Exercise ideas post knee surgery?

gatogal1
gatogal1 Posts: 1 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,
I had a menicus repair and lcl reconstruction 12wks ago and due to the nature of the injury/surgery can't do a lot of cardio yet. I can do about 15 minutes on the bike.
I lift upper body and my other leg. And do my PT stuff.
Anyone go through something similar? What did you do for exercise?
It's like being the turtle in the race and definitely frustrating.

Answers

  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,752 Member
    Ask your doctor when you can start walking for exercise again. Also whether you can increase the time you're on the bike.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,884 Member
    Maybe do as much of the PT stuff as you can handle. Look at their volume recommendation as a starting point, not a target.

    Gradually increase load over time, so long as there is no acute or lingering pain.

    Btw, unilateral work actually helps build strength in the idle leg. It's called contralateral training. So if you can do them, do step-ups on your good leg, or Bulgarian split squat, or single leg press or single leg on the leg extension and leg curl machines, etc. Again, all with the good leg only.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,264 Member
    The bike is usually the best bet for rehab. You can gradually lower the seat for more range of motion just so there isn’t any pain. I would definitely confer with your PT though before you do anything outside of their recommendations.

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