Dunking Out of the Building

I'm pretty sure my surgically fixed hip can handle some more action beyond the lunges, squats, cycling, and quad/hamstring weight exercises I've got going. Tomorrow I'll either add weight to the squats or sneak onto the basketball court and run & jump around some. Today it has been 58 days since the surgery - almost exactly two months - and after finishing the toughest workout my hip has been through yet I felt almost no twanging or soreness in the joint. Nice!

There is one little tweak that still worries me. When doing lunges and leading with my right leg, the one that is recovering, I can't stand up smoothly. I wobble. I usually stabilize myself by dragging my left foot. Sometimes I can finish the lunge with no movement off the center line, but usually my torso begins to swing and sway a little, and occasionally I have to put a hand out to catch myself on the wall. Clearly the stabilizing muscles in my right leg are not recovered, although I'm not where they are and what I can do to help them other than maintaining this PT. What worries me is if I start jumping around the gym I'll lose my balance when landing and send my pelvis careening off the backboard like a grotesque boomerang. But overall, based on the MLK day activities and Wednesday's workout, I'm feeling confident that I can begin muscle-building exercises in my legs.

Here's a recap from the Hawks-Kings game Wednesday night - at the 25 second mark, Bibby throws Josh Smith an alley-oop. Josh Smith's biceps are above the rim. He is 6'9" and weighs 250 pounds. If I had his hops I could jump out of the building.

Marvin Williams / Werewolf dunking

P.S. Talking with one of the coaches, I learned that a labrum and a rotator cuff are NOT the same thing. The labrum is a doughnut of connective tissue around the joints in your shoulders and hips that acts like a plug for the humerus or femur. The rotator cuff is three muscles that surround the joint.