Retro Grouch 

I decided to take my recumbent out for a spin. The good news is that my launches were as smooth and confident as last summer. I was afraid that fear and anxiety were going to overcome me but that didn't happen. I can't tell you how happy I am about that.

The bad news is that my injured hip hurt pretty bad so I didn't ride very far. I just don't have the range of motion that I need to bring my knee up. I don't know what I'm going to do about that. I might go back to the physical therapists but so much of what they do seems ineffective to me. I might just go to the gym and try their stationary recumbents for 1/2 hour or so.

Anybody got ideas?

stapfam

Sounds like a mobility problem. When I had that I was down the Gym using the machines to give me back that mobility by working the muscles and joints that were affected. Just minimal weights so no strain--Just enough to say I had to pull against something.

Dudelsack 

Get thee to thy physical therapist.

Retro Grouch 

I'm seriously thinking about switching to a 152mm crankset but I'm wondering if that might be a little too much difference. I'm waiting for some responses on bentrideronline.

The weather was so nice today I'm really anxious to get back on the bike.

NOS88

Physical therapist that also has someone in their office for acupuncture.

JanMM

Sound advice.

Digital Gee

Ditto! We want you back in that saddle as soon as possible!

Retro Grouch 

I just ordered the 152mm crank to reduce my range of motion. The folks at bentrideronline were pretty uniform in recommending short cranks even for riders who don't have physical limitations. Should be here Friday. I'm a little bummed to be wasteing this perfect riding week but we don't always get our own way.

ro-monster

Keep doing stretching and strenghtening exercises for the hip. If my experience with a broken shoulder is any indication, recovery takes a long time, and it will hurt. It took me many weeks to regain enough strength and range of motion to even zip my own jacket, and nearly two years of daily work to get back most of my normal range of motion. Perhaps my case was unusually difficult; I had to have a second surgery to remove scar tissue after the break healed. If you've been diligent with your physical therapy for a few months and still aren't able to move well, I'd suggest a consultation with your doctor.

qcpmsame 

You seem to have the anxiety and supposed fears licked RG. The pain and stiffness you can easily defeat with careful work and possibly some PT. Good to read that you didn't freeze up from the anxiety you thought would be there.

Bill

Retro Grouch 

That's what I'm thinking too. I'm much happier thinking the mental part of the problem is under control.

I'm a visual learner so I can imagine how a shorter crankset and stretching is going to benefit me. There's no short crankset cure to visualise for the mental part.

fietsbob

I'm not an MD, but I ride by a Holiday Inn, regularly ..

groth

You could try a crank shortener. It's an adapter that bolts into the crank in place of the pedal and then has several holes for the pedal. It's a similar idea to the short cranks (that I see from later in the thread you've already bought). The possible advantages of a crank shortener are you only have to use it on the injured side and once you get comfortable, you can increase the length to the next pedal hole and work on that.

hostelshoppe.com carries two brands. Here are the ones I bought:

https://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/...ory=1033761548

Actually, I bought both the standard (fit over the cranks on my upright) and the wide (for the tandem trike). I've used them when knee pain limited my range of motion and more recently when recovering from a knee replacement. I started with the shortest right crank (99 mm - really short) and got to full length 175 mm over about a month.


- Ed