New Knee

[vinnied]

I have to get a new knee in June, Anybody out there riding tials with a new knee

Vinnie

Edited March 9, 2010 by Vinnied

[axulsuv]

All I can add is my Grandfather broke his in the 1930's ... Waited until the late 70's for the replacement/repair surgery .

He had always wished he had done it when the technology had first become available ... RIP Grampa .

And I beleive the word is knee !!!

Glenn

[feetupfun]

Yes mate. Lots of people continue to ride trials with new knees and new hips

[alan_nc]

One of our regulars has had both knees replaced. He still can out ride me in any section.

Alan

[mik60ish]

I have to get a new nee in June, Anybody out there riding tials with a new nee

Vinnie

Is that an Irish nee?

[captainslackdabber]

Can you pick one up for me whilst you're there? Mine was giving me serious jip this morning.

[ham2]

Good luck for June..I put off opening this topic for a few days 'cos the title alone made my knees ache

[pa.]

Had a knee reconstruction on September 30th last year and it's been tremendous. Rode my first event last Sunday and not a problem. Even climbed Mt Sinai in January for good measure.

[scott_king]

As long as you do the physio afterwards you should be fine. Do the exercises daily building up the reps and on the day of an event before you ride and it should be fine.

Many people laugh these boring exercises off but they are vital to your recovery in the long run.

[nigel dabster]

my wife had one six months ago and is still struggling to walk, you need to make sure you follow the physio and from everyone we have spoken to its a good few months before you feel like you've done the right thing.

much worse than a hip apparently.

[motojojo]

I had acl's replaced in both knees and I would recommend riding with a brace if at all possible.

[bumpybump]

I had my knee reconstructed about 5 years ago after a parachute accident. I have pins and spans in mine. I just recently gave up motocross and taken up trials. All I can say is carry out your physio religiously, it seems very monotonous, but it worked for me in the long run.

It just aches in the cold!

[cvgmmartin]

Hi Vinnied, I had both my knees replaced at the same time in January just over 3 years ago and I ride a 500 triumph (weighs 245 lb) in vintage trials in Canada. I first rode the bike about 5 months after the operation but not seriously (just messing around), whenever I felt the bike going over I just let it drop. It wasn't till the next year 18 mths later) that I rode in a trial and although a taking it easy, it didn't cause too much trouble. This year I have been falling off, hitting trees, etc quite happily with no knee problems. You may want to use knee pads for a while since although the knees are somewhat numb, they are still very sensitive. The one thing you don't want to do is twist them so if in doubt bail out. Don't feel it will stop or limit your riding but it is critical that you do all the prescribed exercise and get that 135 degree of knee bend. Hope this helps.

[zippy]

I think alot depends on which knee replacement surgery you get.

There is the basic "rebuild" which is where a metal cap is put on the end of one bone and a teflon like pad is put on the end of the other.

The other type is what my dad had done which is much more severe, The old flesh and bone knee is cut away, think sawzall through the bone a few inches above and below the knee. A new Knee (hinge basically) is then put in place of the original. There is a barbed metal spike that is POUNDED into the center of the bones into the marrow that holds it in place. I believe the possibility of riding again after that is greatly reduced.

I have Osteo-arthritis in one of my knees and the Doc says I will have a knee replacement in the future, I am doing all I can to keep it from happening before age 65 or 70 or 80 LOL, but I don't want to wait too long and end up with the second type of replacement. The rebuild type I believe they can easily replace the "Teflon" pad. But hey I could be wrong on a few of these things.

[cvgmmartin]

Hi Zippy, That is exactly what I had done, chopped the existing bone a few inches above and below the joint and fitted stainless steel inserts top and bottom plus a plastic/teflon pad under the knee cap. I have the X rays in pdf form if anyone wants to see what it looks like. They make an incision about 6 to 7 inches long down the centre of the knee to open everthing up and then get the saws out. There is obviously a lot of skill (capentry type) in making the fit between the bone and stainless steel and I was told they are glued together so the joint has full full strength almost immediately. It is the soft tissue such as ligaments and tendons that takes time to get back in shape, also there is a general numbness around the knee ever after so they feel strange for quite a while. I rode last Sunday in a trial on my 500 Triumph, fell off several times but otherwise no problems other than hard work kick starting this engine after it has been on its side and flooded the engine. There is no reason why you shouldn't ride normally after such an operation, the key is, as several people have mentioned, you must do the exercises to recover good mobility of the joint. It is hard work to start with and for the first few months it can be very frustrating, but there is no option but to get proper Physiotherapy help to get the knee bending to around 135 degrees.