Fifty Plus (50+) - Is cycling aerobic - dentist wants to know

So, one of my crowns cracked (cheap crown??) and decay developed at the root of one of my molars, so, after one visit where they shot me up to fix it, then, decided that wisdom was against saving the tooth, I went in today to have the tooth extracted in preparation for an implant.

As is my practice whenever possible, I rode my bike to the dentist - about 18 miles - a nice combination of rolling terrain and steep hills.

I must commend my molar. It put up a valiant fight, and it never did cause me pain (the dentist caused me a little as he scraped my exposed bone after the extraction to make certain to remove any lingering infection).

After all that 'cane, I'm feeling no pain as he explains to me that I should not bend over, drink from straws, or engage in any aerobic exercise for at least three days to minimize the possibility of excessive bleeding.

I just nodded, paid my bill, and slipped out with my backpack that hid my bike shoes.

18 very cautious miles later, I'm home sipping some soda and giving thanks that I didn't rupture something or other on the way home.

I'll be riding tomorrow . . . you can count on it.

As to whether or not I adhered to his advice, is cycling aerobic (I took pains to traverse hills in long gears to skew my expenditure towards the isometric side!!).

All I know is that I don't feel as though my blood pressure ever increases all that much when I ride, even when I sprint or climb steep hills.

Ok, so, under strain, I huff and puff a bit, but, within 15 seconds of finishing an exhausting climb, my breathing and pulse are back to what I consider normal, so, I don't feel as though I'm putting any unusual strain on my circulatory system.

As for the "wound", I arrived home with the original bit of gauze in place over the spot where my tooth so valiantly defended itself. I removed that and chose not to replace it. So far, I'm not swallowing or spitting out huge volumes of blood (actually, there is no blood at all), so, I figure I'm out of the woods.

So, would you consider cycling to be aerobic or isotopic?

Caruso

Cycling is aerobic. Why did he recommend against it? Anyway, if you took it really easy, you may not have been violating his advice.

Depends on what kind of riding you are doing. Easy riding may not be aerobic. Hard road riding definitely is. A hard lap on the local MTB torture track goes right past aerobic to anaerobic.

It all depends on the definition of "aerobic" and how hard one hits it in cycling or any other activity. I try to get my heart rate up when I ride, and get a bit winded too (and without torturing words isn't that what "aerobic" is generally accepted to mean?) as I suspect most do. So the normal answer would be yes, cycling is aerobic. But one can surely doodle along and not get into that area, and as BD says, one can certainly wind up anaerobic with burning legs too.

Sounds like standard advice designed to be given to the base animal ie, your average couch potato who sends his blood pressure ballistic just reaching for the remote.

She ain't bleeding, you're okay, but yeah, I'd take it easy on the bike for a day or two. Put in some good rest and plan a century for your first day back :D

Richard

Aerobic exercise is simply exercise of long duration at a rate that's moderate enough so that the body can take in and utilize oxygen in enough quantity to meet the needs of the metabolism without going into anaerobic (without oxygen) metabolism. It's really pretty moderate.

Indeed, depending on how you ride, cycling is aerobic. If you're going higher effort than the above, or above lactate threshold, it would be anaerobic.

I have absolutely NO idea why he used the term "aerobic" to describe activity that would be avoided. To me, and according to common definitions, aerobic exercise is easy and low strain. My guess is that you'd want to avoid any activity that would involve straining such as weight lifting, heavy labor, etc. Maybe jogging would not be good because of the jarring.

You used a couple of other terms that don't really fit what you're talking about. In riding your bike you said you shaded toward the "isometric side". I can't see how that would relate to cycling. Isometric effort is effort without movement of the joint. Example is pushing hard against an immovable object. There is no such thing in cycling, except maybe straining against the handle bars while climbing or such.

Frankly, I would think that isometric exercise would be even more contraindicated for this sort of situation - straining would increase the chance of breaking the clotted bleeders. Same reason he didn't want you to bend over.

Another term you used was isotopic which I don't think relates to exercise? Isotonic on the other hand is a term that relates to any form of exercise with muscular movement, but can't see how that would be a discriminator if trying to figure out what kind of exercise is OK or not.

At any rate, sounds like you used common sense and everything's OK If it had started bleeding, I imagine it would have been pretty easy just to repack with gauze and stop the bleeding. If it were me, I'd just go on common sense understanding that he doesn't want anything to strain the surgery site or damage it.

I could see maybe advising against vigorous activity or violent activity, but aerobic activity? Wonder where that came from. Can't imagine why "aerobic" activity would increase bleeding.
JanMM RN

" I could see maybe advising against vigorous activity or violent activity, but aerobic activity? Wonder where that came from. Can't imagine why "aerobic" activity would increase bleeding.
JanMM RN"

I sure agree. I can see him saying something like the generic "don't overdo it" but aerobic????

Europa said it best!
" Sounds like standard advice designed to be given to the base animal ie, your average couch potato who sends his blood pressure ballistic just reaching for the remote."

He's too dumb to be a dentist. I mean, for the love of God, how can an alleged medical professional not know that?
To be fair, you probably can do it non-aerobically, but you'll be going so slow you fall over.

Don't you just love the internet? ;)

Don't you just love the internet? ;)

As a source of mis-information and mischief, it's rivalled only by a mother's coffee club ... and when they finally get the speed and spread of information improved, the internet might even do as well as a mother's coffee club :rolleyes:

Richard

If any of you folks has ever experienced the agonizing pain of the so called dry socket you will see the wisdom in the dentists advice. I had it and I can tell ya its not something I want again its more common on the bottom teeth than the top. The plug of blood in the socket protect the bone from being exposed and until the gum heals over that is its only protection so I'm imformed so yeah take the advice of the dentist at least for a few days till the gum starts to heal. Makes my toes curl just thinking about it

If any of you folks has ever experienced the agonizing pain of the so called dry socket you will see the wisdom in the dentists advice. I had it and I can tell ya its not something I want again its more common on the bottom teeth than the top. The plug of blood in the socket protect the bone from being exposed and until the gum heals over that is its only protection so I'm imformed so yeah take the advice of the dentist at least for a few days till the gum starts to heal. Makes my toes curl just thinking about it

Agree! I had one when I was 22 & had my wisdom teeth removed.

I hope your dentist told you not to suck your milkshake or whatever soft food with a straw - one of the major causes of dry socket.

Broadly speaking, aerobic means using oxygen -- so even sleep is aerobic. I'm sure your dentist is covering his fanny and thinking in terms of more strenuous aerobic activity -- like sprinting up those hills. :D

Isometric exercise isn't something you do when riding. Isotonic, yes, and Camilo explained the difference between the two. Your dentist might be confused -- it happens -- but obviously you've figured it out and are doing what's best.

Hope you heal quickly.

Another term you used was isotopic which I don't think relates to exercise?

That was totally not the word I meant to use, Camilo. I used the correct word earlier in my post - isometric. Sometimes I wonder about myself, whew!

For those of you who questioned, the dentist's reason for cautioning me against overdoing it (aerobic or not) his concern was for me to take precautions against the possibility of increasing my blood pressure and possibly causing the site to bleed too profusely - advice that I find reasonable. He would probably have been quite angry to know that my plan all along was to ride my bike home after the procedure. OTOH, I know my body (or think I know it) and, for me, riding a bike is probably less stressful than sleeping. It's just something I love to do (and the old bod loves it, too).

I did try to take it easy, and I did pay attention to that extraction site to make certain I wasn't bleeding.

Fortunately, in a few hours, the pain killer wore off, and I really felt no pain at all.

I have heard of dry socket, but I don't think that was so much the reason for the dentist's words of caution as was his concern for the possibility of excessive bleeding.

I really posted this thread for fun, so I hope y'all don't take me too seriously.

In 36 weeks or so (healing time, implant time, healing time, impression time, fitting time), I'll have a brand new store-bought molar that will probably outlast me.

Thanks for the replies.

Caruso

As a practicing dentist with over 24 yrs experience I can tell you that your dentist was concerned about both post operative bleeding and the possibility of "dry socket" in the event you lost your blood clot.

Did your dentist place a bone graft right after the extraction? If so the bone graft and the overlying membraned placed would help to keep the clot in place.

Good luck with your recovery!

BTW did you know that regular use of Gatorade is a significant risk factor for the type of "cavities" you described.

Gerry

Maybe he was thinking about arobics, as in jane fonda, all that jumping and bouncing around might undo his work.

"BTW did you know that regular use of Gatorade is a significant risk factor for the type of "cavities" you described."
Gerald, anything specific about gatorade or lookalikes, or does that apply to too much of any sugary drinks and junk food? Sports gels and stuff like that I assume likewise could contribute to cavities and gum problems.
Thanks for the input. That's something probably none of us consider while we drink gatorade while cycling down the road!

Being a retired physician I've given generic advice to "not overdo it" or "take it easy" or "avoid heavy lifting" and stuff like that. But I couldn't understand where the word "aerobic" came in.
I used to ride my bike into town about an 18 mile round trip to donate blood and plasmapheresis until one day they caught me and gave me heck and told me they wouldn't take my blood unless they saw my car out front and NOT my bike! The gal in charge, an old patient told me I should have known better! Heh!