my knee, version 2.0

[OakLeaf]

Yayyyy!!!

[emily_in_nc]

Yippee! That is great news! So happy for you.

[sundial]

Thanks Oak and Em! I celebrated my 5 week anniversary with a 5 mile ride and I plan on doing 6 miles next week--weather permitting of course.

[redrhodie]

That's great! It must be a huge relief, to know you can ride again, and soon you'll be pain free.

[sundial]

It's been 3 months now since my surgery and I continue to make progress little by little.

I have been riding gravel alot lately--partly due to the flooded streets and partly due to the need to smooth out my pedal stroke and to take in the wildflowers that are now in bloom. I feel really comfortable on 10-15 mile rides and my speeds are not unlike that before the surgery. I feel like I am finishing the ride on a good note and when I ride the shorter miles I am ready for another one the next day as I feel I have had enough recovery time.

Just recently I cycled my first 30 miler. I finished strong and I felt pretty good but I was looking forward to resting with an ice pack afterwards. On Sunday I decided to test my legs on the hills and dusted off the road bike and did 11 miles with 912 feet of climbing. I was really impressed that I didn't have to walk any of them and didn't max out my low gears either. This new knee really rocks! It is getting stronger with each ride and it is s l o w l y flexing more with each passing month. I still have some swelling and I suspect I'll have it for at least a year--if not more. It doesn't bother me, though, considering that I am no longer experiencing debilitating pain. I don't have to limp anymore and my new knee is taking a load off my other knee.

If there's a downside to this new knee it is the feeling of fatigue that sets in after about 6 hours or so. I am usually stretched out on the couch by mid afternoon watching a few episodes of my favorite series on DVD. After that I'm good for a little while and then I'm ready for bed by 8:00. As much as I would like to, there is no rushing this recovery process. My OS has suggested that it will be 6 months at the earliest before I feel pretty good and 1 yr to 1 1/2 before I'm completely recovered. In the meantime, I like to dream about treating myself to a special something as a celebration for completing this fascinating journey.

For those of you who are thinking of having joint replacement, talk with your doctor, research it, talk with a PT and then do it! I can honestly say that I have never regretted the surgery and if it means sacrificing several months of activity for a better quality of life, it is well worth it.

[sundial]

I experienced my first shuffle type jog.

It's been 20 years since I last jogged regularly and I want to work towards being able to jog again. It's going to be a challenge because I don't have quite the extension of my new knee so my foot can't land the same way. I have to concentrate to land on my heel first but it's my entire foot that seems to be making contact instead. And my knee does not want to work as fast and I have to watch to not trip and fall. My OS said that I have a lot of scar tissue so I may never fully extend/flex the knee but that makes me even more determined to make it happen.

[OakLeaf]

Curious ... why do they want you to heel strike? It's so likely to cause injuries in people with previously healthy joints.