Sunday, January 15, 2012

Professional Cycling Career in Jeopardy

Since it's -34 degrees out, and since I really could use some exercise, I put my road bike on the stationary trainer. No dice... I don't have the range of motion in my knee to make it past top-dead-center in my pedal stroke, even with the neoprene suspension sleeve rolled down. It's a combination of the back wall of the prosthesis coming up too high, the fact that my roll-on silicone liner rolls up over my knee, and the fact that I have about an inch-thick layer of socks over my silicone liner. I know that BK amputees can ride bikes just fine, so I'm not going to panic just yet. It's just frustrating, because the only exercise alternative is the elliptical machine, which isn't quite as low-impact as a bike. The goal is to get blood pumping without stressing my leg.

On the bright side, I was able to go grocery shopping without a crutch (although I did use the shopping cart as a walker, I suppose.) Still, I'm slowing increasing the distances I can walk unassisted.

The issue now (which will be addressed on Wednesday, when I have my next appointment with my prosthetist) is that I'm starting the day with about 8 ply of socks, and ending up at about 13. By the time I reach 13, I'm way too tight in some places, and still not tight enough in others.

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