Riding after knee surgery

[rjones91]

So I've been M.I.A. for a while as I tore my ACL April 26 playing sports. Had surgery on June 11 and slowly recovering as such. Has anyone ever had reconstructive ACL knee surgery or any type of major knee surgery, and if so, what was the time frame to be back riding? I am in no way rushing my therapy, but walking past my bike every morning to go to the car is a huge bummer. I have plenty of patience as I refuse to do anything to jeopardize my current progression.

Just curious as the weather is perfect and everywhere I look, I see a motorcycle

[alex.s]

my brother and several of my friends have had acl's and meniscus's torn. be careful and go slow. sport bike or even standard riding position is not a good idea. think about borrowing a gyno cruiser until you can put a good amount of lateral load on the knee.

my brother wasn't able to get back on bikes for at least 6 or 7 months but he had pretty bad injuries and pretty invasive surgery with replacement tissue

[subxero]

I had meniscus repair on both my knees, not quite ACL surgery but they don't bother me all that much for most activities, its the a typical side to side pressure that really aggravates them so riding the bike doesn't bother my knees. However I will say that I had some serious surgery on my right ankle years ago and it does bother me quite frequently when I ride. Keeping my toes on the peg has my ankle bent at a fairly sharp angle and if I do long spirited rides I feel it for a few days afterwards.

[rjones91]

Originally Posted by alex.s

my brother and several of my friends have had acl's and meniscus's torn. be careful and go slow. sport bike or even standard riding position is not a good idea. think about borrowing a gyno cruiser until you can put a good amount of lateral load on the knee.

my brother wasn't able to get back on bikes for at least 6 or 7 months but he had pretty bad injuries and pretty invasive surgery with replacement tissue

Awwww that sucks. I guess I will just wait it out until I am alot further along before even considering riding. Thanks for the reply.

[rjones91]

Originally Posted by subxero

I had meniscus repair on both my knees, not quite ACL surgery but they don't bother me all that much for most activities, its the a typical side to side pressure that really aggravates them so riding the bike doesn't bother my knees. However I will say that I had some serious surgery on my right ankle years ago and it does bother me quite frequently when I ride. Keeping my toes on the peg has my ankle bent at a fairly sharp angle and if I do long spirited rides I feel it for a few days afterwards.

I can understand this. This can't be a good feeling if you feel the pain days later. I just hope this injury doesn't affect me in the longer run.

[CC Cowboy]

I tore up my right knee kick starting a Harley a long time ago. Had the operation, came home, got on my bike that day and rode with the cast on. It hurt, but it was worth it. By the way, it still hurts almost 30 years later.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

I tore up my right knee kick starting a Harley a long time ago. Had the operation, came home, got on my bike that day and rode with the cast on. It hurt, but it was worth it. By the way, it still hurts almost 30 years later.

what was the injury damage? sounds like bone damage? or was it soft tissue damage?

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by rjones91

........Just curious as the weather is perfect and everywhere I look, I see a motorcycle

Have you considered riding a bicycle instead as part of your therapy?
That helped me recovering from a sport injury in one of my knees (no surgery).

[Joshorilla]

Consult your doctor

[aaron15]

I've had two knee surgeries. One torn ACL and one torn medial meniscus, two separate times. About 5 years apart.
But I just had the meniscus surgery relatively recently. I believe April 22nd. After my ACL surgery, I had to abstain from sports for about 6 months.
I wasn't allowed to drive a manual car for about 1 month and a half after the meniscus surgery. And then towards the beginning of july I started to ease back into riding my 250. Haven't had any problems personally. Just have to be wary of how much weight you're putting on it and making sure not to twist it in any unnatural fashion. Hope that helps. Doctors usually tell you to do what feels comfortable and to listen to your body, don't try to push or force it. Good luck on recovery.

[rjones91]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Have you considered riding a bicycle instead as part of your therapy?
That helped me recovering from a sport injury in one of my knees (no surgery).

Yep. I ride a stationary bike before every therapy session.

[rjones91]

Originally Posted by Joshorilla

Consult your doctor

I have and they just chuckle at me and tell me to get out the brace first, then we can discuss riding a motorcycle.

[rjones91]

Originally Posted by aaron15

I've had two knee surgeries. One torn ACL and one torn medial meniscus, two separate times. About 5 years apart.
But I just had the meniscus surgery relatively recently. I believe April 22nd. After my ACL surgery, I had to abstain from sports for about 6 months.
I wasn't allowed to drive a manual car for about 1 month and a half after the meniscus surgery. And then towards the beginning of july I started to ease back into riding my 250. Haven't had any problems personally. Just have to be wary of how much weight you're putting on it and making sure not to twist it in any unnatural fashion. Hope that helps. Doctors usually tell you to do what feels comfortable and to listen to your body, don't try to push or force it. Good luck on recovery.

I am completely done with sports, but they said it may take up to 9 months to a year before I can consider playing sports again. I am definitely not gonna rush it or force it as its been hell going through recovery from the surgery. I don't want to anything that may hurt me and set me back. So not worth it as I will continue sulking whenever I see a motoryclist on the streets lol.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by rjones91

I have and they just chuckle at me and tell me to get out the brace first

this is a massive challenge when coming back from knee surgery. watching my brother and some friends of mine come back from knee surgery was really painful to watch.

[rjones91]

Originally Posted by alex.s

this is a massive challenge when coming back from knee surgery. watching my brother and some friends of mine come back from knee surgery was really painful to watch.

Its indeed a very painful process

[lgk]

I wish you the best of luck in your recovery.

[Live2ride]

I ripped my meniscus and tore my ACL completely off the bone playing lacrosse one day. The doctors took a patelagraph to replace it. It took almost 6 months before I was walking without constant pain. The first 3-4 months I was non weight bearing and on crutches but I was told that most of that was due to the meniscus tear. These things take time and cost lots of money, so don't push it lol.

[rjones91]

Originally Posted by lgk

I wish you the best of luck in your recovery.

Thank you

[rjones91]

Originally Posted by Live2ride

I ripped my meniscus and tore my ACL completely off the bone playing lacrosse one day. The doctors took a patelagraph to replace it. It took almost 6 months before I was walking without constant pain. The first 3-4 months I was non weight bearing and on crutches but I was told that most of that was due to the meniscus tear. These things take time and cost lots of money, so don't push it lol.

Oh wow. That was a pretty bad injury. I actually was allowed weight bearing the day after surgery. Fortunately I didn't have any damage to my meniscus thank goodness. Yes its quite expensive with the many co-pays but I am thankful for insurance. I will pace myself and not rush the process. Thanks

Glad you bounced back from your injury.

[Live2ride]

Originally Posted by rjones91

Oh wow. That was a pretty bad injury. I actually was allowed weight bearing the day after surgery. Fortunately I didn't have any damage to my meniscus thank goodness. Yes its quite expensive with the many co-pays but I am thankful for insurance. I will pace myself and not rush the process. Thanks

Glad you bounced back from your injury.

You're definitely fortunate for not tearing the meniscus. Luckily my injury was before my motorcycle riding began so it wasn't a huge deal. Cheers to a quick recovery for you.

[csmith12]

I always try to find the silver lining in every dark cloud. In your down time think about this for next time your on the bike.

Between the rider and the bike, who should be doing the hard work? The bike of course...

When I had shoulder separation surgery it totally changed how I rode and looked at myself while on the bike. I was still sore and hurting from time to time but the PT docs gave me the all clear to ride. This is when I REALLY learned how to hold on with my legs and torso. After getting adjusted, I soon realized I didn't put as much weight on my legs any longer. I would hang off the bike enough that it was more of a 50/50 weight distro between my bum on the seat and weight on my leg/knee, all the way down to the peg. The ball of my foot used to hurt after 2 hours of riding. After a few months back on the bike, no more foot pain. Why was this? Because after looking at the video, I put more weight on the seat, closer to 70/30 now. Maybe I was hanging off to much before. Another cool thing was, I felt more locked on the bike than ever before. Maybe you will find a similar silver lining given your situation.

Stick to your PT hardcore! It can take weeks, maybe even months off your recovery time and best wishes!

[CC Cowboy]

I never liked sports. Going to the library and studying was always my thing.

[azimmer11]

I broke my radius and dislocated my elbow snowboarding in march and had to get surgery. They put 6 screws and a plate in my arm. Riding my bike after was creating HORRIBLE pain in my arm up until about 4 months after (which ironically is about the same time the doctor told me i was allowed to do physical activities again with it!). Now, 5 months later, it feels normal.