My physical therapy has hit a different stride. I’m off the ankle weights and “extend and hold for five seconds, thirty repetitions” stuff. I’m on the machines. Leg press, leg extension, thigh adductor/abductor, and just today I started on the elliptical. Five minutes at high speed was enough to leave me drenched in sweat, but after icing my knee I was walking better than I have in months. Putting my knees through a solid workout never fails to leave them feeling great. The only downside to this is that I’m only doing physical therapy sessions for my left knee because it was the only one that was in really super terrible shape. My right knee also needs work, but I’m having to do that on my own, and now that I’m beyond the stuff I can do at home I need to start hitting the gym to rehab that side. Right now my left knee is actually better off than my right.

I had my first physical therapy session today and it went pretty well. I went in on Monday for an evaluation and my trainer gave me some stretches and exercises to do at home, then scheduled me for three sessions a week. I’m to continue taking the anti-inflammatories, continue icing the knee two or three times a day, do my exercises, and avoid excess stress. There’s no way to tell exactly how long I’ll be unable to train. The general rule of thumb is “until the pain is gone,” which is going to be different for each case. I’m still betting on a couple months, which would put me back in training in mid-December.

The good news is that I feel like I’m responding well to the therapy. I did all my exercises with a 2lb ankle weight today, along with a bunch of these, plus ten minutes on the exercise bike. I always walk a lot better after working the knee, too, so I’ve got an immediate incentive as well as the long-range goal of getting back to kung fu.

While I’ve been unable to actively train, I’ve been trying to keep my hand in. I still go to class, but as a spectator. I take notes on stuff that stands out. I talk to the other students about the stuff they’re working on and if I can help them with their training without stressing my knee, I do. Sifu says that when I’m able to return to class, he’ll allow me to make up the November test so that I won’t lose momentum toward my black belt. He’s a good guy like that.

I’ve been spending some of my downtime with Yang Jwing-Ming’s Applications of Shaolin Chin Na, dissecting the techniques (of which there are many) and studying how they are done. I’m working on categorizing and cross-referencing in order to come up with a system for learning these techniques. I like the chin na that we learn in Lung Shou Pai, but I’m impatient and I want more. If I could, I’d do an extra hour class twice a week just on chin na.

My left knee has been giving me trouble, as I’ve mentioned before. I went for an MRI last Friday and just got the analysis back. Apparently I have a condition called chrondomalacia. Go ahead, google it. I’ll wait here.

Yeah, it all seems to fit. All the symptoms, the causes, all that stuff matches up with my experience. There’s not much mention of significant swelling, though the swelling in my knee can only be described as significant, but it certainly sounds like an accurate diagnosis to me.

I’m being referred to a physical therapist and they’re giving me Celebrex, a prescription anti-inflammatory. All the stuff I’m finding indicates that with PT, drugs, and rest, there’s a good chance that I can fix this problem without need for surgery or lasting complications. Here’s hoping.

The bad news is that I’m probably going to have to take some time off for training. I’m betting on several weeks to allow it the knee to recover, and several more for physical therapy to balance out the muscles to prevent this from coming up again. Call it two or three months.

That means that I’m almost certainly going to be unable to test next month, and that will also push back my black belt test. Best case scenario, if I recover quickly, if I’m allowed to test on the current material after I get back, if I can get into good enough shape quickly, if all the planets align in my favor, I may be able to test for my black belt in July. That would be a pretty nice birthday present.