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Knee reconstruction & recovery

Edogawakikkoman

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Jan 14, 2007
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January 7, I will get some of my hamstring tendon fashioned into a new ACL and bolted in to my knee joint...yippee...

I've been told I can be walking close to normal from 3 weeks to 4 months... :eek:

I've got just under a month to build up as much quad muscle as possible, but am more concerned about recovery....fast, safe and long term...

I have a roller but that is too dangerous should I fall off. I donated my fixed trainer to a University last year and now need a new one.

At first it will have to have close to zero tension...just to get some flexibility into the joint without putting pressure on it. My good leg can help if there is some pressure... will have the good leg in a cleat and the weak leg on a flat pedal. (at first ).

The Tacx Flow Multiplayer VR looks good....
A bit hard to figure out what to buy though...
trainer, plus software plus what else?
Is it going to cost an arm and a leg?
Should I just get the bare minimum to start?

will look for the old trainer thread now and do some research.... but the Tacx looks fun at least...
 
what roller do you have? Minoura have this which works well.
WT1012B.jpg
 
In addition to my Tacx Antares rollers (which also has a fork mount available), I recently purchased a cycleops-super-magneto-pro trainer which I really like. Relatively quiet with the Vittoria trainer tire. It is not hooked up to a computer or anything VR, but does have adjustable resistance settings, which give a wide range of power settings.

On another note, and not knowing anything about rehabilitation, I'm wondering if you might want to consider getting some short/adjustable cranks to limit your range of motion when starting to ride again. If you have a square tapered bb on your trainer bike, the cranks can be taken off of a kids bike (I think I have seen from 120-160mm). Of course that limits your gearing a bit, but on the trainer it might be fine.
 
Hit the gym mate - cycling isn't really going to do anything for you in the time span youy have and its what they had me do before my knee surgery.

For rehab - speak to a specailist before dropping any money mate.
 
Hope the operation goes ok. As the saying goes, it`s an aerobic sport dammit!, so I wouldn`t worry about building up muscle, unless you plan on challenging Chris Hoy. Just focus on anything that works the cardio system without placing strain on your knee. And the same for after the operation e.g. hand cycling, walking/running in a swimming pool, but like FarEast says, listen to what the specialist says.
 
I'm using gym equip now to build up muscle so I can balance out muscle loss due to possibly having the leg in a splint for three weeks.
I have a home gym for this and some weights for squats etc...pre-op is not a problem.

So muscle building before the op...

The roller will be for getting motion back after the op....

Even the roller i have now will have too much traction in easy gears due to the weight of me and the bicycle....

For starters I want the trainer to have close to zero tension just to get motion into the knee... (after the op ).
 
Even the roller i have now will have too much traction in easy gears due to the weight of me and the bicycle....

For starters I want the trainer to have close to zero tension just to get motion into the knee... (after the op ).


In that case lie on your back and just do bicycle spins, work out your abs at the same time and no danger of falling off. You can increase resistance by using stretchy bands when you want to.
 
In that case lie on your back and just do bicycle spins, work out your abs at the same time and no danger of falling off. You can increase resistance by using stretchy bands when you want to.

Thanks, that's a good idea...

But still want to pretend I'm doing some real cycling as well...


will definitely do that while in bed...
 
Hope the operation goes ok. As the saying goes, it`s an aerobic sport dammit!, so I wouldn`t worry about building up muscle, unless you plan on challenging Chris Hoy.

My sister in law had knee surgery after tearing a tendon in a fall and they said they didn't have to wait that long with surgery because she already had good muscle buildup. I don't remember all the details but I think the muscle helps to take the strain while the replacement tendon heals in place.
 
Don't have any suggests for trainers, but good luck with the operation. Sounds like you'll be ready for some rides down the Tone by summer, huh?
 
My sister in law had knee surgery after tearing a tendon in a fall and they said they didn't have to wait that long with surgery because she already had good muscle buildup. I don't remember all the details but I think the muscle helps to take the strain while the replacement tendon heals in place.

Yep, the strong the muscles around the knee the better the support, athletes genearally have quicker rehabs than other folk but it's more likely that the sports activity led to their messed up knee in the first place.
 
January 7,
The Tacx Flow Multiplayer VR looks good....
A bit hard to figure out what to buy though...
trainer, plus software plus what else?
Is it going to cost an arm and a leg?
Should I just get the bare minimum to start?

will look for the old trainer thread now and do some research.... but the Tacx looks fun at least...

I had a Tacx Fortius Multiplayer before. Not happy with it at all, the software is probably the worst I've ever seen (if I hadn't been in software myself there is no way I would have figured it out), the motor is very loud so you'll need a basement or sound insulated room and their after sales service is completely based on local re-seller so don't expect any support from them directly (there were no re-sellers in China so I bought it in Europe and had to ship broken parts through re-seller to get spares, even when under warranty).

I did use it quite a bit one winter, but not the VR stuff - ended up just riding in front of the TV. Then there were more motor issues and I just couldn't be bothered going through the trouble. Got some good winter riding gear instead.

This was a few years back so they might have improved - still I'd recommend you check carefully before investing.
 
Don't have any suggests for trainers, but good luck with the operation. Sounds like you'll be ready for some rides down the Tone by summer, huh?

Thanks.. I hope so.

Joe: Thanks. Kind of the same predicament except I busted my ACL about 26 years ago, so the knee is quite normal at the moment... but after the operation, I can't put weight on the new ligament until it can support my weight and the bone holes have healed...

Therefore any quad support muscle I can build before and hopefully maintain after the op, will protect the new ligament and hopefully allow me to start walking sooner than later...
 
Best thing is the rollers with the "Fork Bar" it will give you the best results you are looking for - spinning with zero resistance - then basically get your hands on last years Grand Tours or some of the Cycling Route Dvd's of the Grand Tours and spin away.

I have a set of rollers with the bar that I'm currently not using so if you want and able to pick them up then pet me know and I would be more than happy for you to borrow them long term.
 
I will be in Saitama in Jan for a race so I could possbily bring it up with me then if you are interested.

One thing I will say though - go see a sports rehab specailist and listen and do exactly what they say! I lost 4 years of my cycling life because I ignored what they were telling me and listedned to team mates and friends uninformed and bias, thinking I knew best.

No offense to anyone here but this is serious stuff, injury, surgery and the likes should really be defered to a specailist coach, rehab therapist and obviously the doctor and surgical team that treated you.
 
If the aim is to increase muscle, then I`d be asking the doc for some steroids ;)
Being more serious, I`m not sure if you can build muscle in the time frame you are looking at. Maybe Owen will know.
 
If the aim is to increase muscle, then I`d be asking the doc for some steroids ;)
Being more serious, I`m not sure if you can build muscle in the time frame you are looking at. Maybe Owen will know.

Don't worry, I put on muscle fast...in fact there is probably plenty there already. Just want to be able to walk asap when the brace or whatever they put on is taken off. For some people it takes 3 months... I'll be aiming at 3 days and no limp by week three. Will probably be in a brace for three weeks.
Seeing the doc on wed to discuss details. Going to see if they let me put the Go-pro somewhere so they can film the Op for me...

There will be limitations of no sports for a year besides soft cycling and swimming and rehab. 6 months minimum rehab. Going to be a long haul.
Will be like Robo-Cop when complete.
 
Going to see if they let me put the Go-pro somewhere so they can film the Op for me...

There will be limitations of no sports for a year besides soft cycling and swimming and rehab. 6 months minimum rehab. Going to be a long haul.
Will be like Robo-Cop when complete.

Won`t they think that a bit strange - having an operation with a helmet on ;)
Good luck with the re-hab. I`m still not back to 100% after nearly 4 months, so just taking it easy on the bike at the mo. Gets a bit boring sometimes, but as long as I can ride the bike, I don`t mind.
 
talking of trainers, is it possible to do climbing training on a trainer somehow? Stupid question?
 
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