Training after surgery

Josie_Hopps

I am a 21 year old female road cyclist. I have been cycling for years and regulary compete in road races. I have had problems with my knees for a while now and had major surgery just the other day on my left knee. I have been told i must not do any training and must use crutches for about 8 weeks. I am keen to get back cycling as soon as it is possable to after recovery and was looking for some advice about making a training plan. When i had knee operation about 18 months ago i over did the training and ended up having more problems and more surgery, so im worried this may happen again.

I have a very good training plan for when im fit but cant seem to make one for recovery. I have pulled out of most of my upcoming races to allow a good ammount of time. Please can you advise me on suitable training.
Thank You Josie

whojanicanackerov

Put your feet up for six months and let your body heal it self.
I had surgery in July and only started to ride again in December at a very conservative pace only on the turbo trainer.
I am not rushing in to heavy work as i don`t want to be back on the slab any time soon.

islwyn

whojanicanackerov wrote:

Put your feet up for six months and let your body heal it self.

+1 - Natural healing all the way, no reason why you can't go out walking with the crunches to help the movement.

Your body will be so use to you cycling that it'll soon get back into it once you jump on that saddle again. I deffo wouldn't push it as you'll be straight back into that hospital again! Let it heal properly and ride for years without anything more than a tingle every other month rather than riding in serve pain and having to stop racing for the rest of your life and just become a sportive rider at a leisurely pace.

I think common sense is the winner in this one I'm afraid.

Mr Dog

Take the recovery advice of your surgeon and seek out a medical professional to structure your rehab. If your a bit short of cash badger your GP and you'll have to settle for NHS. You may just do more harm than good if you follow a random recovery program. I really hope you come back stronger, and if you don't mind me saying, age is on your side. I've had a minor op on both knees, one is great the other around 80%. Stay positive.

cyco2

I would have thought that you cycling and putting effort in to healing muscles was not the best way to rehabilitate. I well qualified sports phsyo would give the best advice.
However, if you think you can exercise your knee I would suggest you use a peddle device that is electrically driven so that you don't actually contract and stretch the muscles yourself.
It's explained here but I haven't seen one for some time.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/37420 ... xercisers/
There are non powered ones for less than £20 but a powered one would cost £70 +
I have had several muscle injuries and found initial exercise is always best done with some assistance.

Alex_Simmons/RST

It is certainly possible to train after surgery, when you are ready - and take the advice of medical professionals on when that will be. It can help to work with a sports injury specialist though as many docs are not so familiar with athletes. Much depends on the nature of the injury.

The main thing is starting off (when you are ready) at very low intensity and very gradually increase workload. Using an indoor trainer for a while is a good idea as you can carefully dose the effort. Much harder outside if there are hills.

I would also strongly urge you to seek out a professional cycle fit expert to assess your bike set up to ensure that there is nothing that is contributing to your problem.

most non-crash cycle related injury is the result of:
- poor bike fit
- doing too much and increasing workload too quickly

siamon

Surely you will have a couple of follows up with the surgeon who will tell you exactly what and when you can do it (and a physio)? That what happens in my case.

Word of caution, the first physio I saw gave me an exercise program commencing with squats, which, considering I had just had a knee op I thought was strange, so I rang the surgeon and he immediately recommended me to another physio, so if you don't like what you are being told, get another opinion.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

mattshrops

Have to agree to go with the medical advice. The physio i had was very keen to get me on a bike(indoor) before i could even walk again so although youre probably itching to get going ,try to relax and accept its going to take a bit of time. the most important thing is to get a long term recovery. 6 months of minimal activity is a pain in the butt, but it should give you 20+ years of racing and/or leisure.worth the wait.

Alex_Simmons/RST

mattshrops wrote:

Have to agree to go with the medical advice. The physio i had was very keen to get me on a bike(indoor) before i could even walk again so although youre probably itching to get going ,try to relax and accept its going to take a bit of time. the most important thing is to get a long term recovery. 6 months of minimal activity is a pain in the butt, but it should give you 20+ years of racing and/or leisure.worth the wait.

While I can't comment on any specific individual's situation/needs, keep in mind that the forces when pedaling are quite low, lower than many weight bearing forces, and hence indoor cycling can be quite a good way to provide some movement and exercise to aid in rehab.

PhilPub

You don't mention any plans for medical follow-up. As others have said, professional medical advice is crucial and if no provision has been made for post-surgery follow-up and physio, you should be nagging your GP to get some. Operations are very individual things and you should definitely get someone to check on your specific progress. It may be that you can return to particular activities more quickly depending on your recovery - e.g. exercise bike on light resistance/high cadence, or whatever.

Having said that - you're young and have a long time ahead of you for riding and racing, so better to be cautious than to jump back in and risk another set-back. You will be pleasantly surprised how quickly full fitness returns IF you've been able to make a full recovery. I had 12 months off running due to a hip injury/operation. (During which time I rediscovered my passion for cycling. ) Just got back to it a couple of months ago, all nice and easy so far but looking forward to a full summer of racing.

Overall, be patient. Don't put pressure on yourself to make a return for such-and-such a race, your long term health is more important. Good luck.

Josie_Hopps

Yes i have two booked appointment with the surgeon, one 3 weeks away and 0ne 6 weeks away. I also am seeing a physio in about 4 weeks, although i dont hold out much hope normal physio's can do much, never met a good one yet in my experience. I find sport physio's are much better so am going to press to see one.