Knee replacement and hunting

Highpoints

Highpoints

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Just had a total right knee replacement and I have a muzz tag for Manti/San Rafael the first week of October. I know I won’t be rock hopping but does anyone else have experience or advice to help get in somewhat acceptable hiking status in 3 months? I have a side by side to access trail heads but I’m not that keen on relying on it the whole hunt to get around.
 
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Follow advice of your physical therapist; this must be number one on your priorities list.

With respect to hiking status, your therapist may release you to do whatever you want with respect to training. Hopefully that therapist can recommend a gym with qualified and certified instructors.

It isn't enough to hike with X amount of weight in your pack or lift X amount of weight for XY repetitions or run fartleks or burpees or whatever.

Your training should revolve around your newly replaced knee and should only be based on qualified, professional advice. You didn't go to a local 7-11 to choose your surgeon, don't go the cheap route and get rehab advice from a hunting forum.

If your therapist or surgeon cannot recommend a gym, look for one with instructors certified by the NSCA or ACSM. I've worked as an NCAA and professional strength coach. The two aforementioned organizations are the most stringent when it comes to requirements for certification.
 
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Well, I ruptured my patella tendon on Feb 6th, had surgery Feb 9th. Was bed ridden for 6 weeks of no walking/weight bearing. I had to learn to walk again, bend my knee again.

ITs now July 12th and I cant run yet and can barely jog looking like a moron that has never jogged before. Its a process.
As I went to PT, I knew I wanted to be back for hunting season. I was told my surgery is a 6-8 MONTH recovery. So I did everything possible they told me to do. If my knee felt OK, I would do more. BUt this was all under the supervision of the DR and the PT. I have a WY elk tag in hand. So even more motivation. I do exercise 5 days a week for my knee to strengthen it and get mobility back in it.

I did do a hike with my son 2 weeks ago and did a little shed hunt. I did 3 miles on somewhat easy ground. I was slow and had a knee brace and a compression sleeve too with walking sticks. I did pretty good. So I think for a deer hunt, and not going Balls out, you should be ok. Lots of areas that are easy hunting/hiking.

Good luck! You got it!!!

FYI, I was told a knee replacement would have been easier and better to do than to repair a ruptured patellar tendon.
 
I had a knee replacement the end of June a couple years ago, I did go on a white tail hunt in September of that year, but it was flat and easy terrain. I think it would have been a stretch to mountain hunt. I will say this, it was the best decision I could have made in my situation, but it did take me a year for my knee to feel close to 100%. The other post is correct, do you PT religiously and push yourself! It will be painful but in the end it will be worth it.
 
Robiland said:
Well, I ruptured my patella tendon on Feb 6th, had surgery Feb 9th. Was bed ridden for 6 weeks of no walking/weight bearing. I had to learn to walk again, bend my knee again.

ITs now July 12th and I cant run yet and can barely jog looking like a moron that has never jogged before. Its a process.
As I went to PT, I knew I wanted to be back for hunting season. I was told my surgery is a 6-8 MONTH recovery. So I did everything possible they told me to do. If my knee felt OK, I would do more. BUt this was all under the supervision of the DR and the PT. I have a WY elk tag in hand. So even more motivation. I do exercise 5 days a week for my knee to strengthen it and get mobility back in it.

I did do a hike with my son 2 weeks ago and did a little shed hunt. I did 3 miles on somewhat easy ground. I was slow and had a knee brace and a compression sleeve too with walking sticks. I did pretty good. So I think for a deer hunt, and not going Balls out, you should be ok. Lots of areas that are easy hunting/hiking.

Good luck! You got it!!!

FYI, I was told a knee replacement would have been easier and better to do than to repair a ruptured patellar tendon.
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Did your therapist have you do any backwards walking on a treadmill?
 
feddoc said:
Did your therapist have you do any backwards walking on a treadmill?
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No, but I had several people tell me about that. But he did have me stand on a 4-5" pad, and step off front, side and backwards after I was able to walk without crutches and able to bear some weight. It was crazy to see the stability change from week 1 of those to week 4. Cant believe how much you lose in a short time. And to feel all the muscles engage to stabilize the knee.

I also did backwards walking with bands around the ankles. Started with yellow, then green and my last week did the blue bands. Those were brutal but helped a TON. There were 3 different walks we did with those bands.
 
Highpoints said:
Thanks gentlemen. I'll plan to scout the unit several times and I know there are a grip of SxS running up there so I'll be looking for some push off points to get away from the roads as best I can
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I tore my meniscus last year on the muzzy on the manti. The recovery was pretty easy. My knee would get tight after a good hike for a few months post surgery. It was weird being able to walk right away and it was shaky for about a month. Over the last 75 days of working out 2x a day it doesn’t bug me at all and it feels good and strong now. I’m sure down the road I’ll need a knee replacement or stem cell. I’d love to see stem cell actually covered by insurance. Good luck on the recovery hopefully you are up to full strength soon.
 
You've already got some great advice above.

I will add this- Dont try and "get after it" too soon. I had ACL surgery 22 years ago. PT went great and I recovered well. When the doctor cleared me for all regular activity, I continued my PT and working out, but did not play soccer again for another 6 months. I did not want to re-injure myself as my Bro-In-Law had.

Also, its harder to kill a 200" buck from a SxS than it is in the back country- you have a chance to do something epic 😁😎
 
BrowningRage said:
You've already got some great advice above.

I will add this- Dont try and "get after it" too soon. I had ACL surgery 22 years ago. PT went great and I recovered well. When the doctor cleared me for all regular activity, I continued my PT and working out, but did not play soccer again for another 6 months. I did not want to re-injure myself as my Bro-In-Law had.

Also, its harder to kill a 200" buck from a SxS than it is in the back country- you have a chance to do something epic 😁😎
Click to expand...

I hunt the Manti, 200" is the min.
40"ers literally lay in the road
 
I've had my left knee replaced twice. First time in1991 and again in 2006. The same Doc did both. The first time recovery took 3 months or more, but the second replacement was a breeze.
I asked my Doc why the difference. Had the equipment or procedures gotten better. His response was, the equipment and procedures are about the same, but this time "We got lucky".

He told me that kind of surgery is a little bit of a crap shoot. You can do it exactly the same two different knees and one heals really fast and the other takes longer.
Certainly the pain relief was much better for my second replacement, but overall, cross your fingers and hope you "get lucky".

If you are willing to work at it knee replacement won't slow you down all that much. I don't bound down mountains like I used to, but I can still climb pretty well for my age.
 
A good physical therapist is your friend. I never put much stock in them until I murdered my rotator cuff. Two complete tears, two partials and the guy I used was just incredible. Find a good one and do what he says, he’ll know how to get you back on track. Good luck with the replacement.
 
I had both my knee’s done complete replacements 5 weeks apart. This was 1 year ago. No problem with the first one and the second didn’t recover quite as fast. Biggest thing I noticed was getting my balance back. Just walking on level uneven ground was hard at first. Plus 1 on the walking sticks to help with balance. Lots of good advice above. I second doing every thing your doctor says and follow it religiously. Don’t skimp on your PT, if your knee swells up back off some. Your goal should be long term quality of life not just hurrying back for a hunt. They say it takes about 1 year to feel fully healed and back from the surgery. Good luck with your hunt.
 

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