knee replacement, exercise, weight loss and help!

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

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

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

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!

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.

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.

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.