9 weeks post knee replacement

Approximately 12 weeks post, I started biking outside and I feel it really helped.  Took about 6 weeks and I thought wow, I'm so much stronger then I used to be...  I have to say though, I'm still nervous about falling and hurting my leg, so a stationery bike would probsbly feel safer.  I used gear one or two as my physio guy told me that was less pressure..I.e. Like the bike racers do...they pedal like hamsters.  I'm 8 months now...and I am happy with my progress....the biggest being patience.

Hi

i was a gym bunny before my op - always in the gym but didn't return until 12wks.

I go only for the weights. Leg presses. Chest presses. Free weights etc. For walking i prefer outside and walk roughly 12000 steps a day - roughly 8km or 5 miles

i take everything slowly and pause between exercises.

Listen to your body and to your knee!

.  If I could get to the gym/pool I would go!  That being home all the time thing gets old.   I get excited to walk to the corner store to talk to my friends there.

Keep going.  Go easy on the static bike (mine is here at home) Even after you get that first full revolution always work up to it.   When you can do 10 minutes on that thing again, it really helps get the endorphines going and kicks you out of that mood. Best of luck!

Dear Jayne

This group is really amazing and it really helps to hear others opinions. I am in France where they take the after op excercise (physio) very seriously. I too am about 9 weeks post op.

The treadmill slowly for about 10 minutes was my first excercise at a residential physio centre and also a static bike. But and beware. The normal gym style bike will be too severe for you. Your leg is probably only bending to about 90degrees at the moment and to go on a bike properly you need your knee to be about 110degrees. They had the floor mounted pedals (rather than bike) at the physio place and the angle was much less acute as I could do 15 minutes  2 weeks post op.. They also had pedals for the arms!  Which of course was very light but kept you moving. But I would be very careful of standard gym equipment.It is designed for able bodied I would imagine and 9 weeks post op is too soon.  I also have pool therapy and that is just amazing. You can do knee bends, walking down stairs (this is a special pool with proper steps, not a pool ladder) I get one of those long polystyrene tubes, hook it under (tricky) my bad leg and pump it up and down. That is good.

But if you are suffering badly then you have probably done too much and I reckon the bike is the villain. 

Ice packs and pain killers! That's the ticket.

I think as someone said, this is a marathon and not a sprint.

Good luck

Liz

I am really lucky that Nuffield gives you three months free membership of their gym and pool as part of their knee replacement surgery, so once you are done with their outpatient physio they refer you on to the local gym. I am not there yet but am hearing that static bike with no resistance is how they start you off, plus some gentle weights to help with lift from the quads. I suspect that softly softly is the way to go and giving yourself light rest days for the muscles to recover.

Hi Jayne

Actually 5 was today since my TKR getting around really well only one stick and hopefully get the all clear to walk freely on Friday whilst at the Physio 

I purchased a set of foot pedals on reccomendedation ,They working great form me building my quads and calf muscles and also my knee 

I know not everyone is the same but they allowed me to exersise when and as much as I wanted without havin the burden of trying to get to a gym 

I hope this bit of info is useful to you 

Good luck 

Yes - use the vertical bike, the step. gym ball wall slides, heel lifts, 3 minutes on cross trainer, heel lift and few arm resistance bands - not using the circuit stuff yet - but only 7 weeks - you need to check and be careful as they wont be liable if you hurt yourself due to pre-exisitng unless you folllow a programme from a physio.

Feels good even if you go in an do same exercises at home - more normal.

the only thing I;m doing at the moment is the hydrotherapy pool . I'm not really sure if it's any better than doing the exercises at home, but it's quite pleasant, very warm, and quite relaxing when you aren't actually pushing yourself. . .I'd like to try an exercise bike, but haven't got one, and not going to risk buying one and finding it's not for me. . . Strange thing yesterday!  My bed has always hovered around 90/95, and all the pushing and shoving in the world wouldn't push it further.  Yesterday I sat in my special chair for doing the exercises, started to see how far it would go back . . . and it went to about 130!  Without pain!  I tell you, there is nust no logic to this thing.  I had been lax with the exercises for two days due to life getting in the way . . . .