Quick Fix: Knee Injury

Wouldn't it be fun to come off a Vespa and have it land on my knee? Said Nobody, Ever.

Including me.

However, in the interests of not living a boring, unchallenging life, I headed off to learn how to ride a scooter. Seems, it had plans for me, which involved reminding me that a quick moving, heavy chunk of metal atop an engine can be extraordinarily heavy especially when it lands on your limbs.

The abridged version of the whole story is that I had a Vespa land on my knee and over the coming week, I continued to attempt to move on it and only made it more intensely sore and tender. Thankfully, I booked in with a physiotherapist near home and she went through a variety of tests to ensure nothing really dramatic had occurred. It was a lateral ligament stretched and my hyper-flexible right shoulder had sub-luxated. Apparently, due to a yoga injury over a decade ago, I regularly engage in sub-luxing my shoulder and my body awareness and ability to compensate ensures that it doesn't create impingement.

No wonder I go on and on about shoulder stability in classes.

Within two appointments, I've gone from walking and sitting in pain to being able to return to BodyPump (with plenty of modifications!), walking without issues and the bruising and swelling has gone down immensely. I am doing All The Things. In case you're wondering what All The Things are, here's my guide.

Fix My Injury STAT. I have no time or patience for this: the checklist.
Flexofytol
  • Book in with a physiotherapist. Make sure you feel confident with the person you're seeing though - if there's any doubts that they can help you, perhaps you'd be best to seek a referral to another practitioner either within the same practice or outside it. Don't be afraid to sever a relationship that doesn't feel right. I'm fortunate to have found a physiotherapist I really trust - knowing she has worked with elite athletes in the fields of football, gymnastics and dance really wins me over too. 
  • Do the at-home work. I know foam rolling and spiky ball and self-massage and the soda crystals and bandages are boring, but they're going to fix you. So just do it.
  • Use an all natural muscle rub. Sure, you could use highly medicated, expensive stuff like Voltaren and Nurofen gel but I assure you, I have had much better results with an all-natural, plant-based product my physiotherapist recommended and used in treatment. It's called Relievamed and it's made in Australia. It smells like eucalyptus and ginger. Totally calming.
  • Take curcumin supplements to prevent and treat inflammation. There's clinical evidence that supports the regular intake of curcumin supplements, especially in the treatment of arthritic pain. Any injury that results in muscle and joint swelling and pain, or even digestive bloating and discomfort, can be alleviated and prevented with good quality supplements. I take Flexofytol, which is high strength, fast absorbing and Australian made. Totally clean and pure, and leaves zero after-taste. Two  a day is perfectly enough.
  • Find other ways to move and train that don't further inflame your injury. I love to move. It is my physical and my mental health therapy! While it isn't ideal to have an injury, of course, in fact it can push you to get creative and find other ways to train that don't involve your usual routine methods. This is good. Embrace it.

Dance Medicine: Preventing Injury & Strengthening VMO

I saw the physiotherapist yesterday and he was very impressed with the strength I've built in my VMO (Vastus Medialis Oblique), the front thigh muscle that stabilises the knee. So many turn-out, straight leg lifts. It has made my abs burn like crazy to do them properly too. Bonus.
As they say though, the best cure is prevention. I don't want to put my joints at risk when I work in fitness and when I love training, teaching and the independence of free movement.
I also want to always be learning more about the body and how it works - the muscles, the bones, the brain. To that end, I have collected my tools and I want to share them with you.

Stretch and self-massage: So important when preventing an injury or just being able to move more freely, to stretch and also to massage and work into muscles that are feeling really tight. I have very tight glutes and hamstrings - especially after a couple of classes in a row. This can pull on my knee joint and also result in compensation with other muscles so that I'm feeling tense and sore.
While a foam roller is great for the ITB, I prefer a massage ball for glutes, back and feet.
My favourite way to use it is to come into a squat with my back against the wall. I place the bakball towards my mid-back and then I slowly come to standing and squat again, allowing the ball to roll up and down my spine. Eases out all those little niggles between the shoulder blades!
There are videos of how to use the bakballs for particular areas. I also take mine in the car and sit it either under my shoulder blades or into my lower back and press back into it. It presses into sore spots. If Drake or Diplo comes on, I end up doing a bit of a dance in my seat, which results in a mini massage. Recommended! 


Understand the muscles you use: Yesterday I asked my class to be curious about their bodies. I think we ought to be in wonderment every day at what we're capable of and the incredibly engineered machine that our body is! Having been through surgery and illness, I have so much appreciation for how the body wants to heal. It wants to perform. It loves movement. 
On my desk is Liane Simmel's Dance Medicine in Practice: Anatomy, Injury Prevention, Training. This is a guide to self-analysis, basic anatomy and injury prevention techniques. It also provides advice around training, nutrition and technique.
Liane Simmel is a former professional dancer who now runs her own clinic in Germany specialising in osteopathy and sports medicine. She also supervises strength and training programs for dance students and professional dancers. Dance Medicine $52.95 @ Taylor and Francis

I'll be attending to the chapters on hips and knees very closely! I'll also be continuing my VMO strengthening. Now, I have popped this video below to encourage you to work your VMO too. It not only helps with stabilising your knee but it also gives you great muscle definition in the front of the thigh (priorities?!) By the way, this is a very appealing trainer with a cool accent. You're welcome - my pleasure.




How to Cope With Injury and Illness When Fitness And Dance Are Your Life

Alongside death, moving house, losing a job and divorce, dealing with physical injury is considered one of the major threats to mental health.
Many, many years ago at the height of my manic hours of running, I would force myself to work through injuries to the point of being incapable of walking from my car to the kerb. I have come to a genuine appreciation of my body and what it can do now and forcing my body into a regime it can't cope with is a foreign idea to me, thank god.

For many who have a daily routine, who work in fitness or play a sport, injury can be isolating. Especially if you can't make the classes where you normally see the same people and it's a social communion that lifts your spirits.


Having strained both knees at the moment, I'm struggling with the mental and physical
consequences. I can't do my usual training routine and I've had to reduce my classes to enable recovery and healing time. Here are my coping strategies and whatever your injury, whatever impact it has on your professional or personal life, I hope these ideas help you.

1. Be sad! Don't feel like you have to puff your chest out, smile and shrug it off. You're not overreacting. This is your body and when it isn't performing as you want it to and it's even causing you pain, that IS sad. This is part of healing.

2. Get the information you need from a professional. Don't self-diagnose (oh, it's probably a twisted ankle, I think I fractured my... etc). See a physiotherapist, a doctor, a sport physiologist and diagnose exactly what the issue is. Then you can determine the best way to rehabilitate.

3. Plan your rehabilitation. Don't set exact timelines. You won't know for sure that your body will follow a set plan. But work out what you can do and what will still make you strong, flexible and able to spend time with others while not compromising your health and fitness.

3. Use the skills you have gained as an athlete, yogi, weightlifting pro in every other aspect of your life. Be strong, be determined, be committed.

4. Don't isolate yourself. Attend classes that you can participate in - even if you need to modify moves and even skip parts of.

5. See a counselor, psychologist, compassionate GP. Being able to talk about your fears, your struggles and your plans with someone who is trained to listen and support is so valuable.

As a barre instructor, I found this site fascinating. Common Dance Injuries by body area. As a hyper-extender (where I lock my knees back), I need to think about keeping flexion or a slight bend in the knees. Trying.
The following info comes from Harkness Centre for Dance Injuries.

Genu Recurvatum (Hyperextension)

" My knees extend way back, and now they’re painful."

Knee Injury Prevention Tip for Dancers

  • Strengthening the knee and hip muscles are critical to preventing overuse injuries. Strong, balanced muscles will help take strain away from the knee.
  • Stretching the knee and hip muscles are equally important in preventing overuse injuries. Stretching the quadriceps, hamstring, and hip muscles will help to make your muscles long and lean, and will reduce pull on the different knee structures.
  • Give your body time to rest and heal itself, otherwise damage can build up and cause chronic pain conditions.
  • Listen to your body! If it hurts after class, rehearsal or performance, the chances are you’ve irritated something by over-use. Ease off it, and give it time to heal, otherwise you may end up with an ‘–itis’ type overuse injury.
  • Fatigue sets in at the end of a long day of class and rehearsal. Continued strengthening of the knee and hip muscles is of the utmost importance to prevent injury when the body gets tired.
  • Use proper technique. Alignment in a plié should always be maintained such that the knee goes directly over the second toe. When the knee falls inside the second toe, it can put increased stress on structures in the ankle, knee, and hip.