I had TKR 3 & 1/2 wks ago. How soon are you suppose to be able to ride a recumbent bike?I tried to do that today but could only get half way around. I could not bring the knee down. It really felt tight at that half way point. I started walking up & down stairs, one leg over the other today. Did pretty well with that. I have a 90 degree bend & the PT wants it to get to a 120. Sure hope I don't have to go through a force-bend.
riding a bike
- Thread starter elcammeno
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1jt@atime
supremo
El,
I bet you are almost there. I think I got all the way around on the bike around 4 weeks. Get on and just keep rocking back and forth. Try to pedal backwards because I think that's the first way to give. God luck. Karen
I bet you are almost there. I think I got all the way around on the bike around 4 weeks. Get on and just keep rocking back and forth. Try to pedal backwards because I think that's the first way to give. God luck. Karen
I used a recumbent bike too and think it was the best way to get that motion back. Just do short stints on it several times a day. I even get on at night if my leg is bothering me. It helps. Just be sure to ice your knee after EVERY time. Ice, ice, ice....very important to keep the swelling down and help with that "tight" feeling. I couldn't get all the way around on the bike until I got to around 100 degrees on the bend. But if you work consistently at it, you'll be surprised how quickly you can do it. One day it just happened and I was woo-hooing all over this web site. You'll get there too.
SportHog
senior
My physiotherapist started me on a regular exercise bike with the seat fairly high. Rock back and forth and you will find that you will be able to first pedal backwards all the way and then frontwards all the way. Keep it up for awhile at that height and then drop the seat a notch and try again. Just take it easy and don't force yourself too hard. With a recumbent bike, start with the seat back a bit and gradually move it forward. The bike is one of the best exercises for ROM. Good luck.
Cheers, Ross
Cheers, Ross
Since I have a recumbent bike at home, I started on mine 4 days after surgery with the therapist's blessing. But all I could do at that stage was sit down and go in forward then backward rotations (actually half-rotations). I could not get all the way around until about the second week of doing that back and forth stuff several times a day for a minute or two each time. My bike has handles both in front of me and at my side. It was easier to use the in-front handles and kind of lean forward as I tried to go around. I would white-knuckle the handles sometimes and grunt....my husband would come running to see what was wrong. I also would rock to the side away from my bad knee which let me go a little further in the bend. It hurt, but you have so much control over your motion by pressing down on your good leg that it wasn't too bad. The hurt stretched the muscles and actually felt good in a way. Now at 4 weeks I can actually ride at about 9-10 mph. I credit this bike work with speeding my flexibility. I think it really made a difference.
hmmmmmn? My husband found an older used bike today out in the world. not recumbent though. The seat is awful high looking. Not sure if I could even get on, but I'm tempted to try. According to my home PT I am already at 86-90 and good flex. I imagine that after the initial ooooooo, it feels pretty good to stretch those quads and tendons etc.
Sounds like it might be worth a try. Maybe you could have someone stand beside you the first time or two to be sure you can get on and off okay. Good luck!!!
referee54
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I have an excercise bike at home and was riding almost a month before outpatient PT...
Tim C.
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