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How I Returned to Running after Knee Surgery

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“Don’t worry, you’ll run again, just be patient”.

I can’t count the number of times someone said this to me and I had to bite my very blunt tongue because honestly, I never once considered that I wouldn’t run again.

It wasn’t an option. Maybe that’s because I’d already spent 8 months of dancing around an injury leading up to surgery. Maybe it’s because I’m stubborn. Maybe it’s because I’m an optimist.

But for the record…most injured runners don’t want your platitudes. They make our endorphin starved brains a little angry. Not because we don’t believe you have the best intentions, but because we aren’t really the kind to sit around feeling sorry for ourselves, we want to TAKE ACTION!!! Take no prisoners, fight the good fight and all that jazz.What Not to Say to an Injured RunnerI’m now celebrating 9 1/2 weeks post knee surgery and to the amazement of many have been running since week 5 without pain. This week in fact, I hit 6 miles which felt pretty epic since 2 weeks ago 1.5 miles was pure bliss.

Going in to surgery I knew I would run…I just didn’t know when or what to expect.

I’m sharing what worked for me in hopes that it helps calm someone else’s nerves! The key here is to know that while I got up to running much faster than expected, I didn’t do it against anyone’s orders! I wasn’t taking chances or risking long term recovery for a couple uncomfortable trots. Running after knee surgery - what you need to know

Pre-Surgery Keys To Success

One of the things which helped me to recover more quickly was the work I put in prior to surgery. Now unlike someone who has a massive accident and sudden surgery, my knee pain (lack of ability to straighten my knee) began 8 months prior. There was a lengthy process of trying varied solutions because no one thought surgery was needed.

That gave me opportunities to put in some work which placed a pivotal role in my recovery.

Strength workouts

I’ve been lifting for a few years now with consistency…but not with a real plan or intensity. This year, I decided that if my running was less it was the best time to focus on rebuliding muscle that can be lost with distance running.

Not only was I doing a lot of upper body, but for the first time doing concentrated strength work on my legs. During marathon training I never felt it was necessary and honestly my legs were too tired for it! But I wanted to build up my glutes, hips and quads to provide better leg control.

  • Lunges with weights
  • Step ups on a bench with weights
  • Banded squats
  • Wall sits
  • Clam shells, reverse clam shells
  • Banded walks
  • Bridges
  • Band marches (and other knee strengthening exercises)

Running after knee surgery - how to come back strong

Mental work

Injuries can play with our emotions. Not only taking away something that we love, but that’s part of our routine…our social circle…and yes our mood booster. While, I was able to continue running some January – August it was a far cry from my normal runs and the longer I went the shorter and shorter my runs became.

Once I realized this wasn’t a quick resolution, there were two options: be a total sour puss or figure out something else.

While running is my joy, it doesn’t have to be the only thing to give me joy. As much as I craved the outlet for my energy and my stress, I tried to settle in to something different.

  • I decided I would celebrate every tiny victory
  • I decided I wouldn’t hold myself to my pre-surgery standards
  • I decided I would just take the experience as it came, rather than having expectations

All of that released a ton of pressure! I could enjoy the process of coming back without feeling like there was a required timeline. Of course faster would have been better, but I could see each little step as progress and enjoy it.

Post Surgery Planning

If I felt in active before surgery,  I knew it was going to be even less after surgery. I planned ahead for that and it was a life saver.

I asked my strength coach to switch my workouts so I could do some form of upper body 5 days a week. That allowed me to hobble my way down to the basement and heft around some weights, which wasn’t intense, but made a massive difference in my mental health because I wasn’t just glued to the couch.

After that it was looking at physical therapy as my training….

Physical Therapy

I didn’t dread it, I embraced it.

Not only did I show up twice a week for them to work on me, but I spent up to 90 minutes a day at home those first few weeks doing rounds of every single move that was provided. The moves were hilariously simple for my right leg and yet caused a sweat when attempting with my left…humbling.

One of the ways that I kept it interesting was to head to the trailhead on Saturday and Sunday morning with David. He would take off on his mountain bike and I’d spend time doing my exercises…then slowly shuffling a little ways down the trail. It took 30 minutes to do that first mile, but it felt fantastic and encouraging to be in nature.Week 1: I wasn’t able to bend my leg due to the knee cap realignment, so that was the starting point for most exercises. Increasing range of  motion. I used crutches only the very first night and after that they really weren’t necessary.
Week 2: Still very little walking because of that poor range of motion causing me to swing my leg around and thus making all kinds of other things hurt.
Week 3: Starting to shuffle down the trail without quite the same awkward stride and able to do just a tiny bit more.
Week 4: Feeling like I can head out for a short walk around the neighborhood even though range of motion is still in progress. Doing a lot more squats and really getting that quad to start re-engaging.
Week 5: Since walking felt ok, I did a couple of 1 minute runs with about 5 minutes in between. That seemed ok, so I tried 2 minutes and then started doing 1 legged moves in PT.

Funny thing about rehab is it works great for prehab to prevent injuries!! . If your glutes and hips need some strength work, what runners don’t, checkout these 3 moves. 1️⃣single leg squat with roll out forces you to push butt back and engage mostly quad. 2️⃣band around toes is different than around ankles! Try going 30 steps each direction 3️⃣bring the band above knees, squat and repeat that walk ok 30 each way 🔥🔥🔥 Note: Video is sped up. #physicaltherapy #gluteworkout #fitnessvideo @fithealthyworkouts #werunsocial #wearetherunners

A post shared by Amanda Brooks:Running Blogger (@runtothefinish) on Sep 26, 2017 at 3:23pm PDT


Week 6: Surgeon gave me the thumbs up to run and so I managed 1.5 miles without stopping and it was surely enough for a runners high. The PT also took that as his green light to step up the intensity and I’m loving it. It feels like a real workout now. Example: standing on 1 leg, holding 15lb kettlebell, bend at waist to reach forward, come up, reach right, reach left…that glute is on fire.
Week 7:
Week 8: Hit my first 4 mile run without stopping and whooped it up. PT is pushing sleds, hops, 1 legged squats and still working to get that quad to fire entirely. Plus, my gate is still a little off so we’re doing back strength moves to get rid of some hip pain.Running after knee surgery tipsWeek 9: Right now I’m plateaued around 6 miles, which isn’t exactly when anything starts to hurt…it’s just a bit of a cardio and endurance limitation that I’m working through. I’m also trying not to rush the building process, so I’m following LHR training. 

I’ve also followed the advice to never run on back to back days…minus say a 1 mile Saturday and 5 mile Sunday. Mostly I’m letting my body be the guide, if it feels too sore or stiff I know that I’ve pushed too far.

I’d like to think I’ll be back up to 40 MPW by end of November, which means of course I’m itching to pick out a new return race!

Any other knee surgery questions you have?

How do you prepare for tough stuff?

Other ways to connect with Amanda

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Posted by amanda Categories: knee injury, physical therapy

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Wendy says

    October 29, 2017 at 3:27 pm

    I’m so glad your recovery is going well! But I”m not surprised. You did all the pre-surgery prep and you were in great shape going in. I think that makes a huge difference.

    Now to hold back on pushing too hard too soon!

  2. Emily says

    October 30, 2017 at 8:50 am

    I was just so thrilled at your constant attitude of taking care of your body and challenging yourself with strength work and physical therapy. You did not step back on that, and it was cool to see how you jumped back into running slowly and cautiously but with gusto and gratefulness. I’ve been really appreciating you sharing the whole process Amanda.

  3. Katie @ Hungry Runner says

    October 31, 2017 at 6:07 am

    So great to hear that you’re getting back into running and that you’re doing it with such a smart approach! It’s nice to think that this could help another runner going through the same thing :)

  4. AmyC says

    November 8, 2017 at 5:13 pm

    So awesome! I had a meniscectomy and my running is limited, but I remember hitting progress milestones ;)

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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.
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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.
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Day one IS drink a glass of water when I wake up. Put on my running clothes.
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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.
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(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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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#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?
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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?❓
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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.
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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.
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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?🍕🍕
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Yes, I knead to know for when we can travel again.
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Here we fell in love in love with @saucyspizza and I wouldn’t be sad if I got it as a gift 😆
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#pizzamemes #eatlocal #denvercolorado #ilovepizza #lovememes #pizzagram #digiorno #papajohns #foodisfuel #longrun #womenwhoeat #carbsarelife
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