Voices – February 2025

Injury and Rehabilitation by Mike Edwards

“Chronic full thickness rupture of the Posterior Cruciate Ligament.
Vertical longitudinal tear of the medial meniscus and posterior horn.
Vertical tear on lateral meniscus.
Medial meniscal extrusion.
Subarticular bone marrow oedema.
Large supra patellar effusion with synovitis.”

The MRI scan results revealed an injury that brought my running to a full stop on 11th February 2023. After only a few strides into a training run I felt a sharp pain in my left knee and was unable to continue.

I managed to get an appointment with a sports therapist the following week but it later transpired they had mis-diagnosed the injury as an ACL issue. The manipulation and exercises that they then performed, considerably aggravated the problem. The following morning my knee was very swollen and I couldn’t lift my leg or bend my knee without significant pain. A visit to Market Harborough Minor Injury Clinic confirmed the serious nature of the injury and an instruction to see a consultant as soon as possible.

The following day I saw a highly qualified physiotherapist who had extensive experience in treating elite sportsmen and women. He immediately identified a PCL injury and advised an MRI scan. This took place later in the week and a few days after that I had an appointment with a sports medicine consultant.

He concluded that an operation would most likely be unsuccessful due to the severity of the rupture and my being 76 years old. His recommendation was intensive rehabilitation through physiotherapy and strength training. He was confident I would be back running but it would take 9 to 12 months of hard work.

This was a devastating diagnosis as I had been selected to represent England in a 10K International on 12th March. I’m not sure what was worse, the pain of the injury or the disappointment of not being to represent my country. There was no option but to get on with it and knuckle down to hard work.

I started a rehabilitation programme with the physiotherapist and for a few months this required weekly visits. The frequency was necessary so that I could be closely monitored and changes made to the programme depending on my progress. These visits were also necessary to keep my confidence high so enabling me to keep working hard. Initially I feared that I would never be able to walk again without a walking stick. I was constantly reassured that I would run again, but it took me quite a while to really believe this would happen. Over the months there were many ups and downs. The intensity and difficulty of the exercises would increase until the knee could no longer cope. I then had to take a few steps back before starting to progress again. The knee steadily became stronger and my mobility and confidence improved.

I kept up my contact with the running community by helping HAC when they needed volunteers and also by volunteering most weeks at Parkrun. This helped keep my motivation high by seeing what I was missing.

Eleven months after my injury I took my first short running strides: 15 seconds on a treadmill with 2 minutes walking for 8 repetitions. Every week the time running increased. Progress started to speed up and after another 4 months I could complete a Parkrun without having to intersperse the run with walking.

2 years on and with the help of my coach I have progressed steadily. I have now managed to complete a 10k race only 5 minutes slower than the time I achieved 2 years ago. My Parkrun times are now just over a minute slower and I hope to achieve a PB before the end of the year.

I now go to the gym twice a week for strength training and do 20 minutes a day of pre-hab exercises. This will always be the case, as I only have 3 instead of 4 ligaments providing me with knee stability. It does however allow me to run 3 to 4 times per week.

The following conclusions from this experience will guide my future training.

• The importance of including strength work in any training programme. This is particularly important for older athletes as one’s inherent strength declines.
• It is beneficial to maintain motivation by keeping in contact with the running community.
• When injured be careful in the choice of professional help.