Week 4 Update (Knees, Skiing and Stem Cells: Part 4)

A bit like the Seahawks offensive line, the last three weeks have seen pretty steady improvement in my knees. Swelling is now pretty much gone, walking 99% pain-free. I’ve managed 5 spin class at the gym with resistance little more than a flat road equivalent, but a solid pace, and 20-minute sessions on an elliptical at pretty light resistance. Enough to cause a tad of body leakage, which makes me happy. Its good to earn a shower.

I’ve also had five sessions with Jenna, a physical therapist at the local MTI clinic. I’ve been really impressed with the service and treatment there, professional and informative and funny, and I’ve no doubt it’s been helpful. They did discover a ‘clicky’ – technical term – lump in the back of my left knee, which caused some consternation two weeks ago. Luckily, it wasn’t a stem cell inspired growth in the wrong place, just a small pocket of fluid from the injection. It has improved in two weeks and is all but gone now.

I’m still taking it super easy though. Walking slowly and carefully up and down stairs and downhill to minimize impact, and all exercise is gentle compared to my pre-injection intensity.  I’m doing lots of upper body work, but all sat or lying down. I even position the bench next to the weight rack so I can transfer the weights one at a time with minimal steps. Pathetic really 🙂

In summary, things are promising. Given the lack of stress on the knees, it’s hard to know if this is real stem cell-inspired progress or just an artifact of me doing very little for the first time in decades. This week I slowly start to turn up the exercise dial. Still nothing serious, but it should tell us all a little more about the state of things in my knee interiors. #fingerscrossed.

Week 1 Update (Knees, Skiing and Stem Cells: Part 3)

It’s a week now since the stem cell procedure. After leaving the clinic Thursday afternoon, I pretty much ate and went to bed early, armed with a painkiller or two.  Knees and back (extraction sites) were sore. Here’s how things have progressed during the week.

Day 1 (Friday): I didn’t leave the house. Knees were swollen like balloons, stiff and sore. My Fitbit gave me 1300 steps. The low for the year by about 7000!

Day 2: I made it out of the house!! A slow morning stroll to my local Broadcast Coffee at least enabled some fresh air to enter my lungs. Late afternoon we took the bus to downtown to meet some friends. The 10-minute wait for the bus proved too much and I had to sit on the sidewalk. Lyft home. 3623 steps.

Day 3: Woke up with a significant reduction in swelling in the right knee. The good news was balanced by a nasty tightness in the back of my left knee. I hobbled to Broadcast Coffee again, and then spent the afternoon watching the Seahawks stumble around in Arizona with my left knee on ice.  An early evening stroll to Standard Brewing for a beer and sandwich was a slow affair. 5286 steps.

Day 4: Back to work. It was a bus ride there and back. Walking to and from bus and around work gave me 7986 steps – woohooo!! The right knee actually looked like a knee. The left was still swollen, stiff and tight. Lots of ice applied.

Day 5: Day 4 replica … more work 🙂

Day 6: Finally my right knee swelling was minimal and it felt pretty good walking. The soreness in the back of my left knee was better, although still lurking. The swelling was finally going down. Broke 10K steps, so basic movement restored. No ice. Life looking up!

Day 7: Right knee looks almost normal. Left somewhat swollen, and feels kinda creaky. Soreness in the back minimal. Basically walking on the flat normally, and tentatively up and down stairs. Very slowly down the unavoidable hills of Seattle’s Central District and Capitol Hill.

So, one week down. In summary, the procedure was nastier than expected, but after 3 days and lots of coffee I’ve been pretty mobile.

To the gym today. Upper body only …