Note: There are some FUGLY postures/images in here of knees…mostly post-surgery…that some may not want to see….
Over the last 45 years, I’ve broken A LOT of stuff…A LOT of “me”…too many bones, tendons, ligaments and important soft tissues…and it started to take a toll on me ESPECIALLY on my knees and my mobility.
It all came down to this: I got a knee replacement today. And it is all because of Moto. Therefore, I’m thinking…
This is “Moto”?
For about 5 years, I’ve been getting slowed down by pain and the lack of mobility. My knees, especially my left, we’re always painful and heavy feeling…bogged down like I was dragging them thru life whenever I was attempting to walk or stand for more than a few minutes.
A few years back, MC sent me a text from his hospital bed with his “new knee” straight outta surgery and he was already stoked! He had this giant post-surgical melon of a knee…that immediately better motion than his worn out“stock parts” 🤣
Since then, on a few occasions, he’s asked me “Why haven’t you done your knees, yet?” Ya know, I really didn’t have an answer other than the simple fact that I had a stupid mindset of not wanting to “Take the time to do it.”
Time off from racing…racing that was already being compromised by my knees.
Time off from work…that’s total bs for me. I can work from anywhere on virtually any device…so, yup, that’s a non-issue. Besides, I’ll be able to be back in the office in a matter of days.
The cost: all in and including PT & whatever devices I might have to buy (so far they’ve all been included other than the “Ice Machine” my wife got…’cause she’s jus’ awesome)…all deductibles are gonna add up up to around $7-8K on a $120K+ spend. Also, if I get my other knee done by year’s end…it’ll be cheaper since I’ve paid near the annual limit on my ankle and knee...which is nice.
Look, I know we all have different insurance issues and some may pay less (like the Medicare crowd) and some may pay more,..and, yes, there are some that don’t have coverage or their coverage makes it too damn hard to get your knees covered.
Here’s my message to all of you: if you’ve got pain…something holding you back…something you think might be getting “bad” or “worse”…
Go find answers.
Go get whatever help and assistance you can. Go and take the time to get healthy.
Because, you’re worth it.
Congrats on the new aftermarket components!
Good luck! My dad and other family members have had knee replacements and it turned out so well they all wished they’d done it earlier.
I'm scheduled for 11/11 to get both done. Had a hip done in July and it feels great.
Hoping the knees come out as good.
I had my left TKR about 10 years ago, the pain of surgery, rehab and $ was well worth it. Wish I had done it sooner.
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Happy healing brother. It's wild how far knee replacements have come. Doctors are pretty damn good at these, and since I know you're in Southern California you probably worked with a particularly good one.
Same company that makes CTi knee braces makes the 'cold rush' ice machine. Awesome piece of gear to have in stock for any orthopedic recovery...
My last ACL surgery I went in with my own ice machine, my own post op brace, etc. I woke up from surgery and the nurse had put my brace on upside down.
I'm curious (and don't mean to start a debate) - do/did you ride with good knee braces?
Glad it worked out for you, Manny. My dad had his left knee replaced when he was 72 (he's 78 now). He was out of the hospital day-of (I believe), and moving around with almost no problems within a week. I know you're not that vintage, so you'll be back to full throttle in no time.
Heal fast Manny !
Welcome to the club!! And thanks for encouraging me to do the same when mine was up. I really appreciated it. Heal fast, and keep working on that range of motion. You can’t even take a day off.
I'm set for early January left side, I can hardly wait.
Well done, keep us updated on your recovery please.
Keep up with physio/ knee exercises and you’ll be good
I have a question
For those who have already had a knee replacement, are you able to ride like it is a good knee? How does it feel on jump landings, Big or Small jumps? Race day 2nd moto braking bumps?
Gym workouts like treadmill running, squats, box jumps and burpees?
Heal up quickly, amigo!
Great topic! I just had my TKR ortho visit yesterday….thought for sure I was going to get TKR this winter…but I had reservations because some days my knee does not feel that bad….I”m bone on bone on the anterior of right knee with osteoarthritis and repaired ACL is loose or hanging by a thread. Ortho guy says he would like to try Pt & PRP injection first…he said due to the fact I will keep riding Moto I should try to keep OEM knee joint as long as possible….I have been stressing out, not having a plan of attack for my knee pain…I feel better now that we have come up with a plan. I know I will eventually need the TKR but after having both knees reconstructed over the last 15 years, I was not looking forward to another surgery….good luck with your recovery!
Happy it went well 💪🏽. I’m 23 , any advice for the knees? Is moto what caused your knee issues you think?
We are all different, 2 years out and can ride normal, no fear etc... started at 1 year out, getting the foot back on the peg was slowish, felt ok, little weak.
I was told to avoid all impact, jump boxes, running etc... said i could do it, would just accelrate another revision, the plastic wears between the knee.
Keep them strong and avoid dabbing. KneesOverToes Guy sort've kick started a knee focused strength program that helps a lot.
3 1/2 years out on a right TKR (with 2 previous surgeries) here: The repair of the your other ligament damage is what will take the most time to rehab. Your ACL will be removed weather its good or not. The actual knee joint replacement will likely hurt like crazy for a couple weeks due to all the stretching of everything that holds your knee together (so they can get access to do the work) and the aggressive stretching you need to get full extension back. You are a tough motocrosser, so you can deal with it ;-) At 1-2 months you will see rapid improvement, but will likely feel a lot of numbness above and mostly below the knee cap. I couldn't kneel down on that side for well over a year, but you will be able to. It just takes time. While you will be able to get back on a bike sooner, mine didn't start to feel "right" until about a year + out. HOWEVER, the tremendous pain you are dealing with day-to-day now will be GONE and your quality of life will be so much improved. My surgeon said mine was "right up there" with the worst he's ever seen and that everyone says "i don't know why I waited so long" My advice would be to do it and get on with your life! Good luck!
My advice would be to get a good, solid set of knee braces (Ive tried them all and the Fox PODS are what I wear, after being in custom CTi2's for 20 years. Mobius are so flexy that they are useless in my opinion). And wear them every time you get on a bike, just like you would your helmet. Plenty of people will disagree, but the fact is they will HELP protect you, but nothing can protect you in all possible crashes. You are riding motocross, not mowing the lawn! They will feel "weird" but you will get used to it and the people that say the braces "hold them back" are full of sh!t .
Pit Row
All my knee injuries from moto! Advice: keep feet on pegs as much as possible, thats the safest place to protect feet, ankles, knees…. It’s natural human reaction to put your leg out to brace for a fall….you have to relearn how to NOT do that! How: drills …feet on peg, squeeze bike with legs…slow speeds to perform the drills….figure 8”s or a small circle….Ytube specific drills…
I know this is eventually what it will come down to….going to go with Ortho advice for the next month or 2 & see how I feel…..At this point I can still Moto, Mtn Bike, road cycle and walking is generally ok without limping….Once I get to the point of not being able to do these activities, I will go ahead with the TKR…..I would say at this time my greatest fear is damaging the implement while riding…..
Good to hear Manny.
Put something like a strap or belt around your foot and start stretching your leg straight so the back of your leg can touch. Its a long process but thats what therapy wants as a goal.
Heal up quick Manny!
My pops both of his replaced. He had one knee done in 2020 and the other done in 2021. He was back on the bike at 3 months and said his knees haven't felt this good since he was 20.
You should be healed up and ready to go right about the time a certain canyon starts getting some rain and gets really good
I expressed the same concerns. My Dr said you can still damage the ligaments, etc around the knee, just the same as before but the chances of damaging the implant pieces or loosening it is virtually zero.
Welcome to the club! I'm 9 months out from full replacement of my right knee. The first 3 months was really rough. The pain was crazy due to the amount of arthritic bone they had to cut out and recovery was tough. I was riding by 4 months though, both moto and trails. I currently ride 1 to 2 times a week without pain. I did go in for a check up this week and I may have to go back under the knife for them to put in a slightly larger bearing. My knee joint clicks and pops pretty bad and doesn't operate as smoothly as I'd like. It doesn't cause me any pain, which is good, but it pops pretty loudly when I walk. I'm not going to sneak up on anyone that's for sure. At this point, I'm just going to run it. I don't want to go under the knife again so soon and snowboarding season is just starting. I only got one day in last year before my surgery.
Since last December I've had a new right hip and both new knees with the last knee done in late April. I think part of the key for a good rehab is to be able to "play through the pain". By this, I mean that the instructions the medical folks might give are designed for the lowest common denominator of patients. But we are not the lowest common denominator, we are motorcrossers, and that means we can deal with the grief on the way to being much stronger. I was driving in less than two weeks, riding a bicycle by 30 days, and being pretty hard core in a bunch of activities within two months, max. If your eyes aren't watering when you do stuff, then you're not trying hard enough.
And I've asked a number of guys about the use of braces, with the universal answer being that they don't do much given that the ACL/MCL is gone. Where they might be of assistance is if they have an anti-hyperflexion feature, as the new knee joint is built to go to maybe 118 degrees. Your rehab will try to get you to 110 or so, but a crash or fall that has you dropping your butt to your ankles will have you crying like a baby.
So, in the words of the great philosopher: "get 'er done".
So much Great Stoke and Information shared in here! That’s as good as it gets here…at Vital, in my opinion.
I see different concerns and approaches to how to deal with our knees and injuries. NICE!
I had 3 different Ortho’s that didn’t prescribe knee braces for anything beyond rehab and therapy. Seems that my knee stability and strength were really good; but, due to the DNA handed down to me over the years…I’m as bow-legged as a ol’school rodeo champion. 🤣
And that combined with knee injuries going back to the ‘80s had taken it’s toll. Someone spoke of having NO anterior meniscus? Well, “ditto”! And the left was full David Groggins…and over on the right is sub-David Groggins (but it’s gonna get done…SOON!).
Someone posted about having an ACL removed during the process…? Yup. My allograft from 2013 went in the trash! 🤣 Btw, that “used” ACL bought me A LOT of time and gave me my knee back…for a while. My doc was surprised it was still there…then told me, “So, it’s gone & your procedure was text-book. Let’s hit the rehab and get to the other one!” It’s nice to have a doc that’s stoked and involved in his patients. Oh, and he dogs moto, Baja…works on raven era…even those TT driving madmen!
The well wishes and “go for it” mentality shared in here is simply who we are.
Continue to share your stoke…our stoke…and I’m gonna see some of you out there at the practice track, at the races and around the moto-sphere as I go thru this process. Be sure to say,”Hey!” if and when yiu see my old gimpy moto-ass at the track.
In the meantime…take a lap for me!
Day 2 status: the “nerve-block” is or has worn off…wearing off…still sticking to just Tylenol for now. I’ve got 5mg Oxy on reserve…trying to…hopefully minimize its use/need…ask DeanO, we’ve had some laughs about it, yet, it ain’t all that funny…that stuff STOPS you from being able to…well…take a shit! And that ain’t cool.
I’m walking on it, doing foot raises, calf-stretches, keeping it straight while seated and resting, flexing it a bit…in short…I’m gonna fight…cautiously…for my mobility. Until the block wore off, I had “mild drop foot”. Ask Josh Hill about that. It sucks and makes walking a challenge. But, with the block gone, foot control & some of my post-ankle reconstruction stiffness and stiff-pain-until stretched is back…that’s a GOOD THING! Oh, I had a complicated and thorough Ankle Rebuild in April that kicked off this entire process. After the 2024 Baja 1000 where my team won the ProMoto-60 Championship…my ankle and knee (both Left) were DONE!
Well, anyhooo…that’s where I’m at.
Go have an awesome day.
Manny
Thats great to hear! I”m just trying to gather all info I can to make the best decision moving forward….
It's in my future sooner than later. Thinking Jiffy Knee, hearing a lot of good about it. Heal quickly.
Dang Manny the way I saw you get around like the Energizer Bunny I would have never guessed your knees were bad. Heal up quickly my friend.
Going to the toilet after oxy, makes you wonder, "where did that pineapple come from".
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