http://www.ocregister.com/articles/bynu ... ner-lakersFirst there were therapy and icing and laser treatments to strengthen the knee. Then came running, jumping, bending, stretching. On the track, in the gym, in the whirlpool, on the exercise machines. Repeat the following day.
For Andrew Bynum, the routine became a tedious, yet necessary, ordeal a year ago, all done in the name of a healthy knee. Now, the Lakers center is back on the trainer’s table trying to rehab a second knee injury, this one suffered against Memphis on Jan. 31. The Lakers center suffered a tear of his left medial collateral ligament during an on-court collision with Kobe Bryant. “He’s definitely bummed out. He wants to be playing,” trainer Sean Zarzana said Monday. “He had hit a stride where he was feeling confident with his knee and all. But he is making the best of the situation. He’s trying to keep upbeat.”
Zarzana said Bynum won’t start running – not even on weight resistance machines – until doctors give him a clean bill of health on the injury that the player described as a “medium to high level” tear of the MCL. Until then, Bynum’s day consists of icing, laser treatments and range of motion exercises 3-5 times a day. “He’s doing more physio-therapeutic treatments that allow you to heal,” Zarzana said. “Once we know that the ligament is in the proper position then we can gear it up. Once we are confident that the stability is there, we can start Andrew on a stationary bike.”
