• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • New? Start Here!

RunToTheFinish

Online Running Coach for All Paces, All Ages

  • Training
    • Beginner Half Marathon Training
    • Sub Two Half Marathon Training
    • Marathon Training
    • New Runner Tips
    • Low Heart Rate Training
    • Group Run Coaching
    • Nutrition for Runners
  • Running Injuries
  • Gear Reviews
  • Work Together
    • Online Run Coaching
    • 1-1 Coaching
    • Brand Partnerships
  • Shop
    • Book
    • Book Tour
    • IT Band Solution
    • LHR Training Plans
  • Blog

Fitness After Knee Replacement Surgery

72shares

So many of you have emailed with questions about your own knee issues after I shared my journey of running after knee surgery. Unfortunately some of you have questions I couldn’t answer because you were undergoing a full or partial knee replacement.

I didn’t want to leave you hanging, so I reached out to Robin, a former ultra marathoner, who has been on this journey for the last year and has some incredible insights.

fitness after knee replacement

Robin’s Running Story

Hindsight is 20/20. I started running 13 years ago. Like anyone, I started small and my passion for running grew.

Four years ago someone very close to me was diagnosed with cancer. A lot of my time was then wrapped up in driving to New Jersey for special treatments, local appointments and just time spent together. Still having the need and desire to run, I began training super early in the morning to fit it in.

As time progressed, cancer won out and running became my therapy. I now can look back and see that the amount of miles I was running was far more than necessary for the races I was doing, but mentally it was my crutch I needed.

I physically was exhausting myself so that I could numb the pain of my loss.knee pain runner

As a reference, I was running 75-100 miles per week (5 days with 2 days of rest). I decided to tackle my first ultra, a 50k and instantly loved it. Trail running, especially ultras, are a different breed.

It isn’t about time and BQ’ing. It’s about camaraderie, connecting with the trails and let’s face it – running and walking a lot of miles. I fell in love. From this point, I signed up for a 50 mile race in upstate NY and really committed to back to back days of hard running in preparation. 8 days out from my run, it all happened – my knee blew and that ended my running career.

The Diagnosis

At first, my diagnosis was a torn meniscus. It happens. So easy to repair and I should be back in no time.

It wasn’t that simple. I had a root tear, way more severe than the typical case, and it was near the blood line which meant it could be successfully repaired.

I had the surgery and it was the most painful thing I had ever gone through both mentally and physically. I was bedridden for 2 weeks. No pressure was permitted at all.
{Amanda’s note: my surgery involved a lot of clean up, but was in no way this painful. I was walking sans crutches, albeit very slowly and only to the bathroom the next day.}

You clearly can understand the pain portion but the mental side was devastating. I went from running 3-5 hours per day to completely sedentary. I slipped into a depression very quickly which I struggled with getting out of.partial knee replacement

Therapy was brutal. And the long and short of it was that the procedure was not successful.

I started running low distances again, but it never felt right. It quickly exacerbated to having so much pain and swelling that I couldn’t walk.

I would only tolerate going up or down the stairs in our home 1x per day.

My knee looked like a balloon.

At this point, I changed orthopedists. We began with draining my knee. Then the gel injections, which never helped. From there they determined I had another tear on my meniscus they wanted to repair. To no avail.

Finally, sitting in my orthopedists office I begged for a replacement. I was 45 at the time and this was a flat out no. I was too young. But by the grace of God, he finally agreed and I received a partial replacement a few days after Christmas, 2017. I walked without crutches the night of my surgery with great relief.

Tips for Recovery after Knee Replacement:

One of the things I noticed in Robin’s story was how she immediately started finding ways to get back to exercises after the replacement. She might miss the runner’s high, but darn it she was going to find other ways to keep going.run after knee replacement

Here are some of her tips.

Embrace Physical Therapy

Committing 100% to my physical therapy both at their office and at home. The exercises they gave me helped to remove a lot of the fluids collected in the surgical site.

Eventually, we began building up strength and mobility. From there I continued working on my own, at my gym on strength, form and function again.

Amanda’s Note: couldn’t agree more! I did 90 minutes a day to get back my strength and come back a better runner. The PT said it was absolutely why I came back faster than many…that and I did a LOT of PT before ever having surgery.

  • KT Taping was fantastic for helping to reduce swelling
  • Ankle pumps and elevating the leg help with swelling as well
  • Don’t rush the PT, but stick with it everyday. Do everything they ask.
  • Listen to your PT and don’t try to progress too fast, you’ll set yourself back

running knee brace

Eating Right

As a plant-based eater, this was pretty easy.

  • I avoided dairy and gluten, which can cause inflammation.
  • I focused on a diet of dark vegetables and fruits.
  • I drank a lot of water for proper hydration.
  • And lastly, a reduction in my salt intake to avoid extra water retention.

This may sound funny but my PT also asked me to cut back on my calories I normally eat (remember I was used to burning 2000-3000 calories per day) to a normal level so I didn’t gain any weight while recovering.

Amanda’s Note: I think most of us understand how important a healthy diet is to support our running, but it’s almost more important during recovery. This might be when we’re most prone to pity parties filled with whip cream toppings, but that’s not going to solve this issue. Checkout other tips for anti-inflammatory eating!

Sleep Then Activity

The other basics were obviously sleep. It’s when our body repairs itself. I focused on 8-10 hours per night.

Amanda’s Note: I freaking love sleep and swear runners don’t get enough anyways. But in addition to that I think the recovery period is when we have to find other ways to keep busy. For me that meant reading tons of books, doing the PT, finding things to keep my mind occupied and create different habits.

During the time that I was running, I kept finding ways to be active. It wasn’t the same as running, but you HAVE to keep moving for your mental health and to be strong when you want to try running again.

  • Lifting upper body
  • Small baby steps in walking to eventually a jog
  • Swimming
  • Stretching
  • Biking

Mental Training

Mentally, I focused on mediation and keeping my thoughts positive. This may sound cliche, but your body will go where your brain takes it.

I also needed to deal with my loss of the race I couldn’t do. Now, some days I’m still bitter about it but I’m thankful for my crazy journey and where it has taken me.

Amanda’s Note: Possibly the worst part of injury is the mental side of things. I mean we’re tough as runners, so handling the pain seems like just a small piece of the enchilada. Here’s my steps for mentally and emotionally recovering.healing from knee painFinally, Robin didn’t set any outlandish goals for the year other than allowing myself to heal and building up the strength she had lost. Since surgery, one year ago, Robin has focused on becoming an all around stronger athlete.

She hits the gym for strength training, crushes it on the stair climber and is slowly testing out some running again. While part of her seems to always miss that feeling, she’s also found a whole new world of fitness and is embracing the way it makes her feel as well!

Can you run after a knee replacement?

Technically the answer is yes. Amanda had this discussion with her orthopedic surgeon when trying to figure out her knee pain. A partial replacement was the first recommended option because it would alleviate the intense pain and allow me to run again.

That being said here are the often quoted potential downsides:

  • Knee replacements only last around 15 years
  • The pounding of running can definitely decrease that lifespan
  • A partial knee replacement that needs to then be replaced is very likely moving towards a total knee replacement

On the FLIP SIDE this is why you go to a sports medicine Dr. They can tell you about the advancements and tell you that running with it is possible, if you follow some of the basic GOOD RULES of running that I’m constantly shouting about around here:

  • Improve your running form for a softer landing
  • Alternate hard and softer surfaces (yes like the treadmill)
  • Improve your hip strength for better knee control
  • Improve your core strength for better overall form

Consider Dick Beardsley, who in his 60’s with two total knee replacements is still running 50 miles per week! Now, I’d like to point out he was an elite athlete who built up the muscle, the stamina and the drive. But he also didn’t go to a standard physician telling him to now just take it easy.

My take is if you freaking LOVE to run as much as I do, then find a way to do it safely and pain free if it’s possible. Listen to your body, be smart and enjoy whatever movement it agrees to give.Leg press

Robin is a former ultra marathoner, mother and passionate plant-based food blogger and recipe creator. She is passionate about fitness, travel and living a balanced life with her family. Get more of her recipes on Knead to Cook or follow her journey on Instagram.

Have more questions? Shoot them over and as always I will do my best to answer or find people like Robin with experience or Dr’s with tips!

Other ways to connect with Amanda
Instagram Daily Fun: RunToTheFinish

Facebook Community Chatter: RunToTheFinishRunning_motivation_thumb

Get more running tips: Pinterest

72shares

Posted by amanda Categories: knee injury

Primary Sidebar

Filter by Category
  • Select a Category
  • 10 miler
  • 10K
  • 13.1 marathon series
  • 15K
  • 30 Day Challenge
  • 5k
  • About ME
  • Abs
  • Active Travel
  • alaska
  • Amanda Brooks
  • Arizona
  • Asics
  • Austin
  • Baltimore
  • barefoot running
  • beauty
  • Biking
  • birthday
  • bloggers
  • blogging tips
  • body fat
  • body image
  • body weight exercises
  • book reviews
  • Boston Marathon
  • breakfast
  • California
  • Camping
  • Canada
  • Caribbean
  • chicago
  • ChiRunning
  • Clean Eating
  • cold weather training
  • colorado
  • compression
  • Costa Rica
  • Crockpot
  • cross training
  • CrossFit
  • dairy free
  • dessert
  • egg free
  • electrolytes
  • emotional health
  • Europe
  • family
  • Fit Together
  • fitness gear
  • Fitness Tracker
  • fitness vacation
  • florida
  • foam roller
  • food sensitivity
  • Fort Lauderdale
  • France
  • Funny Running
  • Gift Guide
  • Gluten Free
  • GPS Watch
  • Green Smoothie
  • Guides and Tips
  • habits
  • Half Marathon
  • Hawaii
  • HBBC
  • health coach
  • healthy eating
  • Healthy Home
  • Healthy lifestyle
  • Heart Rate Training
  • HIIT workout
  • hiking
  • hiking
  • Hip Strength
  • Hoka One One
  • Holistic Health
  • Hormones
  • hydration
  • Iceland
  • injury
  • inspiration
  • instagram
  • Ireland
  • IT Band
  • IT Band Recovery
  • Jerusalem
  • key west
  • knee injury
  • Kona
  • Love
  • low heart rate training
  • Maffetone
  • main dish
  • Marathon
  • marathon training
  • marriage
  • meal planning
  • Meditation
  • Memphis
  • mental marathon training
  • Mexico
  • Miami
  • Motivation
  • New York City
  • New York City Marathon
  • New York City Marathon Training
  • NYC marathon
  • Oregon
  • Orlando
  • Palm Beach
  • Philadelphia Marathon
  • physical therapy
  • podcasts
  • Prague
  • Product Review
  • Race
  • race costume
  • race medal
  • race photo
  • race report
  • Ragnar
  • Recipe
  • recovery
  • recovery meal
  • relaxation
  • relay race
  • resolution run
  • review
  • Rock N Roll
  • run club
  • Runner's World
  • running accessories
  • running books
  • running coach
  • running form
  • running fuel
  • running gear
  • Running Group
  • running motivation
  • running music
  • Running Shoes
  • safety
  • salads
  • san diego
  • Saucony
  • Seattle
  • skin care
  • Soup
  • South Beach
  • South Carolina
  • South Florida
  • speed work
  • sports nutrition
  • Stand Up Paddle Boarding
  • Steamboat Springs
  • Strength Training
  • stretching
  • sugar reduction
  • Thanksgiving
  • trail running
  • Training Group
  • training plan
  • travel
  • travel running
  • treadmill
  • treadmill workout
  • triathlon
  • ultrarunning
  • vegan
  • Vegas
  • vegatarian
  • vegetable
  • virtual run
  • wedding
  • weight loss
  • winter
  • women's running
  • workout
  • workout motivation
  • workout schedule
  • Yoga

5 Secrets to Improve Your RUn

Start Making Quick Progress on Your Goals (I swear it's easy) no matter your current fitness level. The tips I share with the runners I coach.

Recent Posts

  • How Quickly Do You Lose Fitness: Bounce Back from Missed Runs
  • The Year That Almost Wasn’t
  • Top 10 Men’s Running Pants | Lightweight to Winter Tights
  • Snowshoeing for Beginners
  • Best Fitness Books : What’s Worth Actually Reading

Must Have Gear

Comparing GPS Watches

Best HR Monitor for Running

Best Foam Rollers

Best Running Books

Running Jackets for Every Condition

fitness partners

Please note that affiliate links {such as Amazon} may pop up on RTTF from time to time. They do not cost you anything to use, but are a huge help to support the ongoing content creation process. Click here to do your shopping!

Welcome!!

Hello runners! I’m Amanda Brooks, a certified personal trainer and running coach. I’ve been coaching over a decade and distance running since 2002. My philosophy is that running isn’t about your pace or the distance or your body. It’s about showing up for yourself, loving the process and doing it injury free!

 

online running coach

Footer

Get the Free 5 Day Better Runner Challenge

Start Making Quick Progress on Your Goals (I swear it's easy)

About Amanda Brooks

Amanda Brooks is a Certified Running Coach, Certified Personal Trainer and long time distance runner with a passion for every facet of running, which leads her to do more reading, research and running than necessary. Find all the tips, tricks and tools you need from this running coach for your best injury free running. Read More…

Popular Posts on RunToTheFinish

  • Piriformis Syndrome Exercises: Alleviating a Pain in the Butt
  • Suunto vs Garmin: Which GPS Watch Is Better for You
  • 17 Funniest Running Memes – Which One’s Do You Relate To?
  • T25, P90X3, PiYo – Can it Improve Your Running? Complete Comparison
  • Brooks vs Asics: What’s the Difference in Running Brands

runtothefinish

Amanda Brooks : Run Coach
A NEW PLAN DOESN’T FIX EVERYTHING. You might alr A NEW PLAN DOESN’T FIX EVERYTHING. You might already know what’s best for you, but aren’t doing it consistently. That’s the only way we really make changes.
.
A PLAN can help, but I often don’t think that’s step one to making lasting change.
//
HABITS AND ROUTINES✴️
-Eliminate the need to make decisions.
-Which reduces brain fatigue.
-Which increases your chance of success.
//
TINY HABITS✴️
This is the smallest step you can take towards your goal. Often so small it seems insignificant, but is easy to make it a habit.
🌟
That leads you to another tiny habit, then another and suddenly it’s just your lifestyle.
👆👆👆
When people ask how I easily kept off 35lbs for over 15 years, while enjoying pizza, taking rest days and not obsessing about food.
👇👇👇👇
When people ask how I stay motivated to run year round and rarely race. Tiny habits.
//
Day one isn’t eat perfect or run for an hour.
.
Day one IS drink a glass of water when I wake up. Put on my running clothes.
.
Day 30 is then more like after I drink my glass of water, I do 5 push ups. After I put on my running clothes, I do a 5 minute warm up.
//
SLOW PROGRESS IS BETTER THAN NO PROGRESS, it builds momentum and is sustainable.
❔❔❔
Have you ever practiced creating tiny habits???
1️⃣ WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR RUNNING THIS YEAR? M 1️⃣ WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR RUNNING THIS YEAR?
Mine... satisfying.
😊
1900 miles blows away previous years.
.
(swipe to see...because yes I love tracking.) Unfortunately I’m not positive what it was 2001-2007 because I wrote it on calendars.
//
SATISFYING
🥰I needed the long miles early on to process my business being thrown for a loop. Bye bye book tour and partnerships.
😊I needed it after that to get away from the news and pretend I wasn’t spending all day alone. Then as my business shifted again to keep ideas flowing.
🌲I loved the time outside to think, get lost in a comedy podcast or audiobook. Otherwise I’m at home working!
🤩Without a single race, I still checked a big goal off my list of running an ultra distance (solo was very interesting!).
//
I’ve seen some posts that make it seem like we’re wrong for talking about what we achieved this year.
.
It was a HARD FCKIN year for everyone, but guess what lots of years are. And not every year is great even without a pandemic.
//
For all the lows this year, I also worked my ass off to make some really good things happen. And I’m extra proud of that.
//
So let’s hear your word for fitness in 2020??
⬇️
Hard, easy, strong, powerful, consistent, cleansing, relaxing, nature, grace, grit, grind, triumph, building...
HAIR EMOJI POLL!!! Seriously hair...it’s a lot r HAIR EMOJI POLL!!! Seriously hair...it’s a lot right?! Figuring out what to do with it, color it don’t color it, keep it healthy, breakage from ponytails, long, short. And yet a good hair day😃 🔥 🌟
//
POLL:
🥰Love your hair
🤪Frustrated with your hair
1️⃣Natural curls
2️⃣Stick straight
👇👇👇
Curly friends: share your favorite tips!!
Long hair friends: what helps you keep it healthy?
👆👆👆
//
At 7 I could sit in my hair it was so long.
At 10 we started perms.
At 16 I had a full mane of hair I loved.
At 20 I learned I have naturally curly hair 😂after years of perms as a kid.
At 25 I was going blonde blonde blonde.
At 29 I began losing hair and it got so brittle I had to chop it off, due to the hormone issues.😭
At 35 my hair started to recover (as did my body), but never like that mane I loved as a teen.
At 39 I got my first curly haircut! I’m still figuring it out, but was amazed at how it looked.
//
I don’t wear much make up, but I do admit to really caring about my hair and it was a tough time when it felt so unhealthy.
//
I’m still struggling to figure out this new curly style 😂but keep hearing from other curly girls ya just gotta stick it out. So we’ll see.
.
.
#curlygirlmethod #hairtalk
ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO RUN? Why don’t you just ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO RUN? Why don’t you just enjoy a day off? Don’t you feel guilty about the time apart?
//
Yes.
It makes me happy.
No, if I’m happy our time together is better.
👇👇👇
MY VIEW IS THIS...
❌If you aren’t working out because of food guilt
❌If you aren’t missing big moments because you must workout
✅If you enjoy it and it improves your day
✅THEN GO FORTH and don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for improving your mental and physical health.
//
❓Do you have guilt or get guilted about workouts for n holidays?❓
//
This has been my lifestyle so long that our families just know to expect that I’m gonna sweat. And of course, I’m lucky David wants this lifestyle too.
.
BUTTTTT I remember those first trips to David’s family, where it really threw them for a loop. They still find it weird, but I sneak out before everyone gets up or have gotten them to do family things like the rec center.
//
My best advice when asked has always been to try and calmly explain why it matters to you and then just go. They get over it or used to it.
🎁 🎄🕎
TAKE ANOTHER LITTLE PIZZA MY HEART 😂a reminder TAKE ANOTHER LITTLE PIZZA MY HEART 😂a reminder this holiday season that we all need to be loved differently...and pizza transcends all.
//
🍕Do you have a favorite local pizza place?🍕🍕
.
Yes, I knead to know for when we can travel again.
.
Here we fell in love in love with @saucyspizza and I wouldn’t be sad if I got it as a gift 😆
.
.
.
.
#pizzamemes #eatlocal #denvercolorado #ilovepizza #lovememes #pizzagram #digiorno #papajohns #foodisfuel #longrun #womenwhoeat #carbsarelife
Follow on Instagram
Website written, managed and maintained by Amanda Brooks, a certified running coach and personal trainer. Any advice should be taken as general information and not a personalized plan. All opinions, tips and reviews are based upon her personal life experience and the experiences of those she has coached. View our full privacy and review policy.

Copyright © 2021 RunToTheFinish

Copyright © 2021 · RunToTheFinish V2 on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in