knee replacement, exercise, weight loss and help!

kam502

Hi my name is Kris. I am 54 years old and just had my second knee replaced. I weigh 210 lbs. I want to loose weight finally for the last time, I'd like to learn how to exercise while I recuperate and what to do with my middle aged, out of shape, pained body. I would like to learn how to stick with my healthy eating plan ( not calling it a diet) past the initial enthusiasm. If there is any one out there who knows about exercising while recovering from knee replacement surgery and in pain, and loosing weight while recuperating , please feel free to strike up a conversation. I really would like this last knee surgery (June 28th) to be the turning point of my healthy lifestyle!!

Kris

kds2047

hi there,
did you have PT for your knee replacement?

Nana_Booboo

Once you are clear from your doctor, Water Aerobics is almost no impact and very helpful with toning and losing. I've lost 42lbs doing water aerobics and aqua zumba 4 x a week.

I know what you mean when you say "not a diet"

I've learned a lot here. I don't go hungry anymore. I use to think I had to stick to 1200 cal and never go over and exercise on top of that but that's all a big lie.

I eat 1900+ and exercise leaving me with a net at about 1500 and lose fine without being hungry. If I want a "treat" I add a little extra exercise and have my treat.

who know it was so easy???

Good luck!!

liznotyet

I second aqua aerobics if you can get to a pool. For the days you can't, lifting weights with the upper body (sit and be fit) until you are ready to do upper body work standing in a slightly squatted position, also called "tucked" without knees locked. A lot of long slow walks. I recovered from fibromyalgia or something like it by doing all of this for 6-8 months - plus I took a lot of the sugar out of my diet, by removing fruit juice and junk food, to reduce inflammation. I have been without medication for years now! good luck

BinaryPulsar

bumping to read knee exercise advice

Scott53014

Hi , I kinda went through something similar a couple years ago i got into a motorcycle accident and shattered my elbow and tibia platue. There are quite a few things you can do in your down time, such as make sure where ever your sitting you have a couple of 2 lb dumbbells that you can curl whenever you want to and if your chair has arms on it you can push yourself up . if your lying in bed you can do partial crunches to work your abs and one leg lifts to also help your abs if it doesnt bother your other leg anything you can do to keep the rest of your body moving is a good thing i had alot of problems because i sat dormant for along time and wish i had thought of that stuff then. I wish you the best and good luck you can add me if you would like i still have problems with my leg and have to taylor my workouts accordingly

EinTX

In 2009 I had both knees replaced, one at a time. For exercise at first I just recreated the PT I did. The best thing I did was purchase a recumbent stationary bike and that really helped with my range of movement and strength. I also used the stairs at work too. Both up and down helped me develope strength and stability. Of course I use the handrail just in case at first I couldn't hardly take one step without stopping and resting but now I can walk up and down 7 flights twice a day. I refuse to take the elevator unless I am carrying something. Today you don't hardly know I ever had them replaced. I feel so much better. As far as diet is concerned, I couldn't get my head around eating better until I was diagnosed with diabetes. After I cut down refined carbs then the craving went away. I now count the carbs and don't allow myself more than one or two every couple of hours. Getting my blood sugar evened out was almost magic. I watch my calories but I eat pretty much as much meat, veggie, fruit and healthy fats as I want but really rarely have flour, sugar, potatoes. I have them as a special treat and then never more than one serving and measure them on a scale so there is no doubt that I have exactly one serving. if it is something I REALLY want then I will have one serving, wait 2 hours then having a second serving. i am losing about 1-2 pounds a week. Good luck with the knees. Recovery is tough but the harder you work now on recovery the better they will be, I am so glad I did.

yellowstonerocks

Your question struck home- I've had both knees replaced (total knee) in the last 16 months (not at the same time). I started about 60 lbs overweight. I've changed my lifestyle- hit the gym 8 to 10 times per week and adjusted my eating habits, which has helped me lose over 40 lbs.
Here are the things that helped me the most
1. stretching, stretching and stretching. Your leg muscles have to get used to the new knees and you want as much range of motion as possible.
2. Swimming. Aerobic with no stress to the knees. Start slow and work up to faster/more laps.
3. Exercise Bike. This probably helped me more than anything. Start on a stationery bike, only pedal half turns if that's all you can do. Once you can do full peddle turns, go at a slow pace with no resistance. Work up to around 80 rpm. More time is better than adding resistance at this point.
4. Spin. I started spin classes about 3 months after my second surgery. Again, start with low resistance, avoid standing or jumping at first, just sit and try to keep up higher rpms. Quit if you have any pain. I like the spin because being in a class and having an instructor both help with motivation. I'm now up to a full 2 hour spin class 3 to 4 times a week.
Then bicycle- I get tired of being inside all the time- especially if you have some good bike trails
5. Get together with a PT and have them go through a series of exercises- then start working out in the gym. You'll do exercises like ankle lifts, hamstring pulls, squats, calf raises, leg lifts, step ups, step downs, etc.
6. Walk. Start short and slow- work your way to longer distances and faster pace.
7. Massage. My leg muscles would get incredibly tight. A good massage therapist is worth his/her weight in gold.
8. Rest. Leave time to get off your feet, raise your legs and ice. will help the stiffness and swelling. It took me about 8 months to get past all stiffness and swelling.

Good luck!

kam502

Thank you for all your excellent advice.I am going to work on getting to water aerobics, starting to use the recumbent bike, and using weights for upper body toning.
As I am new to the message boards I am unsure as to how to reply to people individually or how posting really works, Is there an easy way to learn this?

kam502

what exactly does this mean? Is there a message board for knee injuries?

BinaryPulsar

what exactly does this mean? Is there a message board for knee injuries?

I replied to your message explaining what bump means, but actually that's a great idea. Someone should start a group for people with knee problems to share ideas. I wonder if there is one already.

BigDaddyBRC

Sure..it all starts with your diet.
Remember that you need to push yourself, but dont over do it...which is easier said than done.

For you, I would suggest a big focus on your diet and focus strength training. It will take time, but you will succeed! Take it day by day on the knee...push...the next day, if it hurts but bearable, then you know your limit...if it doesnt hurt...push more. If it swells like a SOB, you went too far...take it easy, rest it, and reset a few days later.

Realize.Visualize.Choose.Act.SUCCEED.
Choices are abundant in every moment of life. THe impacts of your actions, both consciously and sub-consciously, are what define your present being. You CREATE the present. REALIZE. See where you want to Improve, VISUALIZE. Make the CHOICE to Change. Take ACTION upon the choices that lead you to SUCCESS.

kam502

Hi,

Walking up stairs is the most painful problem I have. Even in the right knee which was replaced Sept. 20th. I still have a lot of pain in the knee. I wonder if it was because I had to wait to have the left knee done (June 28th) and still had difficulty walking. I was yold by my Dr. yesterday no swimming yet. That is a bummer since I live near the ocean, not far from a lovely lake and belong to the YMCA. Do you thin I should just get my bike out and try it?

yellowstonerocks

I suggest an exercise bike before going outdoors for bike rides. Nice thing about the exercise bike (upright or recumbent) is that you can set the resistance, speed and distance/time.
My worst pain was walking down stairs. I started strengthening by stepping down off a phone book, then slowly increasing the height and adding weights. After 8 months, I am now totally pain free on the steps.
Start small and don't get discouraged- it takes time to rebuild your muscles.

Susan2BHealthier

bump

EinTX

The recumbent stationary bike was introduced to me during therapy so I would think that you could do that. I was also required to move the seat as close as I could so I was bending my knee as much as it would go, believe it or not at first you didn't feel like you could bend it much but as you warm it up it can bend further so you can move the seat even closer. The phone book idea is excellent, I was lucky and had a low step that I started with at home. In fact, my home gym had most of the things I used at therapy so I was able to continue on with most of the exercises at home. It takes time but it is important not to just sit down and baby it, now is not the time to sluff off on your exercise. You don't want to over do it but you do want to honestly do as much as you can. Once you are fully recovered you will be so happy you had it done.

HeartsintheHighlands

I'm amazed by the number of people with knee problems and replacements who use and recommend a stationary bike! How on earth do you bend & bend&bend&bend your messed up knees like that? I haven't been able to use a bike since my first knee had its first arthritis pain. They just don't move that way. And the crunching...oh dear dog, the crunching...

Water exercise is wonderful for knees. My own gym's pool became unusable due to crazy mean people taking it over and management not dealing with it, so I'm stuck on dry land.

Am just now starting the recommended exercises for pre-op knee replacement. There are NO squats or other knee-stressing exercises! Most of them are done lying down, which is my kind of exercise!

Losing weight is crucial. I hope to lose another 16 lbs by surgery (two months away). There are different formulas, but it's said that every pound of body weight puts about 4 extra pounds of stress on the knees. The Synvisc site says,"every lost pound subtracts four pounds of pressure from the knees for each step taken." WebMD agrees.

Harvard Health states, "When you walk across level ground, the force on your knees is the equivalent of 1½ times your body weight. That means a 200-pound man will put 300 pounds of pressure on his knees with each step. Add an incline and the force is greater. The force on each knee is two to three times your body weight when you go up and down stairs, and four to five times your body weight when you squat to tie a shoelace or pick up an item you dropped."

All of which we already know from carrying 10-pound bags of groceries. Ouch.

My plan is to eat more veggies, limit carbs to bedtime (when the cravings kick in) and take anti anxiety meds to forestall eating out of nervousness and boredom. The plan goes into effect just as soon as I finish the last of the C*****y C***e Eggs I stocked up on at Easter.