....Knee Surgery and riding

[inthedirtagain]

Don't know if this is the right place to discuss the issue or not, but I'm wondering how many of you boarders have had knee surgery and what amount of time you took off from being in the water? I just had surgery about 3 weeks ago for a large miniscus tear and hardening of the soft tissues. My doc said that I can start to play again when it doesn't hurt to be active. The pain is under control, but I'm still having some flexibility issues. I don't do major tricks when I ride, but just like to hop over the wake (I'm still learning). I took a chance and rode in kids tube this last sunday, and surprisingly, the jostling wasnt too bad. Just wondering what others have experienced. Thanks

 

[Outsider]

Re: ....Knee Surgery and riding

Just go for it, but keep track of what you do. That way you'll know why you can't walk the next day. 'Activity as tolerated' usually doesn't mean you can do what you used to do, yet ... :facepalm:

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: ....Knee Surgery and riding

I've had three meniscus surgeries (two left kne, one right) and there is no way I'd do any sort of skiing, water or snow, with three months or so of surgery. Activities where you can stop if you feel pain (e.g., running, cycling) are different from impact sports where one twisting impact could blow out an ACL or MCL because your knee muscles aren't sufficiently recovered to support the impact. If you still have flexibility issues, I would take that to be a sign you need more rehab (strengthening and stretching) before you get up on a ski. Fixing and ACL or MCL is much more difficult than removing torn meniscus cartilage. I would feel OK about tubing, but I think I'd stay off the board a while longer if it were me.

 

[inthedirtagain]

Re: ....Knee Surgery and riding

Fair enough. I didnt plan to do much more that Captain the boat for the kids this summer. Flexibility is getting better every day, with less associated strain. However, I still can't allow direct contact between the floor and my knees yet. So trying out the new kneeboard may have to wait until next year. I haven't even tried to kick over my dirtbike, either. I'm dying to go riding again, but don't want to make matters worse. I may have to wait till fall to get in some good trail rides, too. Thanks for the input. The last thing I want to do is hurt myself further. Your advice is appreciated.

 

[86 century]

Re: ....Knee Surgery and riding

Try out an air chair or wake surfing.

Next to no stress on the knees in a chair. Wakesurfing is just about as low impact as you get in board sports.
there is also a wake skate close to wakeboarding without the stress of being tied to the board if you fall.

 

[inthedirtagain]

Re: ....Knee Surgery and riding

I just may look into that option, although that type of water sport is completely foreign to me. Still, I'm not afraid to try something new as long as it won't cause further injury. Thanks!

 

[PMP]

Re: ....Knee Surgery and riding

I totaly screwed my knee last year. I was off of it for about 3 weeks and slowing worked back into it. I went to a skate park first and just road around on my skate board to get my knee use to pumping and what not. Then I moved to a wakeskate so it wouldn't hurt my knee if I wrecked and then I went to riding switch on my wakeboard because my falls where never bad and it didn't use my knee as much as the riding regular. All winter I worked on it by going to skate park and this year my knee feels solid again. Good luck!

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: ....Knee Surgery and riding

I think that if you feel up to it give it a shot, I too have had meniscus surgery on both my knees, asked my Doctor about recovery and he told me the only thing I could not do was play hockey for 16 weeks(I play old man competitive 40+), other then that it was play as hard as I felt was safe, I had a 3 mile 40 minute hike with 50 pound rack 4 weeks after my second surgery and it did not bother me in the least so I water skied the next weekend. If you feel up to it give it a shot, if your knee says no then go back to driving.

 

[inthedirtagain]

Re: ....Knee Surgery and riding

Really appreciate all the opinions being offered. I know what I'm capable of on a dirtbike, but I've only recently got back into boating after a 20yr hiatus. The old bones just don't like to play nice sometimes. I'll give it a whirl next week when we take off for the 4th. Until then, I'm going easy on it and trying to increase my range of motion as best I can. The 4th will make 4 weeks post-op.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: ....Knee Surgery and riding

Good luck! FWIW, being able to kneel on my repaired knees has always been the last thing to return to normal. Usually takes a year before I can kneel without it feeling a bit twingy.

 

[soulsurfing]

Re: ....Knee Surgery and riding

hey there, heres my 2 cents......................

Not knowing your age and physical abilities are factors but all I can say is everyones injuries, surgeries and recoveries are different and if you address this issue with your surgeon while letting him know your athletic condition etc...., his advice and your gut are the only things I would listen too. An early re-injury could be catastrophic.

I have had several (5) knee surgeries with my last one being caused by wakeboarding. ACL replace ment and 65% of meniscus removed. I was shocked at the recovery time and I nurtured it properely, age is a factor, I was 38 at the time. If i were 15 or even in my 20's impatience would have gotten the better of me and it did in those years. If you go at it too early you will regret it later on. Long story short, because I was impatient in the earlier years, i most likely will need full knee replacements on both knees before I reach 60 and due to over compensating, both my achilles tendons are jerked all the time.

advice from others is great in order to form your own opinion but at the end only your gut and the doc have the final word, trust me.

 

[inthedirtagain]

Re: ....Knee Surgery and riding

Well, I'm not too far off. I just hit 37 in May, but boy I sure do feel older than that at times. I know that I could stand to lose 20 or 30lbs, but at 6'3", all the men in my family are bigger than average. Compared to some of my uncles, I'm not that big. Still, I have absolutely no cardio left in me. The Army took what little I had. Most of my athleticism comes from riding dirtbikes my entire life, and about 10yrs worth of Judo and Ju Jitsu. I'm pretty flexible for a big guy (splits without stretching). So its safe to say that I know what my limits are, and I'm finding that improvements on the knee are advancing almost daily now. Today was the first time I could rest my knees on the floor without it being too painful. I will take all thoughts given here into consideration, and believe me, I won't risk further injury. As new as I am to the world of watersports, I'm fully aware of what I am physically capable of in the world of off-road motorsports. As soon as I feel comfortable throwing a leg over the ol' 450R, I'll start back into hillclimbing again. There's a national event happening locally in August, and I need to get prepared for it. Seeing my kids spash around is killing me.......I want to join them!!