Gerryattrick

This past year has been a series of disasters as far as my left knee is concerned. First I had grade 3 tears in the PCL and MCL following a bike fall, then when I was just about recovered from those and starting to ride again I had an injury to my back which caused nerve and muscle damage to the front of my left thigh. More months recovering with physio and I started riding again a few months ago, gradually increasing distance.

Then three weeks ago I fell off a ladder (don't ask! – my stupidity) and I landed on the left knee again causing heavy bruising and swelling. This has now eased and I'm about to start riding again, but I can't kneel on the left leg yet without pain.

All this has made my left leg weaker with a loss of bulk/muscle around the knee and thigh.

I'm 65 and I've never been one for weight or strength exercises, relying on cycling, a cross-trainer and walking for fitness in the past, but I now think I may need to reconsider to help my recovery. Do I need to go to a gym for specific leg exercises, as opposed to just cycling more? At this time of the year my cycling tends to tail off a bit because of the weather.

Any suggestions for specific exercises?

curbtender

I'm sure you have an orthopedic doctor, what does he say? Tell him you want to include cycling as rehab.

Doug64

I was in a serious accident that crushed my left ankle. I had the same problem. My right leg was stronger than my left leg for about 10 years, even with steady weight work and specific exercises. Skiing is where I could really tell the difference. That was 20 years ago, and the left leg still feels a little whimpier at times. I still go to the gym religiously (well almost) 5 days a week, and still working on that leg

As curbtender said, "check with the doctor". However, if he allows you to exercise, ther are some things that can help promote balanced strength between the legs.

-When you do leg work on machines at the gym, use one leg at a time. Also add exercises that use the legs independently into your workout,e.g., stepups on a box. This will force the weak leg to work rather than relying on the strong leg to carry more of the load. Increase the resistance on the weak leg when appropriate, but keep the weigh constant on the strong leg until both legs are at about the same strength.
- If you have a trainer for your bike, spin using only one leg at a time during your workout. This is a good idea anyway regardless of injuries.

custom753

Talk to your doctor. Any other advice, including mine, isn't worth anything. In the meantime keep away from weights that can do more damage than anything. Unless you know what you're doing weights can be seriously injurious when you start trying to target specific muscle groups by working only one leg. Strength and power are often just as much about balance.

ericm979

I think that weight lifting is vital for long term health of older adults unless they have a very active job. Cycling only works a few muscles. You need to maintain the other ones too.

JanMM

After a long lapse, joined the local YMCA a year ago in order to keep active and build up some muscles other than leg muscles during the winter.
Pretty much stopped last Spring but picked up again this week. Combination of using various leg machines at the Y, regular quad sets, and tweaking of my pedaling styles resulted in no right knee issues this cycling season - such as I had been dealing with for quite a while.
I use other machines too, for arms, upper body, etc.
Agree that cycling builds cycling muscles only. Plus general cardiovascular, of course. But cycling is no help for making it easier to carry a 40 pound bag of salt to the water softener.

JPFremin

I do both. I cycle to and from The YMCA where I do strength exercises with free weights and machines. Cycling is great but you need an overall workout to stay strong and flexible. I'm 57 but I can say I'm in better shape than half the people who come to the Y. It's easier to stay fit than to get fit.

JohnDThompson 

Sounds like the purview of a Physical Therapist to me. Since at least some of your issues are a result of injuries, perhaps your physician can refer you so your insurance can help pay for PT.

stapfam

No insurance in the UK unless he has Private as we have the "National Health service". To get an appointment with a "PT" will take some while so it is down to other means.

Get to the quack to see if any damage has been done and that it is safe to get down the gym but The gym may not be the correct solution for the knee. General exercise- and cycle riding will help on this- will be benificial but if you are like me- I don't do walking- or running- or any of the other boring pastimes. At least by going to the gym you will have a purpose to the exercising and providing you start gently with the damaged knee and build up then it can only be beneficial. This is subject to the doctor of course and that no pain is forthcoming.

After a bypass I had a weak body and initially I just put the body through the movements in the weight room with just resistance weights. Also did some cardio but gently on the treadmill- just walking- the cross trainer- at low speed and resistance and on various other machines to work parts of the body that cycling does not move. Couple of weeks and weight was going on the machines- Effort was going into the cardio side and mobility was coming back fast. I know this is just your knee but use the gym as much as you can on each visit. Work the legs obviously but don't stress anything. You have a winter to get fit as I don't think Wales will have much riding weather for a few months so take it steady and aim for Summer to be fully fit.

And judge that right. Summer normally come for two weeks sometime in April/May--Or has been for the last few years.

10 Wheels

Dr time.

You could actually cause more injury to your body at the gym.

Gerryattrick

Thanks for all the replies. I think I am leaning towards the gym approach, but I'm not going to do it until I've spoken to a registered physiotherapist for advice on a proper programme of exercise.

Our NHS is great in the UK but it does run exceedingly slowly in non-emergency situations so rather than going via my doctor and waiting until early 2013, I'll pay to see a physio so I can start the correct treatment asap.

RoyIII

Be sure you have a spotter. Just sayin'

gcottay

Fixed it.

009jim

Best answer. Find a gym with machines that you can exercise one leg at a time. Leg-press, leg-extension, leg-curl. Also do the rest of you body and particular your core muscles. It's been great for me. My cycling has improved too.

DnvrFox

Not if you have an appropriate safety (power) cage (rack).

GeorgeBMac

Do the gym... Just use common sense. You apparently have some weak parts that may still be healing, treat them gently. You don't have to lift 100 pounds -- actually lifting 20 pounds 5 times is usually better. In fact, lifting 10 pounds 10 times is better yet.

And, listen to your body. And do NOT try to bully your body into fitness and doing what it is not able to do...
... Actually, from that sense, you have an advantage over a PT because only you can hear what your body is telling you...

And, many gyms have Persanal Trainers who are knowledgeable and very very good. While it is true that many of them think they are there to push you to your limits and beyond, some of them have are able to help you do what you can do... After my mom had a stoke and the Physical Therapists stopped working with her, I found a wonderful Personal Trainer who came to work with her several times a week and got her doing all that she could do. She was very careful not to push her too hard -- but she also designed a program for her and helped her do it and build on it...

Best of luck...
... And, whatever route you take, try to have fun with it...

Gravity Aided

I agree ,use the gym .
Get advice from the Doc ,
maybe a Sports Medicine Specialist,
and a personal trainer .
I have a lot of the gym equipment at home ,
but its' nice to go to the gym for the social aspects .
And the Jacuzzi .

Road Fan

This is how I see it, too. If I were you and had restricted motion, I'd get a medical opinion and some pt.

Road Fan

+1!!

Bikey Mikey

Remember, getting PT is not that easy for the OP unless he has private insurance. Re-read Step's post. The guy is from Wales.

steelshooter

How about 50 + 27 more years? I am currently recovering with a broken leg (Femur Bone) with Titanium rod, screw and bolt. I didn't hurt myself from a bike fall. Riding is not a problem, it is walking that got me. Long story and boring. I started bike commuting on an Austrian Bicycle with all Campy parts in the early 1960s. As the years passed, I injured both knees on the job. Physical Therapy was so painful that I couldn't do it, but getting back on that bike made all the difference in the world. In 1982, I was told that my left leg would have a knee replacement in 15 years and the right one was a goner, too. I rode bikes and got along just fine.

However, I went through surgery on both knees with unfavorable results. (too young to have replacements, back then( It was about 10 years ago, my wife had a knee problem and we went to our Chiropractor. I carried her (partially) into the Dr. Office. She walked out with a slight limp.

I had never allowed anyone or anything to touch my knees, before that day. You can just see the gears turning in my head. I spent many retired days in the lounge chair and couldn't walk, prior to that.

The next time my knee hurt again, I went to the Chiropractor. Popped my knee and I was fine until I would twist it again.

Now, with riding bikes and bike trainers, my knees are doing great. The knee will actually get out of place, ever so slightly. The pain is horrible and crippling.

Hey, I'm going through Therapy now and working on my right leg. I'm working the same things on my left leg, since it is the weaker of the two, normally. I can't wait to get on my bike and do 20 miles. I am working on a recumbent on a trainer, now.

Steelshooter

Road Fan

I didn't realize the NHS made non-emergency such an issue!

I would then agree with Stapfam, as well, get a medical opinion and get signed up for as much gov't help as you can, but the bulk of it will likely be on you. I had a round of very beneficial PT on my shoulder, and the Dr. of PT there (I named her the Angel of Pain) always said was, "you're cleared to do anything you like but nothing that causes pain to your shoulder!" Not that the work they did avoided pain, but I guess their pain was good pain ...

In general, it sounds like we should all get to the gym.

One other thought: I have been doing Iyengar Yoga for 14 months now. This focuses on learning positions correctly and holding them for a duration. Not hours, but for some of them, 60 seconds is quite enough. It build strength because it is the muscles that control your movement. It builds coordination and balance because most positions require attention to many aspects of body positioning at once, and it's desirable to gracefully move yourself into a pose. It's good for the balancing of us older folks because of one-legged positions and one-legged transitions into positions - it works our proprioceptive capabilities, which degrade as we age. It works the upper body because of arm weight-bearing positions like "downward-facing dog," which is the one where you look like a dog or cat stretching itself when it wakes up, and torso twists which are partly driven by arm and shoulder strength.

One of the main things about it is the emphasis on non-aggressiveness, which means to do poses within the limits of what your body can do that day, but also to learn which limits are physical and which limits are mental. Strenthen it and stretch it, but never enough to aggravate injuries or create new ones. It can still kick your butt, but not injure you. They also allow and stress the use of props (blocks, blankets, straps, wall, chair, et cetera) to get the benefit you can out of say, a one-legged stand, a shoulder inversion, or any of the back-bends to the limits you can achieve. Keep with it and those limits will improve, to be sure.

Good Iyengar teachers are trained in how to apply these principles and help you do the positions as well as you can. You should ask them about use of props, protection from injury, and the individual's certification when you choose a teacher.

Learning these protections as self-protection is one of the main reasons not to rely on learning yoga from a book or on Youtube.

I don't know how pricing would work in the UK. In my town in Michigan the school systems conduct Adult and Community Education programs to get more use out of school buildings and facilities. I don't think there's any public subsidy besides this, but we have had an Iyengar program going since the 1970s. This is group training, at a cost of about $12 US per 1.5 hour lesson. Private teachers here cost anywhere from $50/hour to $175/hour. And a good Iyengar teacher is easily capable of watching all the students at once, for strain and injury prevention.

If it's mostly going to be on you, some Iyengar training can really help you manage your efforts and prevent further injury.

osco53

When I was younger,,30's my left leg got noticably bigger due to driving a tractor trailer In heavy city traffic.
The clutch was used alot, was not good for my walking, was amplifying back problems.

It started to look a little funny so I started doing one leg exercises, squats, deep knee bends on one leg.
I ended up needing the gyms equipment to even things out, took a year, I used the YMCA.
I found another line of work,