Another Knee Update… and Some Sit Spins!
I am about 8 weeks into my knee injury, and while I am pleased to say that it is getting better, it hasn’t fully healed yet. I can now squat with no pain, but my injured leg still cannot bear my body weight while fully bent.
Despite this setback, my physical therapist asked me to try a few sit spins on ice. I tried one during practice, and to my surprise, the sit spin did not cause any physical pain. I was able to easily get into my regular sit spin position. I tried it a second time and attempted going into the cannonball (pike) position. Once my body weight shifted forward for this spin variation, I encountered a sharp pain on the inside of my knee. I immediately stopped and haven’t tried a cannonball since.
I shared my accomplishment with my physical therapist, and he was thrilled to hear this. He also confirmed with the knee doctor that I probably had a minor meniscus tear since I wasn’t able to get into the cannonball position.With proper physical therapy, the tear should be able to heal on its own. I am trying to avoid surgery and medication.
While I have not attempted another cannonball spin, I have been doing 1 or 2 sit spins during each practice to build up my muscle memory and strength. I’m leaning towards not competing in the Gold Freestyle event that my local club is hosting this September. I do not want to re-injure myself or push my rehabilitation too quickly. Instead, I may enter the Dramatic and Duet events instead and enter another freestyle event sometime in the fall or winter.
All in all, the healing process is going much slower than I had hoped, but at least my knee is feeling better.