Let's walk. Okay, perfect.
I feel quite emotional because I've not walked for almost four months.
That feels like a major, major, major moment.
It is. Yeah.
Hi, and welcome back to some more Rick-overy progress.
It does feel like running and being active, and to be honest, just walking normally is a distant memory,
but I think it's all starting to fall into place.
And so hopefully I should be hitting some big milestones in this update.
I am so excited for the next part.
I know it's going to be tough and there's a lot of work for me to do,
but to get back to a sense of normality will make it all worth it.
Now I've got to say I've been blown away by the
amount of support each video in this series has got,
and it is so lovely to see The Running Channel community coming together and
really boosting my mood
when at times this has been really quite difficult.
So thank you so much for commenting, liking,
sending in messages and just being really supportive as a community.
If you're not already subscribed, then go on, what are you waiting for?
Hit that subscribe button and solidify your part in this wonderful community
that we've built.
We are close to 500,000 subscribers on the channel.
And I guess the question is what's going to come first - 500,000, or my first
5k? Well keep watching to find out.
So today's a really exciting day and it feels like a really big milestone.
I'm going to be taking my first steps and
full weightbearing for the first time in months.
I'm not scared.
I'm fearful of the pain,
meaning that the surgery has not worked. So,
you know, I'm looking forward to doing it because I know if this works,
it's going to transform my day-to-day life a lot,
but I'm just worried that significant pain
means that I haven't moved on. But anyway,
I'm positive. So let's do this. Let's walk,
I'm desperate to walk.
Hey, how are you doing? One crutch. Good work. One crutch.
That's what I like to see. Yeah. It's, uh, it's been all right.
Like I feel like I'm really, really looking forward to be able to walk again.
Yeah, I can, I can, I can imagine. I see a lot of people, you know,
recovering from this type of surgery and we've had a lot of comments, um,
on the videos about how did you get to this stage?
So should we have a chat about, you know, how things progressed and, and,
and how we've got to do the surgery? Yeah.
I'm not surprised because people were probably worried and thinking I don't want
to get to that just through running. Yeah.
So I suppose what's key is that I had a hyperextension of my knee,
uh, 18
years ago playing rugby and that
caused- I had some nerve damage and I had an operation on my knee then,
and that put that knee more at risk of damage from running.
And then I've had, you know, 15 years or so of running on that since then,
where I have not been doing enough strength exercises
on my leg to build it up. So I've been running, keeping really fit,
keeping really healthy, but not doing the strength exercises,
which are obviously really important.
And then the third trigger for this has been lockdown.
And that's what the surgeon told me because I was always someone who ran very
much on trails.
I've always been a trail runner or the races I've been doing have
been a mixture of hard paths and trails.
Lockdown has seen me for the first time in years start all my runs,
like many of us start all our runs from our front door.
So I've been going out and I've been hitting pavements the whole way.
That's been a change. And that is what has caused- been the trigger for my,
for the chondroplasty and getting down to bone on bone.
The key thing to understand is that we have to look after ourselves. Okay.
So strength work is so crucial and that's how we do it here at The Running
Channel. And, um, we really need to make sure we maintain our muscle strength.
So we have changes in our muscles as we,
as we are starting to get into our later years. So what can happen is we can,
um, prevent the, the,
the muscle reduction and the weakness in our muscles over the years as,
as we get older. So, um, those age-related changes
we can actually halt them. I always say to people,
your strength and your health is like swimming upstream.
You keep moving your arms.
You need to stay at one place or hopefully you'll go upstream.
If you do nothing, you'll go downstream. So remember that guys. I liked that.
Yeah. Third thing you, um, highlighted was yes,
uh, terrain is important, so running on different terrain is crucial,
but I just want to challenge you on something.
Do you think running on pavement and hard paths is bad for your knees?
I think I've been led to think that way.
I think we need to also have a think about that because we know that something
called the ground reaction force,
so that's the force that comes from the ground, is definitely quite high when
you're running on hard ground,
but actually running on soft ground is extremely challenging for your joints.
Do you know why? Because you're on an unstable surface,
your foot is moving and your muscles have to work harder to give you that stability. But haven't I
got more give? There is an element, yes, of your joints having,
having some support or softer, softer surface,
but your muscles and your joint stability, it's actually being challenged.
So there is an element where we have to vary this.
So we have to vary running on soft ground,
but we also have to understand that completely on soft ground will challenge
your joints. It's quite challenging and difficult for your joints.
I think that's where I've been going wrong, mate,
because I have just been running on hard ground now for a year, you know,
a year, and going on for a year and a half. So I've not been varying it enough.
And I'm sure there are loads of people who've not been varying it enough as well.
But I think that the thing, the thing that's very unique with your,
with your situation is that you've had an initial trauma. Yeah.
And then after that trauma you've continued to play sport,
but maybe without the, um, additional support of, you know... Definitely. This is-
No definitely. The physio, the strength work, the conditioning. Mate,
that is something I'm definitely going to take forward in the future.
I am going to be working on strengthening and conditioning. Good. Good.
I want to walk.
You gonna do this? Let's walk. Okay. Perfect.
You're here, you're ready. Yeah. Ready for the first few steps.
Time to put full weight through the leg. Okay, cool. Um, how are you feeling
first of all, are you feeling excited?
So I've done all my exercises, as far as the straight leg lifts the,
using the bands to build up the strength in the knee and to try and get
my quads activated again, but Manni, they are flickering.
My quads are flickering because they've forgotten a little bit, how to work.
That can happen. Um, and, and that's why you're here.
And that's why we're gonna get you, get you going and get you doing a few steps.
Okay. First things- Am I getting rid of this? Yes, we will do. Not just yet.
Not yet. Okay. First things first, keep your hand in there. Yep. Perfect.
So I want your feet parallel. Okay. So in clinic,
what we really like people to do is be really competent on two legs. Okay. Yeah.
So all I want you to do is bend both those knees for me, bend both these knees.
Good. And come back up to the top. That one's shaking. Okay.
And back up to the top. Yeah. Take it easy. Nice and slow. Okay.
And slowly back down. Lovely.
And back up to the top there's pain in the patella. Okay. Okay.
Just take it nice and controlled and pain level, how,
how painful would you say it is? 5/6 in the area of the meniscal tear. Okay.
And slowly back up 5, 4, 5. Okay. Okay.
So what we need to do is also something called contralateral training.
So if we train this leg. Yeah. It can help educate your,
your operated limb. So what we're going to do,
you're going to stand on your right leg for me. Yeah. Okay. Excellent.
So what we- that one's good. It's fine. Nice.
[inaudible]
Okay. Shall we take the crutch away? Good man. Okay.
So all I want you to do is something called a mini squat.
All you're going to do is you're going to bend this knee for me. Good.
And back up. Good. So what we're trying to do,
we're telling the mirror neurons in your brain, okay,
we want this to happen on your operated limb. Okay.
So by doing it on the leg you haven't had an operation on,
we're just giving it some education. Same again on your right side.
Good and back up. Okay. Two more.
Good. Last one. Lovely. Okay.
Back on, back on both. Yep. Same again, just three more,
really nice and slowly relaxed. Good. And back up.
Well done. Two more and back up. Good.
Don't know what to do with this hand. And relax. Good man.
Okay. Yeah. Good. Good.
So we need to walk without the crutch, don't we?
We do. Because you have progressed and this is the time. Because not walked
for almost four months. Okay. Rick, I think you've got this.
Yeah. I think we really can do this walk without the crutch. Okay. Okay. So, um,
we're going to do some practice walks with the crutch and we're going to talk
about your gait. So this is called gait re-education. So again, you're,
you're going to use the crutch on your right hand side.
The crutch comes forward along with your left heel. Good.
So heel toe strike. Excellent. Heel toe strike.
Lovely and stop there. Yeah. I'm really confident.
I think you're looking good there with that gait.
So shall we try without the crutch? Excellent. I'll take the crutch away.
So just making sure you're using that right arm to bring you through.
So your right time comes through left. Heel comes through. That's it.
Nice gate education. There you go. Nice. Well done. Good.
And just come through a little bit smoother, a little bit. That's it.
A little bit more relaxed.
Try and bend that left knee softer with the left knee. Good. Okay.
And now nice and slow and controlled. I want you to turn to your left.
So we're going to use that left leg to turn, that's it.
So this can be sometimes difficult when somebody who's had surgery. Good man.
That's it, same again. That was really, really good. That's it. Good.
So left foot forward. Excellent. Good man.
Well done. Got a little bit of a uphill here, which is good for you.
That's it. So one thing we need to try and do is not to turn your left foot out towards me.
Okay. Keep it parallel. I feel quite emotional. Really well done.
Like that's- I know first time off the crutch.
Really good. It's only 10 metres, but... You know,
that's a really good achievement. Really good.
Back on the road to recovery. Here we go, Rick. I mean, it hurts a bit,
but. That's okay. We'll just,
we'll just, as long as your pain stays within under five-
I look, I look like I'm doing a rendition of the Beatles at Abbey Road
but- We need the zebra crossing, don't we. There we go.
Rick is back. There you go. I wish I could turn around quickly.
Don't do that, Rick. Please don't do that. Okay. Here you go. Crutch back.
Well done. That was really, really good. Thanks. So the key principles
there are heel strike,
and then you want to just allow your foot to land and toe off and try not to
turn your foot away, okay,
because we don't want rotation in that lower part of your leg. Okay,
that's really important. And when you're turning, just take small steps.
Mate, give me a hug. We're allowed to. We're allowed to now. That was a moment.
That was a real moment. Feeling good. Yeah. Good.
It feels so good to be able to, and it was just... Few steps.
I keep thinking of kind of, moonwalks just a few small steps for Rick,
but my God just like just, wow.
I just feel really good. Good. That feels like a major, major, major moment. It is.
Today felt like a really big step mate. Yeah.
That was great. Really good work. I'm really happy
with that. So we are now 8, 9 weeks post-op.
What should I be doing as far as getting myself up to get enough steps in the day?
So we want to gradually increase your steps that you're doing,
because we know that if you can walk pain-free,
that will start to build towards increasing the amount
of load we put through your legs.
And that's crucial for us to start thinking about jumping and
hopping. And once we start thinking about that,
we can start planning how we get back to running, okay? So, um, we want to,
I think a goal,
a good goal is 7,500 steps a day within the next
five weeks. We want to be doing that without a crutch.
How'd you feel about that?
7500 steps at this moment in time feels like a lot of steps.
Yeah. It's a challenge, and- Because I'm going from about 3000
over the last three months. Uh, and that's just on,
obviously that's on a crutch. Yep.
But what we do know is that at this point,
you're going to start feeling your muscles come back to life.
You remember you talked about the flickering, the flickering,
yeah so you'll start to feel that the muscles really, really start to ignite.
And also, once you're getting to this later stage of recovery,
you do get a really nice incline and increase in, in your speeds. Speeds.
Exactly. So what about exercises? So exercises,
I think we need to work on, on bilateral.
So we need to use both legs at the moment.
And if we can add some weight so you can hold some dumbbells and we can do some
squats, that will be brilliant. Once we've done that,
we can start building you up to unilateral using one leg and doing some of the
mini squats like we did earlier.
And those are going to be great to just isolate the muscles and really give you
some stimulus in that, in those legs, okay. So I suppose the question
people are asking me already is
when am I going to run again? When am I going to race again?
Now I have doubts about my ability to
race again. P- you know,
people in the medical profession have told me that they've got doubts about
my ability to race again.
I'm going to give it all a go, a full go and doing everything I can.
And I would love to, if I could, by
you know, mid, late summer be able to get out again.
Yeah. I think we have to make sure we're criteria based and goal based.
So we have to look at the goals we've talked about and make sure you reach those
goals. Um, you,
you haven't invested heavily in strength work before.
So we have to look at that. I haven't fixed the foundations.
We have to look at the foundations, okay. Um,
our health has built on some real fundamental things and, and you know,
we need to get your fundamentals back.
You need to render the house, get the foundations right.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We need to do a bit of architectural design on your body. Yeah.
I need to lose a bit of timber. Well, listen, when you get muscle,
you will put on some weight as well. So don't worry about it. Yeah. Um,
so what I would say is that we will have doubts about where the, you know,
where you are now and how we progress.
But the first thing we need to do is make sure you hit certain criteria,
make sure you get some strength. Um,
and we need to just see how you progress over time.
I would say end of the summer is a tentative goal, but I would probably look,
be looking more, more towards October or November. Yep. Um,
simply because you have maybe never done any strength work.
So it's going to be quite a new stimulus for your body.
We need to make sure that you progress and you feel, you know,
you feel that your body's going in the right direction and you can tolerate the
challenges that we'll probably put you under.
Get myself in shape. Operation Rick. Yes, let's go.
Thanks mate. No worries. See you soon.