I recently found out I have a tear in my Posterior Cruciate Ligament. I have played football on it for the best part of a year, needing to take breaks at times due to pain and swelling.
I recently had a quarterzone (sp?) in it, and have been told to keep off it for about 8 weeks.
I am allowed to do strength work on it though.
Any ideas for some simple exercises? Particularly ones I can do whilst in the office at work.
I am doing a lot of bike riding. What else should I start doing?
After a cortisone shot, the collagen structures in that area will be structurally weakened. In your case, the ligaments. Because of this, you will want to be very careful with your loading parameters. Be very careful not to overload those structures too soon. Allow for very progressive loading.
After an injury, the first step is to retrain proprioception and balance. Simple exercises that can be done anywhere include:
-single leg balance work (progress to eyes closed)
-isometric wall squats at varying knee positions
-heel digs for hamstrings activation
-short height steps up/step downs
-quad setting/terminal knee extensions (on these, if you keep your fingers pressed in to your VMO for biofeedback, you can improve recruitment)
-various forms of bridging
Those should give you a start in the early part of the rehab. I would still highly recommend that you seek the advice of a professional trained in injury assessment/rehab before starting any strengthening program. There may be factors which would alter or impact which movements would be safe and beneficial for you.
If you’re not going to have a surgery, you better plan on having REALLY strong quads for the rest of your life. They work synergistically with the PCL (much like the hamstrings with the ACL).