TKR Motorcycle riding????

[Jamie]

I must agree with the folks who've posted about using the leg press. You are not even 2 months out and it's too early for that and possibly for the elliptical as both put a lot of stress on your knee. You're better off sticking with the bike and treadmill for a few more months.

However....that said, if you are currently using those machines with absolutely no swelling or pain afterwards, you most likely could continue at the level you're working. But please be very cautious about adding anything additional. Go back and read those articles left for you on page 1 of your thread. The ones about recovery timelines are critical. You're still healing. You should be completely healed before you work on strengthening your leg or knee muscles.

One of the best things you can do for extension is a passive exercise where you lie on your tummy at the edge of your bed and hang your feet for anywhere from 5-30 minutes a couple of times a day. Your knees should be just at the edge of the bed as shown in the image below. This worked wonders for me.

There is also some additional information in this Library article:

Extension: how to estimate it and ways to improve it

Note the exercise I mentioned is shown in this article as an activity NOT to do. That's because this image shows the person with a rolled up towel under their thigh. When you do this exercise, be sure your leg is flat on the mattress. There are also weights on the leg, which are not needed. Gravity does the job quite well.

 

[kbbroiler]

I know this might seem a bit anxious but I live in Toronto Canada so we get snow regularly. I'm 2 months after my knee replacement. I finished physiotherapy and I'm walking without a cane or any other aid. I can also do stairs up and down. I'm exercising as my last post says. So is it too early to start thinking about shovelling snow? I don't have any pain but my leg does still feel tight and it is still swollen which it will be for a while. Strength wise I can do extensions, curls and machine leg press without putting the pin at the top for the lightest. I'm not doing heavy but I can do weight comfortably.

 

[Arttie]

I don't shovel snow. I'm not sure how the new knee, at this stage of recovery, would handle any torque movement involved with shoveling. As they say here try a little first, if no ill effects then add a little more. I do wear my carbide tipped winter running shoes and walk behind our snow blower, for the last 3+ weeks. Also take into consideration powder snow vs. heavy wet snow.

 

[Celle]

So is it too early to start thinking about shovelling snow? I don't have any pain but my leg does still feel tight and it is still swollen which it will be for a while. Strength wise I can do extensions, curls and machine leg press without putting the pin at the top for the lightest. I'm not doing heavy but I can do weight comfortably.

Yes, I think it's too early to be shovelling snow.
It's also too early to be using the leg press or using weights. You need to wait until at lest 3 months before dooing those.

Your knee has had major surgery that caused a lot of trauma. It needs time to heal, before you stress it with exercise.

It's not lazy or unfit - it's wounded.

 

[kbbroiler]

Hey Celle. Thanks for the advice but I was actually using the leg press as a part of physio and leg curls as well. I wasn't using heavyweight during physio plus I asked my doctor and he said it was ok. I actually saw him today and asked everything I asked in the previous post. He okayed it. I know some people are different and I'm not sure if it's because of my age. I'm 46 and had to get a total knee replacement. The thing with me is I was very active before the surgery where I went to the gym, went swimming and did yoga. I did that up until the day of surgery. The only thing I forgot to ask him about was the snow. It's actually being taken care of but it's like this. Both of my neighbours have been doing it. One neighbour is retired and I'm worried about his health. Then another neighbour is but get this I hired someone to do it per shovel but they keep beating the guy to the punch. That's why I wanted to start doing it myself because the older guy is doing because I used to do his snow before but with a snow blower and he is doing it think I guess when I get better I'll do his again. I don't know for sure if I will have to get the other knee done in the future. I won't really know until I go back to work because that's where I felt arthritis the most doing my job. I've been off since November so I've been resting of course. My left knee on the doctor chart was between 2 and 3 on the knee chart and my right the one I had done was a 5.

 

[Celle]

It's your knee, @kbbroiler , and your decision. If you went into the surgery with your muscles in good strength, the dangers are possibly less than they are for other people. You were wise to check with your surgeon.

We did have someone last winter who insisted on overdoing things all round and also shovelling snow. He ended up with a severely annoyed knee that was painful and inflamed, and it took a long time to calm down again. It did slow down his recovery.

Listen to your knee, keep it happy, and continue to bear this advice in mind:

a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

 

[sistersinhim]

I also recommend that you don't shovel snow yet. There is a lot twisting with shoveling and a new knee should not be twisted at all. If you do try shoveling make sure you don't twist that knee at all. And as Celle says, if it hurts at the time or afterwards don't do again for quite a while.

 

[kneeper]

I didn't quite follow your story about your neighbor, but I would say it's too early to shovel your driveway, much less also your neighbor's. Snowblowing is not much better because you have to turn and that can be awkward. I would try to hire someone for this year. If you have absolutely no choice but to do it yourself, you'll have to break it up and not try to do it in one session.

 

[KarriB]

My fear with shoveling the winter of my TKR was falling, I didn’t want to fall on my new knee. If you must do it, I’d say use your snowblower. It’ll give you something to hold onto (in case of ice) and your knee will take less of the brunt.

 

[smarttoys]

I think if you are careful and you feel up to it, shoveling snow would be fine at this point. I was shoveling snow and plowing snow on my ATV all winter during my recovery. My surgery was in the middle of November. Luckily I didn't need to worry about it until around 6 weeks into my recovery since the first big snow fall held off until then. I just needed to get past 90 degrees of flexion before I could plow snow with the ATV. I needed at least that much flexion to be able to sit on it comfortably.

 

[Dizzy]

The general consensus for all of us who had never had this surgery was "Well, I'll have the surgery, heal, do PT, and that will be the end of it"! So wrong!! It becomes a major issue of your life for a long time. When they say 6 months to a year they mean it. I wish you well in your surgery!

 

[Kayaknlady]

I worked out daily before bilateral TKA. By 2 weeks I was doing my daily PT at home and senior aerobics on U tube sitting in a chair using light hand weights, bands, ball. At 4 weeks I could drive and able to do my daily PT at the gym. By 6 weeks I was biking outside 2 miles, short kayaking trip, walking a mile a day.I belong to the over do it Club, but it worked for me. Everyone is different. I think our pre op conditioning helps. You have great motivation and that helps. Good luck. I spent a lot of time icing and elevating

 

[jaschembra]

I just had my 1 year (I know this is way down the road for you) visit with my OS and I asked him if there was any gym equipment I should avoid or exercise I shouldn't do there: Leg extension.

 

[Jajakio]

I think some of us, like Kayaklady and myself, bounced back quicker than others due to preop exercise or maybe just luck of the draw. Only you can determine how much is too much for you. Start easy, shovel for a few minutes, go in and rest and see how you feel. I was determined to get back to normal quickly and overall I did. But it took me a while to realize something that caused only moderate discomfort at the time could be a lot more swollen and painful a few hours later.

Don't be afraid to learn your limits though. I think most of us overdid it a time or two. It didn't cause me any permanent damage just a couple of days of swelling and discomfort. I even took a hard fall early on and while I do not recommend it, I wasn't even sore the next day. Our implants are pretty tough.

 

[Celle]

I think some of us, like Kayaklady and myself, bounced back quicker than others due to preop exercise or maybe just luck of the draw. Only you can determine how much is too much for you. Start easy, shovel for a few minutes, go in and rest and see how you feel.

This is good advice about knowing your own limits.

One thing to bear in mind though - even if you are fit and have done pre-op exercise, the trauma caused by this major surgery is still going to take just as long to heal as anyone else's does. You may be more mobile earlier, but your wounded tissues still need gentle treatment, so they can heal well.
The temptation for you is to overdo things. Beware of that.

 

[kbbroiler]

Hey peeps. First I want to thank you for the advice from the forum who helped me with my recovery. Second, I know I'm supposed to attach this to my original history which is the way they want us to do but I forgot how and I can't seem to find my last post. I had to ask this question because it has to do with motorcycle riding. I had my surgery November 16th of last year which was a right total knee replacement. My recovery was better than expected and I'm bending at 110 degrees. I'm wondering when exactly would you recommend getting back on my motorcycle. I've read different opinions and the problem before was the bending. I was wondering my doctor wants me to be able to get to 120 bending however that is not related to the bike. He said when they bent me in the operating room they had me at 130 so I'm wondering is it too soon or should I wait for maybe mid-summer. I have an appointment with him in 2 weeks which I will ask him then but I'm wondering too early to try for short distances.

Thanks,

K.B

 

[Roy Gardiner]

Why not just give it a try?

 

[SusieShoes]

I’m with Roy. Give it a try. If at any point your knee tell you, “Nope... don’t like this” that’s where you stop and try again later. You might be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Pumpkin]

You'll notice that I have merged your newest thread with your original recovery thread. For several reasons, we prefer that you only have one recovery thread:

• That way, we have all your information in one place. This makes it easier to go back and review your history before providing advice.
• If you keep starting new threads, you miss the posts and advice others have left for you in the old threads, and some information may be unnecessarily repeated
• Having only one thread will act as a diary of your progress that you can look back on.

So please post any updates, questions or concerns about your recovery here. If you prefer a different thread title, just post what you want and we'll get it changed for you.
If you need an urgent response to a question, just tag a member of staff.
How to tag another member; how to answer when someone tags you

Here are the instructions on finding your thread, How can I find my threads and posts? . Many members bookmark their thread, so they can find it when they log on.

 

[Pumpkin]

I agree, give it a try, if your knee protests you need some more healing time.