Week 20: Back on the tennis court!
I had my 20 week follow-up visit with my OS this week. It lasted all of 10 minutes–max. He asked me how I was doing and I said “good, although my dorsiflexion ROM was still tight”. He had me show him my ROM and he thought it looked excellent. At this stage, minimally tight dorsiflexion does not concern him at all–he would be concerned if it was too loose (i.e. healing “long”). Then he had me show him my single-leg heel raises and he seemed pleased. Finally, he said he had reviewed a report from my PT and said I was ready to ease back into sports which, for me, is tennis. He said go slow and start by just hitting and, later, playing some doubles. Wow! He wants to see me again in 2 months to, hopefully, confirm that I’m back to my old form–that would be great!
That was two days ago. Today I arranged to hit balls with a friend–I was both excited and a little apprehensive. Overall, it felt really good. I was pretty careful not to chase after wide balls and we only played for an hour. My strokes were, not surprisingly, rusty. However, this was a major milestone–to move back to both the scene of the crime (my ATR) and the sport I love. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of getting totally back to normal–it seems achievable now!
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9 Responses to “Week 20: Back on the tennis court!”
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Congrats! Must have felt great to get back on the court.
Brilliant!
I’ve never liked playing sports when I can’t Go For It, but others do. So I avoided volleyball courts until I was confident I was safe…
Norm, I completely understand and part of me feels the same way, but I also feel that easing back in will be good for my game in the long run and good therapy in the short run. The key, I believe, is to not put myself in too-competitive situations until I’m ready. In the meantime, this sure beats writing the alphabet with my toes! -David
I don’t think I trusted myself to take it easy. And I wasn’t sure it’d be more fun than waiting. First time back on the indoor beach courts after my open-heart surgery (a valve replacement), I had promised the head of my cardio rehab program (a nurse who played beach volleyball) that I wouldn’t play any 2-on-2. Otherwise, she thought I was good to go.
After having a blast playing some pretty energetic 4-on-4 games, those people left, and there were only three other players in the building, all sitting on the bench. I talked them into playing 2s with me — a tough sell since I was probably older than their Dads — and we all had a blast! And I did NOT take it easy!!
But I wouldn’t want to get into that situation when my AT was still vulnerable, because I’m “bad” that way.
OTOH, I skied a week in Whistler 8 weeks after that same heart surgery, and I knew I had to take it easy. I had a chest-strap heartrate monitor with a readout on my watch, a new helmet (because I was on “blood thinners”), and some foam padding around my chest — especially where I might land on the chest strap! I skied pretty fast and aggressively, but I stopped frequently to check my heart rate, and waited ’til it dropped enough (for my taste) before I started up again. The one time I went into a gnarly ungroomed steep-and-deep run, I had to stop so often and wait so long that it was brutal, so I stayed on the groomed runs from then on. Single diamonds, “expert” runs. So I CAN take it easy, and I do understand that returning to beloved sports when you still have to can be more fun than staying home.
Maybe for me the distinction is between competitive sports and the others. . . Maybe.
Returning to the scene of the crime is a big one — congrats on all your success!!!
Congratulations David! It’s a huge step beginning the return to sport. Those of us who are father along in this marathon remember how great that felt, and it really only gets better from here (as long as we don’t push too hard too fast!). Wishing you well!
Congratulations!
Week 20 hitting some balls sounds great.
Just short of week 8 and still disappointed I did not get to finish the match when I popped it. It was a close one.
pspain, thanks–you’ll be there soon, too! I understand about the match, but recommend you look forward, not back. I’m next planning to play some friendly doubles. I don’t want to overdo things, but I’ve got a lot of pent-up demand for tennis. I’m going to hold-off playing singles for quite a while yet, though. That, I think, could get me into trouble at this stage. -David