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TKR Walking, skiing, bicycling

I agree. There's nothing that can take the place of being out in nature!
 
9.3 mile (15km) hike yesterday on the PCT with 2250' (685m) verts, my biggest hiking day yet. I might have had a bigger day but we decided to turn back when we hit 3" of continuous snow. We had a few tricky stream crossings which initially made me nervous, but went fine. I plan to take it easy today, maybe do an upper body workout and a few short spin sessions on the bicycle trainer.
 
I started my 4-month new knee birthday bicycling 5 days in a row, averaging 20 miles a day, followed by 2 days rest then 23 cold miles today. Knee is stiff at first, then loosens up. Warm-up time gradually decreasing, now around 1 mile. I started with a bit of a limp in my pedaling stroke, but that's gradually getting better.

Flexion very gradually improving, now around 100 (cold) to est. 110 after warm up. Knee stiffness seems to be the same whether I hike, bicycle or rest.

Flexion # is not great, but it'll come. I'm feeling good about walking gait and strength. I'll be ready to ski groomers IF we get snow. (El Nino forecast not making my ski buds happy.)

I'm one of the fortunate ones: Other than a 2-week bout of stiffness @ 10-12 weeks, my improvement curve has been slow and steady, no rollercoaster. Knocking on wood here.

Happy Thanksgiving! Don't eat too much.
 
Sounds like you are doing really well! I was also slow to gain flexion with my first TKR and was at 110 at 4 months. I have continued to improve and am at 130 at 18 months. Keep up the great activity. I look forward to getting back on my bike in a few months (had 2nd TKR last week).:bicycle1:
 
@DIYSteve , great news re cycling. :wowspring: Very encouraging -i only 2 months but was hoping by 4 month I'd be ready to get back to cycling to work again- 15 mile return trip. ..so it's possible :yes!:
 
My knee class pt is sort of threatening me with what he calls the two month initial window for getting flexibility back. I'm at 110 now (4 weeks out) but he's unimpressed. I can do complete cycles both way on a bike. My extension isn't good but he really wants to crank on me and I won't have it. We had quite a long discussion. He's a good guy but man! Today I hit the gym and the bike and some other exercises with his warning in mind. And this afternoon and tonight I'm paying the price in pain. He told me that I'll just have to live with the pain in order to insure future flexibility. He pushes a "two months or doom" approach. Of course my surgeon quoted three months for a window and here I'm hearing a very different story.

The pt said "if you don't show improvement in extension next week or the one after I'm going to have to get tough' implying MUA. Come on! I measured a 5 after he tweaked the knee. It's 4 weeks out! I don't buy it but we understand each other so it will work out if I keep going.
Whatever happened to 'pain is signal to stop doing what you're doing'?

OH also another PT pointed out that I have tight ham strings in both legs and this impedes my extension--and it's true this has always been the case. So...how much does that have to do with a knee replacement? I'll work on ham string stretch however.
 
kmak81230 said:
I have continued to improve and am at 130 at 18 months. * * * I look forward to getting back on my bike in a few months (had 2nd TKR last week).:bicycle1:
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That's encouraging. Best o' luck with recovery #2 and getting back in the saddle.
 
Kiwigirl62 said:
@DIYSteveVery encouraging -i only 2 months but was hoping by 4 month I'd be ready to get back to cycling to work again- 15 mile return trip. ..so it's possible :yes!:
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Best o' luck. Of course, it's folly to directly compare individual recoveries, but yeah, I'd bet you're in the saddle by 4 months.
 
hegel said:
My knee class pt is sort of threatening me with what he calls the two month initial window for getting flexibility back. I'm at 110 now (4 weeks out) but he's unimpressed. I can do complete cycles both way on a bike. My extension isn't good but he really wants to crank on me and I won't have it. * * * He pushes a "two months or doom" approach. Of course my surgeon quoted three months for a window and here I'm hearing a very different story.
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Oh yes, the 2- or 3- or 4- or X- month ROM window myth has been debunked. Many on here have reported significant flexion improvement a year out and beyond. I suffered anxiety early re my 55 flexion @ 3 weeks, but the anxiety faded as it gradually improved.

110 flexion at 4 weeks is outstanding. What is your extension? My PT and PT friend -- a fellow mountaineer who climbed Mt. Olympus (technical glacier climb with 5th class summit block) with us 5 months after bilateral hip replacement surgery -- both stressed working on extension early to avoid messing up walking gait, and both said flexion will come with time and not to stress out about it. Both emphasize function (e.g., proper walking gait) over numbers, which makes sense to me.
 
Actually my knee class pt also mentioned walking gait in terms of extension. But my gait isn't bad--I don't need a cane. Still, I take the point about extension and that's going to be my primary focus. I went into surgery with good rom, especially flexion and so that seems to be low hanging fruit. And since extension is 'difficult' for me--that needs attention. My extension was at 5 following some easy manipulation at the knee class, but it started at 9. Needs work. But again, part of that is tight hammies.
I worked trail in the Ho rain forest years ago and grew up in the pacific northwest, so I know about Mt. Olympus! Now I'm in northern Ca. I bet we both know a lot of same backpacking routes in the Sierra Nevada and Trinity alps. But I'm not a climber! too clumsy. Still, there's a fair amount of class 3 and below off trail stuff that I've done in the Sierra.
 
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hegel said:
I worked trail in the Ho rain forest years ago and grew up in the pacific northwest, so I know about Mt. Olympus! Now I'm in northern Ca. I bet we both know a lot of same backpacking routes in the Sierra Nevada and Trinity alps.
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That's cool! I love the Hoh. So glad it has been protected and stays wild. I've climbed the highest (West) summit of Oly 3 times and the Middle summit once, the latter on a traverse of the Olympus massif, connecting it to Dodwell-Rixon and taking the classic Bailey Range traverse north from there -- fabulous 9-day mountaineering traverse. Those routes are in my past, but I'm confident I'll be getting off trail next summer.

I have not yet explored the Trinity Alps, although it's in my plans.
 
Thanks sistersinhim! Um, I took a step backwards pain-wise last night and especially this morning due to over-doing the 'amazing' part yesterday at the gym. Forgetting to warm up before doing full revolutions on the bike peddles is primarily to blame I think. Time for one step back and sticking with the plan to ease in to pt rather than adopting the therapist's 'it's gotta hurt to be doing any good' philosophy.

Yes to PT but with common sense!
(sorry about the thread drift Steve. I'm done now!)
 
First post-op day on skis today! I skied 7.8 miles (12.6 km) on a forest service road on my fat fishscale skis. A couple skiers had set a track a few days ago, but it was pretty soft going. Mellow rolling road -- only 560' verts -- which was the plan for my first post-op day on skis.

My knee felt great! More specifically, the new knee feels rock solid stable. FWIW, my OS saved my ACL, PCL and MCL, so maybe that's part of it. Flexion still stuck at around 100, maybe a bit better than that.

I'm ready to hit a lift area IF and when we get ample snow.
 
I don't know what all those numbers need, but they sure sounds good! What a wonderful recovery!
 
I'm jealous of the x-c skiing. We don't have quite enough snow here yet. Does the twisting cause any short/sharp "twinges" within the joint? I'm still getting those when I do something out of the ordinary.
 
Friday was my first day of post-op lift skiing, 6th day of skiing this season. (The other 5 were human-powered.) Early season, so only blue groomers were open. I did 8 runs (900' verts each) with my buds. But for firm frozen (rain freeze) conditions, I would have done more. Knee felt good. I felt a bit of I-T band discomfort, but it went away in a couple hours.

My flexion has slightly improved, now at 105 before stretching. I have a long tibia and was concerned that my knee would bend past its limit while loading on and unloading off the lift. I successfully addressed that by wearing an alpine touring boot and putting it in walk mode and unbuckling the top buckle before loading on the lift, which allows much greater backwards ankle flexion and thus a straighter knee.
 
I participated in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count yesterday, my first in a few years and my first ever on the east side of the Cascades.

Is anyone else participating in this year's CBC? Our local participants average >60 y.o. We need to get some younger participants to ensure continuation of the CBC, which provides essential data re bird populations and distribution.
 
Merry Xmas! :santawave:

My first post-op :dancy: POWDER :dancy:ski day today! 10th ski day of the season. 11 runs, >10,000' verts. Knee feels very stable. I had a bit of I-T band irritation last few runs, no biggie. I'm sooooooooooo glad I got the TKR. It'll be 5-1/2 months Xmas day.
 
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