lbgary

I had surgery for a torn meniscus in early June. I had been off of my bike for over 10 years before that (prostate pain), but my doctor told me that I should probably consider some form of exercise other than running in the future. I am 58. I thought about trying the bike again, since I've noticed that there are some better seats out there. Anyway, the day of the surgery I walked out of the hospital thinking this was going to be a very fast recovery. The next morning, when the novacain they had pumped into my knee wore off, I couldn't even get to the bathroom without the crutches they sent me home with. It took about 2 weeks before I could ride around the block, mostly due to the swelling that prevented me from bending the knee enough to ride a bike. I think it was about 4 weeks before I could go for a real ride on my road bike, and that always resulted in more swelling, so I relied on ice packs after every ride. Orthoscopic surgery turned out to be a bigger deal than I had thought, largely because of the swelling issue. By mid August I was riding as far as my endurance would allow, including climbing, but there is still a tendency toward swelling of the knee. It's not the actual cutting you have to recover from. Apparently they inflate the knee with saline to make room to work, and that's why all the swelling. The biggest setback I've had was after an all day hike in Yosemite. It was the downhill part that got me. Fortunately I still had the Vicodin they gave me. You'll be riding again soon enough, but at our age it takes time to heal. Maybe it will be faster for you, but my advice is don't rush it. Gary