is there a doctor in the house???

[Vinzer_Uno]

I know orthopedist and physical therapist are being conservative...I miss riding my bike and can't stand driving to work anymore

here is the skinny, had arthroscopic surgery on my knee to clean up some debris in there and I am on my third week after the surgery.  I can walk with out crutches and there is no pain in the knee, but the quad is weak...I need a Dr's opinion who rides...when is the soonest i can get back on the bike, or what sort of goals/benchmark signs with my knee should i Be at where riding will be ok.

[Scotzman]

Whooo, that's a lot of liability for someone to take who's not treating you. There might be members who've had similar issues that can share, but every recovery is different.

[Slide Panda]

Well, I think it's up to you. I had my ACL done (patellar ligament autograft) and clean up of my meniscus done in late June.  I'm back on the bike, though I do have some issues when/if I get a little more saucy on the ride and wish to hang a bit to the effected side. I was back on, and knocked out a couple hundred miles about 10 weeks post op... I was to a point that the doc said (roughly) - unless you blow it out again, there's not much you can do to hurt it structurally.

But there's a lot of variables - so I really think it's on you. Like you, my quad has suffered from the inactivity and also I have discomfort if I remain in one position too long - but my legs were pretty well strong before surgery, so my diminished strength is more than some folks have on a good day... So I guess I'm saying it's all relative.

Since you're off the crutches, it's just a matter of how much strain you think it can take/you are comfortable with. Conservatively, I'd say go a couple more weeks and dedicate the time you might ride to maxing out the strength and Rang of Motion

[Vinzer_Uno]

Whooo, that's a lot of liability for someone to take who's not treating you. There might be members who've had similar issues that can share, but every recovery is different.

That was exactly what I said to myself after I read my posting (completely bad choice of wording on the subject line)...but thankfully people like yourself understood that I was looking for other memebers to share similar expierences.  Rather than a doctor to step up to the plate, tell me everything will be Ok so I can blame them for messing up myself in the end   

[Vinzer_Uno]

Well, I think it's up to you. I had my ACL done (patellar ligament autograft) and clean up of my meniscus done in late June.  I'm back on the bike, though I do have some issues when/if I get a little more saucy on the ride and wish to hang a bit to the effected side. I was back on, and knocked out a couple hundred miles about 10 weeks post op... I was to a point that the doc said (roughly) - unless you blow it out again, there's not much you can do to hurt it structurally.

But there's a lot of variables - so I really think it's on you. Like you, my quad has suffered from the inactivity and also I have discomfort if I remain in one position too long - but my legs were pretty well strong before surgery, so my diminished strength is more than some folks have on a good day... So I guess I'm saying it's all relative.

Since you're off the crutches, it's just a matter of how much strain you think it can take/you are comfortable with. Conservatively, I'd say go a couple more weeks and dedicate the time you might ride to maxing out the strength and Rang of Motion

I agree with what you 100%... what’s a few more weeks compared to dropping my bike unnecessarily and prolong the healing...Bleh

I keep in shape and have been a Road cyclist (bicycle) for about 10 years so my quads are in decent shape...except for the fact that the good knee side is a lot stronger than the repaired one due to years of favoring; which in turn threw off my whole body alignment along the way (which makes me wonder what my golf swing is going to do when I get to pick up the sticks again)

Thanks for the feed back fellas! (My apologies to the Docs out there if it seem like I was bating a trap) 

[Statler]

<ears perk up>

did someone call?

oh......never mind.....carry on...


 

[ducpainter]

<ears perk up>

did someone call?

oh......never mind.....carry on...


 

hmmmm....

someone needs a doctor...

and a lawyer shows up?

Coincidence?

[Howie]

hmmmm....

someone needs a doctor...

and a lawyer shows up?

Coincidence?

 

[Slide Panda]

hmmmm....

someone needs a doctor...

and a lawyer shows up?

Coincidence?

He thought he heard an ambulance, and was considering giving chase...

Vee - I'd say do some work on your body alignment issues too - as you already have a clue, they can wreak havoc on all sorts of things. Years back I got hit my a car while on foot and to messed up an ankle pretty well. Until it got sorted, I favored that side, which it resulted in knee pains and a cant to my posture. Be sure to chat with you PT folks about that.

[Vinzer_Uno]

 So…Four weeks after surgery...I Went for a 40 mile ride thru the Oakland Hills yesterday.  I stayed totally within the speed limts (except for a little bit on the freeway) none-the-less, all in all, it was probably a dumb impatient thing to do.  

That said...

I decided to play hooky from work yesterday; curiosity and boredom sets in… leads me to taking the bike off the paddock stand and riding it around in u-turns in my parking garage...which then leads me to putting my all my gear on and head for the hills *figuring it is 1 in the afternoon and the roads up there would be pretty much traffic free - which it was*

The Knee felt great, and not saying I have 100 percent strength and mobility back, I had no problem putting the problematic leg down in a hurry (happened during the u-turns in my parking garage)   Going thru the turns I didn’t have any issues transferring my weight riding with my core and legs etc etc...(there are a couple of good switch backs going up Tunnel road those familiar with the east Bay/Oakland hills so you can imagine the amount of scooting around I had to do)

I don't know how my knee would have liked riding for more than an hour and not interested in finding out how anytime soon.   I'm gonna be a good boy and put the bike up for another two weeks.


Thanks for everyones responses!

[Buckethead]

My father is orthopedist but he hates motorcycles so you wouldn't like the answer. 

Haha. Same here.