share the stories they will be yesterday's news. I'm content nonetheless, as I've learned a heck of a lot these past few weeks. Here are some of the highlights:

~ My sister got engaged yesterday. And I had the honour of representing the family during the ceremony (jadi wakil for my family ler kiranya......what an experience). I even recited a couple pantun. Adik & Ayoi...the pantun are now forever etched in cyberspace. Here they go:

• Ayoi pemain bola handalan
• Julie pula cikgu sekolah kebangsaan
• Apa yang dihajat sudah dibuat perjanjian
• Sama-sama berdoa jadi kenyataan

•  Dari Kuala Pilah hajat dibawa
• Kami di Puchong sudah menerima
• Hidangan ala kadar telah tersedia
• Sama-sama kita menjamu selera

I had a buzzing headache leading to the occasion, but it was completely gone shortly after the ring was put on her finger. Another wonderful side effect of stress I guess.  Congrats adik....

~ My rugby team lost in the quarter final of a tournament despite performing splendidly in opening round. Struggled initially to come up with something positive out of the bitter experience......but now I'm as eager and as hungry as ever (can only indulge in self pity for so long right...?).

~ Overwhelmed with work.....and I like the feeling of being productive. Stress....that's a given.

~ Had a personal encounter with one of the ugliest sides of human behaviour.....EGO. My God.....some people just have it in abundance.

~ Similarly, ignorance sometimes is not a bliss....especially when it's coupled with EGO.  Ignorance + EGO = Recipe for disaster.  Some people sure found it the hard way.

~ Discovered that a simple diversion (in my case realising that Liverpool is my Grandad's favourite team....never knew that) could do wonders when you least expect it.

~ Children say the funniest things.....aren't they the greatest.

~ Haven't played much golf......now I'm wallowing in self pity:).

~ Mesmerised by the little things.....a beautiful sunset, a quiet afternoon by a river, my children's innocence, brilliant talks, sincerity...

~ Got myself a Blackberry today.......don’t even know how to use it. The new Celcom Executive Plan will only be effective in a few days and I’ll be away till Thursday....good execuse to wait till the weekend to play with it. Facebook on the go, and no more excuse for not reading an email sent to me......is that a good thing? I’ll soon find out.

It’s way past 1am and I’m due to travel at 5.30am tomorrow. I guess 3 hours of sleep should suffice...no? I want to always be positive but sometimes it’s not that easy....I’m lethargic, but my spirit is still pretty high....Alhamdulillah