 Poster: A snowHead
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It’s probably been covered elsewhere on this forum, but it is very scattered. So please bear with me.
I have just had a total knee replacement and I gather some other members of this forum have also and continued to ski. I would really like to know what their experiences have been. In particular:
How long was it after the replacement that you skied again. I’m thinking 6 months.
How did you get on with insurance? I’m thinking it may be difficult so I’m considering Carte Neige plus EHIC and Austrian Alpine club for other trips to the mountains.
Did you change your skis to ski with the knee replacement. I’m thinking of getting shorter, lighter skis since I suspect the vast majority of my skiing from now on will be on well bashed pistes, ie no deep powder and few bumps.
Should I turn down the bindings or will this increase the risk of injury.
I’ve been using a Mojo for the last couple of years and suspect it will help protect the knees now that one is artificial. Does anyone else have any experience of this.
Any other thoughts such as keep away from crowds, avoid blue pistes (where most accidents happen), don’t ski full days etc. I’d really like to know
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I was skiing 9 months after my left knee was replaced, after 2 gentle runs I had forgotten all about my knee and just enjoyed skiing at speed without the pain. I tend to avoid bad light conditions etc. but that more to do with age (67) than the knee.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I also have an interest in discussion having undergone a TKR back in February this year. Doing well and back walking in the hills (22Km circuit yesterday) and cycling (100Km no problems). Aim to ski January 2024. Especially interested in guidance for insurance, and especially getting off-piste cover (without a guide). A have a few annual quotes for policies of just on-piste insurance where premiums are getting on for double those with "normal" knees....
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Thank you @Fogliettaz, & @humble, At the moment I am only 4 weeks in and going through the painful rehab. I like it that people are skiing again and walking sensible distances. Before the op I could only walk 5 - 10 km and going downhill was a nightmare. The walk, or rather limp, was so bent over that it exhausted me quickly. Today I managed my first short walk outside without crutches and if felt nice to walk upright again..
I'll wait to see what the BMC say about my insurance - I already carry over a hundred pound excess due to my heart condition. I just hope they will cover me.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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The first 6 weeks is the hardest with loss of sleep etc, I was cycling and sailing after this. Kneeling is still a minor problem but that's about it. I had to give up skiing a day early in 2020 after the pain of right hand turns became too much, no great loss as it was the day Covid shut down the Alps!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@johnE, good luck with your rehab.
I had an early November TKR and wasn’t up to skiing that following season. I tried it 9 months later in a snowdome. After initial caution that went OK.
I was back on the mountains for 2 weeks last February. Then a week in early April. First week I found I paced myself with much shorter skiing days, on easy slopes, with plenty rest stops, as muscles tired sooner and confidence was regained slowly.
Stepped it up in subsequent weeks but nowhere near previous levels, when 8 hour ski days with short breaks used to be common.
I should mention that my other knee has problems too.
Still managed black pistes OK, just more slowly. Reds and steeper blues no problem. Busy narrow tracks not so good. Only one fall in 3 weeks.
Wonderful just to be out on the mountains again but changes were significant. More cautious. More vigilant than ever about what’s going on around me, assessing risks, looking for space on the piste.
Flat light, icy rutted terrain, bumps, avoided as much as possible. Heavy snow and slush, late afternoon in April, disconcerting, not enjoyable. Much more conscious of avoiding problems offloading from chairlifts. When snow level is too high it’s more difficult to push out of the chair.
After each day I did gentle muscle stretching and used spa facilities when available. Found this helped a lot.
I didn’t change to shorter skis. My existing insurer, LV=, continued my policy with about a 50% increase in premium. I thought that was reasonable.
Hope your return to skiing is swift and trouble free.
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@PeakyB, Thanks for that . I hadn't thought about the chair lift problem. As it was I was having problems getting onto very low chairlifts anyway. I'll have to have a serious think about the Combettes lift.
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You've all made my day! I have been on a tall ship for the last couple of weeks & both knees were so bad I have decided to get them both done. But was really worried that I'd have to give up skiing. I've used mojos for ages and intend to carry on using them once the knees are sorted. Thank you for giving me hope that mountains are not a thing of the past. Alleghe 2025 here I come!!!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Had my TKR at the end of April 2022 and skied in late January & March 2023.
Surgeon advised me to give up off-piste and ski less vigorously which I have done and it works.
After a morning of being quite cautious I resumed skiing moderatey fast and did full days.
Only problem was getting on and off chair lifts. I think practicing sitting on and rising from low seats at home could help prepare for this once you are through the main rehab. I dealt with it by trying to keep an empty seat next to me so I could stretch out sideways getting off.
Good luck!
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In an effort to foster the little children end of the market I think chairlifts have been getting lower and lower. Even before the knee replacement I was struggling with the combettes lift which serves a short gentle piste in arc 1600 and is quite popular with children. The chair was barely above the snow and I usually got on with a screen of pain. Like @DCG, I preferred to be alone and flop over sideways. I wished they’d left the drag lift in place that ran beside it.
My surgeon says that he expects me get at best 110 degrees of bend so now I wonder how many lifts are now going to be available to me 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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After just over 2 years I have pretty much the same movement in the replacement knee and the natural knee, chair lifts haven't been a problem. Surgeons always err on the side of caution.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@Fogliettaz, yes I Agee about erring on the side of caution. At the 2 week review he said the best I could hope for was 90 degrees. I am now at 100 (with a strip of leather between my teeth)
Ps your posts fill me with hope.
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@Fogliettaz, yes I Agee about erring on the side of caution. At the 2 week review he said the best I could hope for was 90 degrees. I am now at 100 (with a strip of leather between my teeth)
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You know it makes sense.
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@johnE, On the subject of insurance, my annual travel policy would not include cover related to the knee for a period of 12 months post the last consultation with the surgeon. I bought a special policy to cover it for my first trip but when that went ok I decided not to for the second.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I had a left TKR in Nov 19 and had planned to ski in 20/21 but Covid stopped that. This gave me lots of time to get my new knee back to normal with lots of cycling and walking. I treated myself to new shorter piste skis and these were fantastic. I now enjoy pain-free skiing and have even got back into telemark skiing. I’m lucky in that I have regained full range of movement in my new knee so the slog to get there was well worth it. @Fogliettaz – I don’t know anyone who’s had a TKR who likes to kneel 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Rob D, good to hear about your recovery. How have you got on getting insurance cover?
I'm also thinking of shorter piste skis. At the moment I use 178 all mountain skis which are fine on almost all terrain but are getting a bit old, approx 200 days of use. My 158 slalom skis may be a tad too short and heavy.
My consultant doesn't think I'll ever get full range of movement, but I'll keep working at it. Yesterday I got the flex to 105 degrees and straightened to 5 degrees. If it gets as good as the other leg I'll be more than happy (about 140 degrees - the heal is 300mm from the back bottom). To put that in context before the operation I had more than 130 degrees of flexion, but could not get to within 30 degrees of straight.
@HammondR, I'm not sure I find such accounts inspirational or depressing. Probably depressing. He's talking about coming off pain relief at 2 weeks, walking a mile and cycling. At 2 weeks I was still swallowing half a dozen dihydrocodeine tablets a day and could walk a hundred metres with two crutches. Now, at 5 weeks I’ve only just come off pain relief and taking the pain. I'm happy to have ditched the crutches and can walk a kilometre, even with some of it downhill
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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It will take 9-12 months before you will fully recover from the surgery, movement and strength will come back over that time, do the exercise, physio, ice packs etc don't rush it and this time next year you will see that it will all have been worthwhile.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Will we all have to have new knees eventually?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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We should be so lucky......
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| johnE wrote: |
| @Rob D, good to hear about your recovery. How have you got on getting insurance cover? |
With the covid time gap, I don't need to declare it!
I went down to 168 - Rossi React 10 skis, which I love. I'm still using 190 Rosi Bandits for free heel.
I maintain that cycling is the way to get a good ROM. Use a static bike and just keep lowering the saddle.
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