Lauren Brooks Fitness

It's been almost 11 weeks since my knee injury.  Since getting the MRI results of an ACL rupture, I decided to see a different Orthopedic doctor for a second opinion.  He just so happens to be an avid snowboarder, which is right up my alley.   In fact this Dr. works with mainly athletes from basketball players, rock climbers, martial artists, to skiers.  Just the person I needed for this. Today he tested the laxity in both of my knees for the second time with an Arthrometer.  Apparently the torn ACL does have a slightly higher degree in laxity, however, not a huge difference compared to the typical tear.  He attributes this to the kettlebell training I continued to do throughout the whole process. I showed him a few kettlebell exercises I was doing along with the full range of motion squats I've been working on.  He was impressed that I was able to do as much as I could and encouraged me to keep doing it.  We discussed how important it is for ...

Continuing on...      August 4, 2010        JUST RECEIVED THE NEWS (I added this in the post below, but here it is for those who got confused on the date and who are still asking me what the prognosis is) Yesterday I had an MRI but left with no answers.  This morning I woke up feeling hopeful since the swelling in my knee was a little bit better.  I spent the morning playing with my 17 month old.  We played, then she watched me do some weighted pull ups, push ups, pistols on my right leg, seated presses, and seated rope waves.  Hey I am trying to make the best of it.  I was feeling pretty good. Okay so I have had quite a few emails from people so far with words of encouragement.  Thanks so much to all of you.  You guys are amazing.  Also many of you wise ones mentioned that if it's a meniscus tear it's a fast recovery.  If it's the ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) which is the primary s...

It's a bit ironic how the last blog I posted, I wrote how thankful I am for having a pain free, mobile, and strong body.  Now I sit here a little sad because I can't say the same.  I can say that I am thankful to have the inner and outer strength I have. This past weekend I went through a vigorous 6 hour Krav Maga test.  It was serious, nerve-racking, with tons of adrenaline.  It was one of the harder mentally and physically challenging events in my life.  To make matters worse I over rotated on my knee doing a round house kick.  My front foot was suppose to pivot allowing my whole body to turn.  However, that's not how it happened.  My entire body, including my knee turned with great power to kick the pad, but my front foot stayed planted.  "Pop"is what I felt and heard.  My left knee was blown out and I came crashing down to the ground during the "serious" part of the testing phase.  I gave out a yell and laid on my back in disb...