I had my left knee replaced on December 1st and was back on the bike on January 2nd. I just scheduled the right knee for April 27th. Hoping for as good a recovery as the first one so it does not effect my annual 4 to 5 month stay up north in a cooler climate. The thing I really worry about is that if the recovery doesn't go well I may have to leave the bike in Florida for the summer. I may not be up to driving the truck that distance, 1400 miles and it is a manual transmission, and the wife does not drive with the trailer in tow. It will be a long, long summer if I am up there with no bike.
WOW! That was a quick recovery. I had my right knee total replacement done on 2/20/2017. I'm rehabbing now and it is going well. I'M 69 and if I am correct you are around the same age as me. My goal is to be back on my motorbikes by 4/1/2017 (no April Fools Joke). Which knee was the worst? If it was the left I don't think you will have a problem with your goal. Good luck with your surgery.
I was told 7 years ago that I would have to have a knee replacement after a tumble which broke the Tibia plateau in two & surgeon in Scotland made a bugga of sticking it back together, it was 6mm out of alignment. Been taking the painkillers since to put it off. Surgeon at my local hospital later did some micro surgery maybe he tidied it up a bit, then he later removed all the screws & brackets he said to make ready for the knee job. Keep taking the pills eh. Just needed a Tiger instead of a Sprint.
I was told 7 years ago that I would have to have a knee replacement after a tumble which broke the Tibia plateau in two & surgeon in Scotland made a bugga of sticking it back together, it was 6mm out of alignment. Been taking the painkillers since to put it off. Surgeon at my local hospital later did some micro surgery maybe he tidied it up a bit, then he later removed all the screws & brackets he said to make ready for the knee job. Keep taking the pills eh. Just needed a Tiger instead of a Sprint.
I've been putting knee surgery off for years. I don't need replacements though, afaik. CTS surgery looming though. I've been getting by with therapy and I've been lucky to find something that's working for me in the short term.
if you are in decent physical condition knee surgery done correctly, preferably by a "jock" Doc that does many of them + good rehab will get you back ASAP. when you read about elite athletes quick recovery leads to the best surgeons + extremely fit + muscular patients, not the norm for sure. do your best + god will do the rest
I decided to do the replacement now as I just finished my out patient therapy two weeks ago and my legs are stronger now than they have been in years. I have continued my stretching and strength exercises so I should go into this better prepared than with the first one. Although I turned 70 this past Thanksgiving Day, when in therapy, I saw that I was in much better physical condition than just about everyone else there, regardless of their age. My legs have always been, and still are, significantly more muscular than most due to mainly genetics and a lifelong love with, as my mother used to say, peddling my a** all over the country. My one concern is that when getting ready for the first surgery the doctor wanted to replace the right knee first as the tests showed it to be the worst one. I asked to have the left on done first as that is the one that was giving me the most problems. Well, time to hit the giant rubber bands. Thirty minutes, two times a day on the bands and 20 miles on the bike each day along with lots of stretching should get me ready for the 27th. For those of you thinking about knee replacement my biggest regret is that I waited as long as I did to get it done. Thanks for all the well wishes and ride safe.
What material is the new knee made of? I hear they use different materials according to our lifestyle? I still do a lot of hill walking but limited to the pain kicking in now at 8 - 10 miles, whereas I used to be good for the long distance trails before the accident.
And what bend angle are you getting? I was shown a dummy set up which looked like a max of 90* bend.
I have a lady friend who had one done 9 years ago, she rides her Stripple ok. I bought the T800 in readiness 'cos of the easy knee angle yet my knee gives me more grief on that than on my Tiger Sport which I am more bent on. I was ok on the ST1050 ok until i swapped it in for the Sport, 3 years ago. I can still do the big mile Euro tours.
Paul49 - I really don't know exactly what material it is made of but it is a stainless unit that attaches to the bone with some form of polymer type material on the contact surfaces. The doctor at the VA that did my knee told me that each doctor uses the replacement that they like as there are different ones. As far a flex, I had 110 Degrees of flex in my knee 4 days after surgery when tested on my first day in physical therapy. After completing therapy two weeks ago my flex was measured at 125 degrees with natural flex and 130 degrees with with slight pressure. I was told the initial flex is not normally expected, but due to me not forming much, if any at all, scar tissue enabled me to attain that degree of flexibility. Just make sure the doctor you are working with gives you a replacement that fits your lifestyle, for you a knee with only a 90 degree flex would not be a good option, I know that it would not work for me.
Ok Gramps, thanks for the info'. I heard they could be ceramic or Titanium depending on lifestyle. You have good bend there. Hope the next one goes as well for you. Keep us posted on results.
building more muscle before surgery is good because the limited use for a while after surgery causes atrophy-muscle loss! being able to ride safely in our later years requires us to keep our strength + balance above average, + of course smaller bikes like our Bonnies are easier to ride + turn, also IMO forward controls offer more comfort for the aging rider.
I haven't had knee surgery YET, but have lots of ligament damage from a scooter crash at 16 and was told then to have surgery at 18 or so. I have avoided it for a long time, I'm 62.
My wife is in administration at a rehab hospital and you guys will agree that one important key to all this is the post surgery rehab. Don't skimp on it, don't think you don't need to do it all. Just do what they say to do. A good friend who's a bit of a know it all refused to comply with all the rehab and he's now quite a bit worse off after the surgery than he was before.
Plus one to the rehab being so important to recovery from knee surgery. I'm doing rehab twice a week with a therapist. I just returned from a knee work out session at LA Fitness. I'm going to LA F when I'm not working with the therapist. My goal is to be back on the 01 Bonnie by 4/1/2017. No April Fool. My surgery was done on 2/20/2017.
My Wife is entering her fifth week of recovery after total knee replacement. I will have to admit she has been impressive with her excising and commitment to physical therapy. Prior to the surgery she had gotten to the point of walking no further than a half block due to the pain. She is already back at work on a slightly reduced schedule and making process everyday. She can tell you, it is not a pain free procedure, but the end does justify the means. The Doctor who preformed her procedure has done thousands of replacements and the hospital here has a complete program and wing dedicated to hip and knee operations, physical therapy, and educating the patients and family. In one of the sessions the spouses get to see and handle the artificial pieces installed. I was truly amazed at the size of the knee, similar to a early VW ball joint, but considerably more expensive.
Another great added benefit, she has given up smoking after many years of usage. Thankfully I had the option of going back to full retirement to give her a hand doing the initial recovery process. We even breezed through that situation, looking at each other 24 hours a day after thirty years of marriage with no bodily injury.................
As others have said. If you need it don't hesitate. It's a miracle. The post surgical pain is pain with hope, not the grinding never ending pain of an arthritic joint. I did the full rehab workout twice a day with a beer and a sandwich and a nap in between.
Back on the bike in six weeks.
I have a generous employer and took two and a half months off for recovery. I felt so good at the end of that period with all the exercise and stress free living that I've decided to retire late this year. Though I'm sixty five I'd originally planned to work until 2020 but why if I could live so well now.
a fit + muscular co-worker had both done just after retirement from construction carpentry-drywall specialist, generally not recommended but he did well!! the sooner its done aka younger the better recovery can be + don't forget the extra pounds most of us carry as they are very hard on our whole body, especially the knees !!!
Yes, I spent 3 years with the hospital physio knee class after my accident & subsequent operations, 18 months before I could manage the step-ups. Dunno what would have happened if I hadn't persevered with it.
I am not aware of how durable the knee replacements are in the US but seems it's got to be bad for us to get one before we hit 70, I couldn't have one anyway with the Tibia split in two the consultant said that would take 2 years to knit before he could look at it. Apparently they don't have a long life like a hip replacement, 5 years say some people who have had it done here, best we hang onto our own bits as long as poss if that's the case.
My surgeon for the Tibial Plateau Fracture said they're just now starting to look at the knee replacements done 15 years ago. From what he said they aren't seeing the wear they were expecting.
That's good to hear. What are they made from? I hear some are ceramic & some Titanium, not aware of which are best for what. Likely the ceramic could be best for wear & the Titanium best for the more active. Just guessing.
Mine is metal but not sure if titanium or what. It has teflon between the upper and lower devices. The surgeon that put it in has helped to develop this device for 12 years I believe.
Sounds like you have a good man. And like somebody posted earlier about getting a 130 bend is brilliant. The mock-up I was shown at the hospital would not allow more than a 90 bend, not good for us bikers, even worse when we're at a rally, stuck in a small tent in foul weather & need to take a dump in a Tesco bag, this requires max bend to kneel down for that big job. Bad enough taking a wee in a milk bottle in the night without me head touching tent top & letting all the rain in.
There are a lot of things to consider. What bend angle are you getting?
I don't want to dominate this thread but. 115 right out of surgery. 110 a week later w/o meds. 115 3 weeks. 1 1/2 yrs later I wasn't happy with 115 so it's greater than 120. I work with it to keep it loose.
Straight was always under 4 degrees.
At my appointment on March 20th to make arrangements for my next replacement the doctor measured my two knees range of movement. The one that was replaced on Dec 1st of last year is at 125 and the one to be replaced is at 120. The big problem with the one to be replaced is that when held straight the angle is almost 15 degrees and the side deflection is very evident when I am standing. And again, I was reminded to watch my weight as I hover right around the 200 pound mark. He said that studies have shown that with a body weight of less than 200 pounds and a normal activity level I can expect my replacements to last around 15 years. The more you weight the more ware there is on the contact surfaces of the two sections of the joint. That makes sense to me so keeping the pounds off and not doing anything to aggressive sounds like the way to go. And as Tremor alluded to, you have to stay active or the the joint will stiffen up. I had my surgery done at the VA hospital in Tampa, Florida and their guidelines stipulate that they will no longer do a knee or hip replacement if your body weight is not within their guide lines. They use standard BMI charts and if you are in low end of over weight or less you are ok, to far over and you have to lose pounds. They do allow for fitness and musculature as that is what enable me to have the surgery, but I still had to lose 20 pounds to get the replacement. They adopted this policy because knee replacements for people significantly over weight had a failure rate over over 75 per cent within 5 years. With limited resources they had to establish guidelines to take best advantage of the resources that they have. This is not a problem in the regular medical community, for as long as you have the money or insurance that will pay for it, they will gladly give you a knee every year is you want. Sorry for the long winded post.
^^^ Makes a lot of sense, trouble is we get these probs, become less active & pile on weight.
How much does it cost over in the US? All NHS here, similar thing to your insurance though, we pay via our NI contributions throughout our working lives.
Paul49 - I have no idea what it costs over here as I have mine done at Veterans Administration Hospital as I am retired from the US Navy. They accept my insurance and Medicare, which is government insurance for those over age 65, as full payment, I never even see a bill. The only thing I have is a co-pay for the medications I get once I leave the hospital which was about $125 US for my last surgery. And yes you are right about slowing down as we age, not only that but our body makeup changes as we age, our weight may stay the same but the muscle/fat ratio changes real easily. I try and stay active by riding bicycle, kayaking, doing light weight workouts and staying with the stretching and resistance routines that I was shown while in rehap for the first replacement. But no matter what I do now there is no way that I am still as active as I was 10 years ago when I was still working, much less 40 less ago.
Insurance companies will not pay for a new knee whenever you want or no matter what you weigh. And they will also dictate what type and what material you get. The doctor will try his best to get them to approve what's appropriate for you, ( example- if you play tennis, are a jogger, etc, you will need a different knee) but the final say is still with the insurer.
Unless due to a sports career or an injury of some kind, or job related repeated activity, most knees wear out from obesity, plain and simple. Both the ones you were born with, and replacements. And before everyone gets up in arms, I said "most'. I know there may be other factors such as defective implants and defective surgeons.
on another note of age related decline + weight gain, our hormones have a LOT to do with our quality of life when we age. most Dr's shun hormone replacement + know little about the correct way to address it. the T-nation has a lot of good info on it for the average joe. it shows big bulky "enhanced" body builders but theres a lot of good information on testosterone replacement for regular older guys!
I put on weight after the accident because I wasn't getting the exercise I had before. I was out on the hills every weekend & did many long distance hikes before, but afterwards I struggled to do more than 8-10 mile hikes before suffering pain. See links:
I had therapy yesterday and my range of motion improved from 108 to 114. I see no problem reaching my goal to be back on the Bonnie by 4/1/2017. Can't wait.
You have this in the bag. Your hard work will pay off on Saturday when you swing your leg over your trusty steed and head out into the clear and sunny open spaces. Hoping for good weather for you.
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