Knee injury rehab

kb228
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Mansfield, OH US
Had a schatzker 6 tibial plateu fracture back in september. Luckily have full range of motion and most of my natural hyperextension back already.

Anyways im looking for some stability exercises that worked well for those of you who have had knee injuries. Cant go to PT as my insurance doesnt cover motorcycle accidents. Doing it on my own.

Currently im doing 3x12s
-hamstring curls
-deadlifts
-squat/front squat
-leg extensions

Looking into getting a bosu ball. Thoughts/suggestions?

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Bret
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1/15/2019 3:53pm
Shattered my tibial plateau about seven years ago. Get a tennis ball, foam balance pad, uniplane rocker, and a wobble board. Start with the foam balance pad. Stand on one foot for at least one minute. Do the same thing in front of a wall and bounce the ball against the wall and catch it while balancing on one foot. Once this is really easy, move on to the rocker. After mastering that, move to a wobble board. To this day I stand on one leg while waiting in a line or just standing and talking, just to keep from favoring it and to maintain balance. Good job getting your full range of motion back, especially extension.
Rotaholic
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NZ
1/15/2019 4:34pm
After an ACL recon and then a meniscus keyhole a few years later my knee has been weak and sore. I do plenty of cycling but the body just always compensates. You really need to isolate and work that knee.
I have just completed a 30-day workout program on my phone and my knee is 100 times stronger, I was skeptical but highly recommend you try an app called 30-day fitness challenge.
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Brad460
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1/15/2019 5:09pm Edited Date/Time 1/15/2019 5:09pm
After my ACL surgery obviously that knee was weaker and I lost a lot of muscle. To keep from favoring that knee during workouts you need to isolate it. I was doing ~100 lunges a day with just that leg to build it back even with the good knee- it got there real quick!
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Cycle Sport
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New Bern, NC US
1/15/2019 6:06pm
Stand on a platform on one foot (your injured leg), with your other foot hanging over the edge. The leg hanging over the edge, lock your knee and raise your toes up. Now bend your bad knee and gently touch the heal of your good leg on the floor and the raise back up. Start with a low platform, like 6” and work up to 12” or more. I used a cider block laying flat for a while, it’s 8”. I love the Bosu ball too, lots of variety.

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jmc2
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Gilbert, AZ US
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1/15/2019 6:50pm
Great ideas already listed.
If you have access to a pool, you could work on range of motion and work on simple exercises and then advance to walking and into squats and then plyometrics in the pool. There is always a constant resistance in the water so it will cause fatigue pretty quick and feel pretty tired after a workout.
We had total knee, total hip and ACL reconstruction patients work on running in the water forward, sideways and backwards.
sandman768
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Saratoga Springs, NY US
1/15/2019 7:15pm
I wrecked my knee in June, full ACL replacement & meniscus repair in June. I went through the the basic Insurance covered rehab....10 weeks...Good enough to walk & be a normal Joe, but not good enough to ride moto. I did my own rehab the next 2 months...better but still not feeling strong enough to ride....My ortho surgeon told me to see his PT guy who runs a sports specific Advanced PT program...being a guy that thinks he can do it all on his own, I put it off, thinking I can handle it....my knee was not feeling strong enough... I swallowed my pride,went & paid for 10 one on one sessions with a sports trainer with PT background, after 5 workouts My knee/leg is feeling much stronger, plus I"m relearning what excercises I should be doing and what I should NOT be doing....I would not think twice about buying a part for my bike if it needed it, I"m ok with investing a little $ into my body. with that said, bicycling and swimming always good for leg muscles...
captmoto
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Rancho Cucamonga, CA US
1/15/2019 7:53pm
One leg on the Bosu Ball, 10 to 15 lb. dumbells, 3 x sets of curls. Rest. 3 sets overhead. Simple squats on the Bosu Ball.
Lunges, Reverse lunges on a platform 6-8" high. You don't have to do big ass macho squats and

Why not PT through your insurance? It is usually part of the recovery/rehab of your surgery.

Do not neglect getting full extension, you can do this with calf raises. If you have stairs, stand with your toes on the edge and do 10 x 3 calf raises.
I'm sure you could find tons of Youtube videos about strengthening.
kb228
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1/16/2019 3:27am
captmoto wrote:
One leg on the Bosu Ball, 10 to 15 lb. dumbells, 3 x sets of curls. Rest. 3 sets overhead. Simple squats on the Bosu Ball...
One leg on the Bosu Ball, 10 to 15 lb. dumbells, 3 x sets of curls. Rest. 3 sets overhead. Simple squats on the Bosu Ball.
Lunges, Reverse lunges on a platform 6-8" high. You don't have to do big ass macho squats and

Why not PT through your insurance? It is usually part of the recovery/rehab of your surgery.

Do not neglect getting full extension, you can do this with calf raises. If you have stairs, stand with your toes on the edge and do 10 x 3 calf raises.
I'm sure you could find tons of Youtube videos about strengthening.
Great suggestions from everyone. I didnt even know about wobble boards. Theyre $25 on amazon and seem to do the same thing as a bosu ball.

Cant go through insurance because they dont cover injuries related to motorcycle accidents. (Had an entire thread on this - i could rant for days on this load of BS)

Also i have full range of motion with about 5deg of hyperextension on my injured leg. Working on getting the ~10deg hyperextension back that i had before. Doc is surprised i have any at all so im not pushing it too hard in that aspect.

Im following a 16 week program that consists of the exercises i listed in my op. Just want some extra stuff to be ready to ride by the time 16 weeks is up.
offroad44b
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Wheelersburg, OH US
1/16/2019 4:46am
Good luck man. No suggestions for that type of injury.

But my knees and hips suck. IT band in one knee, pes anserine bursitis in both, hip impingement in both and hip flexor tendentious in one.................... I know......

been to 3 doctors and had injections everywhere and 8 weeks of therapy but nothing worked. the general conscious is that im the tightest (least flexible) they have ever seen at my age. so right now stretching 3-5 times a day including yoga and doing some light stability and strength workouts.

anyway good luck with your recovery. hope we both get back to it soon.
captmoto
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1/16/2019 7:31am
kb228 wrote:
Great suggestions from everyone. I didnt even know about wobble boards. Theyre $25 on amazon and seem to do the same thing as a bosu ball...
Great suggestions from everyone. I didnt even know about wobble boards. Theyre $25 on amazon and seem to do the same thing as a bosu ball.

Cant go through insurance because they dont cover injuries related to motorcycle accidents. (Had an entire thread on this - i could rant for days on this load of BS)

Also i have full range of motion with about 5deg of hyperextension on my injured leg. Working on getting the ~10deg hyperextension back that i had before. Doc is surprised i have any at all so im not pushing it too hard in that aspect.

Im following a 16 week program that consists of the exercises i listed in my op. Just want some extra stuff to be ready to ride by the time 16 weeks is up.
That's a shame about insurance. I had great PT for my knee replacement. It really helped my confidence about riding. I rode at 3-1/2 months with no problems.
WowWowWubzy
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Trophy Club, TX US
1/16/2019 7:47am
I had a bad hyperextension, went to the pool quite a bit and used flippers to strengthen the knee joint. Low impact. Just my idea, worked great for me.
RCMXracing
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1/16/2019 7:59am
DO NOT do leg extensions! Unsafe and unnecessary. Those machines should be banned. Squat motions will get you everything you need.
Highly recommend a Bosu ball. Spring for the bigger size. I have the smaller one and it’s great but limits width of stance.
Assuming you are doing some form of cycling or elliptical. From my experience if you get too hard core with weights can go backwards with PT of the knee. Just control swelling, obviously a sign of overdoing it.
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Gary105
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Douglas, MA US
1/16/2019 8:07am
I start PT tomorrow morning for a partially torn ACL. They are trying to get away without doing surgery and hoping it heals on its own and use PT to strengthen the leg. I really hope i am not wasting my time with them going the hope it heals route. Insurance reasons i believe they have to try this first. First race of the season is April 6th and i do not want to miss it.
Bret
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1/16/2019 8:53am
RCMXracing wrote:
DO NOT do leg extensions! Unsafe and unnecessary. Those machines should be banned. Squat motions will get you everything you need. Highly recommend a Bosu ball...
DO NOT do leg extensions! Unsafe and unnecessary. Those machines should be banned. Squat motions will get you everything you need.
Highly recommend a Bosu ball. Spring for the bigger size. I have the smaller one and it’s great but limits width of stance.
Assuming you are doing some form of cycling or elliptical. From my experience if you get too hard core with weights can go backwards with PT of the knee. Just control swelling, obviously a sign of overdoing it.
My physical therapists said exactly the same thing about leg extensions.
1
captmoto
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1/16/2019 4:46pm
Bret wrote:
My physical therapists said exactly the same thing about leg extensions.
Huh. I did lots of leg extensions. PT did lots of forcing extension too. I started PT 2-1/2 weeks after my surgery.
1/16/2019 5:28pm
Leg ext especially if u go to full ext are hard on the acl is what I was told.
1/16/2019 5:31pm
sandman768 wrote:
I wrecked my knee in June, full ACL replacement & meniscus repair in June. I went through the the basic Insurance covered rehab....10 weeks...Good enough to...
I wrecked my knee in June, full ACL replacement & meniscus repair in June. I went through the the basic Insurance covered rehab....10 weeks...Good enough to walk & be a normal Joe, but not good enough to ride moto. I did my own rehab the next 2 months...better but still not feeling strong enough to ride....My ortho surgeon told me to see his PT guy who runs a sports specific Advanced PT program...being a guy that thinks he can do it all on his own, I put it off, thinking I can handle it....my knee was not feeling strong enough... I swallowed my pride,went & paid for 10 one on one sessions with a sports trainer with PT background, after 5 workouts My knee/leg is feeling much stronger, plus I"m relearning what excercises I should be doing and what I should NOT be doing....I would not think twice about buying a part for my bike if it needed it, I"m ok with investing a little $ into my body. with that said, bicycling and swimming always good for leg muscles...
What did he say to do and not to do? I had my acl redone again 7 weeks ago. He also added an ALL ligament on the lateral aspect of my knee for additional stability. My cartridge was trashed! I had no idea it was that bad.
sandman768
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Saratoga Springs, NY US
1/16/2019 5:41pm
Bret wrote:
My physical therapists said exactly the same thing about leg extensions.
captmoto wrote:
Huh. I did lots of leg extensions. PT did lots of forcing extension too. I started PT 2-1/2 weeks after my surgery.
I think the protocol for a knee replacement P/t and ACL replacement may be slightly different ...also depends on what type of ACL surgery was done...my ACL replacement was with hamstring graph, so no aggressive hamstring workouts initially.
sandman768
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Saratoga Springs, NY US
1/16/2019 6:04pm
What did he say to do and not to do? I had my acl redone again 7 weeks ago. He also added an ALL ligament on...
What did he say to do and not to do? I had my acl redone again 7 weeks ago. He also added an ALL ligament on the lateral aspect of my knee for additional stability. My cartridge was trashed! I had no idea it was that bad.
I believe the term is "closed chamber" ...which means feet planted on the ground, nothing where your repaired leg is off the ground extended out, like leg lifts ect. This puts heavy stress on the ACL, which is not needed at this time. The whole P/t process is slow & painfull, initially the stretching is important, to get range of motion & break up scar tissue, then the muscle building stages begin....find a good sports P/t group...and do what they tell you... It is an evolving series of specific excersizes to isolate your leg muscles to support your knee joint, so when you return to your sport, your success rate is much higher. hopefully you have access to a stationary bike, one of the best things you can do is to get that knee joint moving.
MDMCG
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CO US
1/16/2019 6:21pm
Why not self pay for 1 treatment a week or so and have a PT design a plan based on your function? PT is cheap....
1
sandman768
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Saratoga Springs, NY US
1/16/2019 6:34pm
MDMCG wrote:
Why not self pay for 1 treatment a week or so and have a PT design a plan based on your function? PT is cheap....
That is basically what I"m doing but I"m going 3 times a week, I"m at 6 months post op, just felt I needed more work on my leg/knee before I started riding again. I"m working with a guy that trains & rehabs nothing but athletes coming back from injury, he has some riding experience so he has put together a complete training program for me. I have been working out on my own for a long time & I just needed a whole new program along with my knee P/T. I wish I would have done this sooner, my knee is already feeling stronger, also working on core strength to help my occasional back issues.....
Preston412
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Saint Augustine, FL US
1/17/2019 7:01am
Stabilize the knee first before doing weights and best is leg press. start with wall squats, outward hip thrust with band(lite tension), one leg stands and one leg elevated squat, pull yourself around in a office chair with your feet--this works the knee bands and hamstring.

3 sessions per week for 6 weeks
I started every PT with 15 minutes on an encumbent bike increasing resistance every week, then she had me do movements with bands(increasing resistance weekly)--side steps and hip thrust(flexor movement), then stood on a 4" elevated box and do one leg squat-bottom of foot touches floor-hold 3 secs then back up slow, two leg squats on exercise donuts(inflated to be unstable but not dangerous) then to office chair until failure. The last 15 minutes was knee wrapped in hot towel for 5 minutes then stretches for 10 minutes.
THEN
3 sessions per week for 2 weeks of weight training-- leg press, hamstring curls, wall squats-holding for more than 30 seconds,resting as needed between sets,weight used was that which I could handle with little pain the first week and increasing weight by 5 lbs per session the 2nd week.

I have learned from 3 injuries is that the stabilizing exercising are the most important to continue after therapy, the twitch muscles in the ankle and knee are the ones that react to safe your ass and I have had a couple more good foot plants and have been able to walk away with just swelling. The hamstring muscle should be at 40-50% strength of your quad, so if you can squat 200# then you should be able to curl 80-100#

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