MTB giveth, and MTB taketh away.

buggravy said:
With the big imobilizer type brace I got sent home in, they charged what amounted to <2,000% mark up over retail, and my copay was over 3X the retail cost. So I might be better off just getting it myself providing I can get it properly fitted. I'm going to ask them at the appointment what model brace they use, and see what I can do on my own.
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The cost charged and copay vs retail is definitely worth pointing out to them as part of that discussion.

My worst close call was at costco when I slipped on some unseen water on the food court floor. Not a place I'd ever expect to have a problem. Had more close calls around the house tripping over stuff.


Re fishing I have an ultralight spinning rod that is tons of fun and perfect for small streams. Never tried one but have heard good things about tenkara rods too.
 
Matt, after my ACL surgery, no concrete direction was given about bracing, so I bought a couple of McDavids online, with & without the metal side stays. For the first few months, the 'hard' brace (w. stays) was great, as it prevented any significant lateral knee movement. Biking was critical for strengthening quads & hammies, in purely linear motion. 3-4 months in, I switched to the soft brace, for comfort mostly. I still use it every time I play tennis, as much for peace of mind as actual support (had to give up basketball, though -waaay too much lateral movement, plus unplanned collisions!). You're on your way to a full heal, bro, now get out there and PEDAL!
 
Walleye said:
Matt, after my ACL surgery, no concrete direction was given about bracing, so I bought a couple of McDavids online, with & without the metal side stays. For the first few months, the 'hard' brace (w. stays) was great, as it prevented any significant lateral knee movement. Biking was critical for strengthening quads & hammies, in purely linear motion. 3-4 months in, I switched to the soft brace, for comfort mostly. I still use it every time I play tennis, as much for peace of mind as actual support (had to give up basketball, though -waaay too much lateral movement, plus unplanned collisions!). You're on your way to a full heal, bro, now get out there and PEDAL!
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Thanks for the encouragement! I had a somewhat maddening appointment with the doc yesterday. He again said that I'm progressing very quickly, but then almost scoffed at the idea of me doing anything that would require a brace at this point, saying I shouldn't even think of pedaling an actual bike until I'm 4 months post up (currently 10 weeks). Stationary bike was highly encouraged. I guess I just have to realize that I am not his patient - my knee is, and we're just not going to be on the same page about how to move forward from here. He begrudgingly agreed to submit to insurance for approval for the brace, but said it can take up to a month for them to approve, and then there's the process of getting fitted, ordering, etc. His PA did at least give me the number for the rep from the brace supplier, so I've reached out in order to hopefully just procure it on my own.
 
buggravy said:
Thanks for the encouragement! I had a somewhat maddening appointment with the doc yesterday. He again said that I'm progressing very quickly, but then almost scoffed at the idea of me doing anything that would require a brace at this point, saying I shouldn't even think of pedaling an actual bike until I'm 4 months post up (currently 10 weeks). Stationary bike was highly encouraged. I guess I just have to realize that I am not his patient - my knee is, and we're just not going to be on the same page about how to move forward from here. He begrudgingly agreed to submit to insurance for approval for the brace, but said it can take up to a month for them to approve, and then there's the process of getting fitted, ordering, etc. His PA did at least give me the number for the rep from the brace supplier, so I've reached out in order to hopefully just procure it on my own.
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Different schools of thought I guess.
I was told from the beginning of my knee recovery that the surgeon was just the surgeon and the PT was the one to get me through the rest...guess who told me that..... my surgeon! The good thing for me was they work together, so my surgeon trusts my PT.
Are you pedaling much at all besides at PT?
 
mountaingirl sara said:
Different schools of thought I guess.
I was told from the beginning of my knee recovery that the surgeon was just the surgeon and the PT was the one to get me through the rest...guess who told me that..... my surgeon! The good thing for me was they work together, so my surgeon trusts my PT.
Are you pedaling much at all besides at PT?
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Yeah, I guess he's just overly conservative, though I know he works with a lot of pro athletes that are under the gun to get back to their sport. He actually recommended my PT, who luckily seems to "get it" a bit more. I am pedaling a decent amount. At PT (twice a week) I'm really just doing 10 minutes of sprint drills on the fan bike, and then the rest is a solid hour and a half of strength training (goblet squats, one-legged squats and dead lifts, pushing the sled, lunges, etc.). Just started force absorption exercises, and will be starting lateral strengthening shortly. I'm doing at least two or three sessions a week on the stationary bike at the gym, but it's so mind numbing.
 
buggravy said:
Yeah, I guess he's just overly conservative, though I know he works with a lot of pro athletes that are under the gun to get back to their sport. He actually recommended my PT, who luckily seems to "get it" a bit more. I am pedaling a decent amount. At PT (twice a week) I'm really just doing 10 minutes of sprint drills on the fan bike, and then the rest is a solid hour and a half of strength training (goblet squats, one-legged squats and dead lifts, pushing the sled, lunges, etc.). Just started force absorption exercises, and will be starting lateral strengthening shortly. I'm doing at least two or three sessions a week on the stationary bike at the gym, but it's so mind numbing.
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Sounds like you’re doing a lot, awesome! Keep it up Matt and we’ll hit the trails soon:thumbsup:
 
Great PT visit today. I told my therapist about my bike activities yesterday, and she said I have her full blessing to continue riding that type of terrain, even without a brace. She even went so far as to say that, with all the force absorption exercises we've been doing (lunges, jumping off a box, etc.), even a pretty forceful plant should be a nonissue. The issue would come if the plant didn't arrest my forward movement and I continued to fall over the knee, and twisted while my foot was planted. That was reassuring that I'm not being unwise, and simultaneously reconfirming that I shouldn't do anything more aggressive than what I did yesterday. Finally some usable progress that really brought a smile to my face.
 
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buggravy said:
Great PT visit today. I told my therapist about my bike activities yesterday, and she said I have her full blessing to continue riding that type of terrain, even without a brace. She even went so far as to say that, with all the force absorption exercises we've been doing (lunges, jumping off a box, etc.), even a pretty forceful plant should be a nonissue. The issue would come if the plant didn't arrest my forward movement and I continued to fall over the knee, and twisted while my foot was planted. That was reassuring that I'm not being unwise, and simultaneously reconfirming that I shouldn't do anything more aggressive than what I did yesterday. Finally some usable progress that brings a smile to my face.
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Woo! Nice to have the PT’s blessing! ST shouldn’t be too far off!
 
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buggravy said:
Great PT visit today. I told my therapist about my bike activities yesterday, and she said I have her full blessing to continue riding that type of terrain, even without a brace. She even went so far as to say that, with all the force absorption exercises we've been doing (lunges, jumping off a box, etc.), even a pretty forceful plant should be a nonissue. The issue would come if the plant didn't arrest my forward movement and I continued to fall over the knee, and twisted while my foot was planted. That was reassuring that I'm not being unwise, and simultaneously reconfirming that I shouldn't do anything more aggressive than what I did yesterday. Finally some usable progress that brings a smile to my face.
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Most excellent! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
buggravy said:
Great PT visit today. I told my therapist about my bike activities yesterday, and she said I have her full blessing to continue riding that type of terrain, even without a brace. She even went so far as to say that, with all the force absorption exercises we've been doing (lunges, jumping off a box, etc.), even a pretty forceful plant should be a nonissue. The issue would come if the plant didn't arrest my forward movement and I continued to fall over the knee, and twisted while my foot was planted. That was reassuring that I'm not being unwise, and simultaneously reconfirming that I shouldn't do anything more aggressive than what I did yesterday. Finally some usable progress that really brought a smile to my face.
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Definitely good to read!
 
Had my 4 month, and seemingly final follow up appointment with the doc today. He said ROM, muscle mass, and stability are excellent, and seemed genuinely stoked on the progress. He has been really cautious about timelines to this point, originally saying 6-8 months before unrestricted activity (before I had committed to surgery), later saying 8 months to a year (at the first post op appointment). Today he said give it two more months and have at it, as long as I'm wearing my brace and don't have any setbacks in the meantime. Got measured for my brace as well, and should have it in about a month. Light at the end of the tunnel.
 
buggravy said:
Had my 4 month, and seemingly final follow up appointment with the doc today. He said ROM, muscle mass, and stability are excellent, and seemed genuinely stoked on the progress. He has been really cautious about timelines to this point, originally saying 6-8 months before unrestricted activity (before I had committed to surgery), later saying 8 months to a year (at the first post op appointment). Today he said give it two more months and have at it, as long as I'm wearing my brace and don't have any setbacks in the meantime. Got measured for my brace as well, and should have it in about a month. Light at the end of the tunnel.
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Excellent news :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
buggravy said:
Had my 4 month, and seemingly final follow up appointment with the doc today. He said ROM, muscle mass, and stability are excellent, and seemed genuinely stoked on the progress. He has been really cautious about timelines to this point, originally saying 6-8 months before unrestricted activity (before I had committed to surgery), later saying 8 months to a year (at the first post op appointment). Today he said give it two more months and have at it, as long as I'm wearing my brace and don't have any setbacks in the meantime. Got measured for my brace as well, and should have it in about a month. Light at the end of the tunnel.
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Hooray! :thumbsup:

Stay smart! :cool:
 
Great to hear things are going so well.

I'm still scratching my head why you didn't get the brace a few months ago though. The whole point of the brace is to prevent re-injury while the graft is healing. If you're getting it at the 5-month mark it is already mostly healed.

You're at the point where I was given green light to ride dirt, with the brace. It was 3 more months until I was given go ahead for unrestricted activity without it.
 
evdog said:
Great to hear things are going so well.

I'm still scratching my head why you didn't get the brace a few months ago though. The whole point of the brace is to prevent re-injury while the graft is healing. If you're getting it at the 5-month mark it is already mostly healed.

You're at the point where I was given green light to ride dirt, with the brace. It was 3 more months until I was given go ahead for unrestricted activity without it.
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Truthfully I'm only getting it now because I was a squeaky wheel. My doc's protocol is brace at 6 months. His take is that I shouldn't be doing anything prior to this point to risk re-injury anyway, though that's obviously easier said than done, even just with everyday life. My PT takes it a step further, and doesn't like bracing at all. She thinks it inhibits the CNS and retraining of the smaller muscles that are really going to protect/stabilize the knee. It has been frustrating for me as well, but I guess I can see the logic. That said, from a fit perspective I understand even more. The circumference of my quad, and to a lesser extent my calf, is quite different than it was 3 months ago. With the custom fit brace I can see how taking measurements early on could result in a less than ideal fit now.
 
buggravy said:
Truthfully I'm only getting it now because I was a squeaky wheel. My doc's protocol is brace at 6 months. His take is that I shouldn't be doing anything prior to this point to risk re-injury anyway, though that's obviously easier said than done, even just with everyday life. My PT takes it a step further, and doesn't like bracing at all. She thinks it inhibits the CNS and retraining of the smaller muscles that are really going to protect/stabilize the knee. It has been frustrating for me as well, but I guess I can see the logic. That said, from a fit perspective I understand even more. The circumference of my quad, and to a lesser extent my calf, is quite different than it was 3 months ago. With the custom fit brace I can see how taking measurements early on could result in a less than ideal fit now.
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How soon before we can roll on some tame dirt?
 
SnakeCharmer said:
How soon before we can roll on some tame dirt?
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Depends what it is, but soon. I've got a couple fire road rides in by my house, and there's nothing stopping me from more of that at this point, closures not withstanding. I'm going to head out to the Cheese early next week and do a Palo Comado/Edison/Ridge Connect lap to see how that feels. I'll just keep my speed moderated on the downhill. For something like say Backbone/Mishe Mokwa, though I'm sure Id be fine now I'm going to force myself to wait until I have my brace, so a month-ish from now. I did some mellow single track close to home this past weekend, and while I was fine and had fun, I also couldn't shake the feeling that I was being a little foolhardy, so I'm going to let the brace be the starter pistol for more of that.
 
buggravy said:
Depends what it is, but soon. I've got a couple fire road rides in by my house, and there's nothing stopping me from more of that at this point, closures not withstanding. I'm going to head out to the Cheese early next week and do a Palo Comado/Edison/Ridge Connect lap to see how that feels. I'll just keep my speed moderated on the downhill. For something like say Backbone/Mishe Mokwa, though I'm sure Id be fine now I'm going to force myself to wait until I have my brace, so a month-ish from now. I did some mellow single track close to home this past weekend, and while I was fine and had fun, I also couldn't shake the feeling that I was being a little foolhardy, so I'm going to let the brace be the starter pistol for more of that.
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I'm open and difficulty does not have to be in the plan. Perhaps a nice fire road roll on Mulholland or whatever?
 
SnakeCharmer said:
I'm open and difficulty does not have to be in the plan. Perhaps a nice fire road roll on Mulholland or whatever?
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I'm all about that. Just need to find something open. I though Dirt Mulholland was open, so that's what I set out to do this past weekend starting at the end of Canoga, but once I got to Santa Maria road the gate across DM was closed, with a sign saying "trail closed". Not sure if that means it's all closed beyond that point, but that's my assumption. As far as I understand Chesebro is open from Monday at 6am to Friday at 2pm, as long as you access west of Las Virgenes. I'm also down to come out your way if anything is open.
 
Well, I guess this was a milestone. I’ve been clamoring to get this thing so I can ride a bit more freely, but I can already tell it’s going to feel like sh!t riding with it. I’m sure I’ll adjust to it. Going to give it a spin tomorrow but I think it’s going to cause some sore spots until I get used to it. 2 steps forward, 1 step back.

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buggravy said:
Well, I guess this was a milestone. I’ve been clamoring to get this thing so I can ride a bit more freely, but I can already tell it’s going to feel like sh!t riding with it. I’m sure I’ll adjust to it. Going to give it a spin tomorrow but I think it’s going to cause some sore spots until I get used to it. 2 steps forward, 1 step back.

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Looks bionic! :cool::thumbsup:
 
Nice forward movement, Matt. The brace looks great for everyday use and probably terrible for bike riding. :geek: But you know that... Please take care – don't be lulled into complacency because you have a custom prosthetic joint enclosure. I did some damage with mine on. It was pre-surgery, but the principle still applies, eh? Here's to progress! :thumbsup:
 
buggravy said:
Well, I guess this was a milestone. I’ve been clamoring to get this thing so I can ride a bit more freely, but I can already tell it’s going to feel like sh!t riding with it. I’m sure I’ll adjust to it. Going to give it a spin tomorrow but I think it’s going to cause some sore spots until I get used to it. 2 steps forward, 1 step back.

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That’s more beastly than my Ironman brace! Hope you can ride with it, mine was too bulky, I had to use the soft brace for riding :gotnothing:
Now for hiking, that beastly brace will be awesome!
 
mountaingirl sara said:
That’s more beastly than my Ironman brace! Hope you can ride with it, mine was too bulky, I had to use the soft brace for riding :gotnothing:
Now for hiking, that beastly brace will be awesome!
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Yeah, it's burlier than I was expecting, but it doesn't impede my movement at all, and it stays put, so I'll definitely be able to ride in it. But it's all but guaranteed to create some hot spots, at least until I develop some calluses. Probably not ideal for all the repetitive movement of pedaling and longer rides, but it sure as hell provides a lot of protection.
 
buggravy said:
Yeah, it's burlier than I was expecting, but it doesn't impede my movement at all, and it stays put, so I'll definitely be able to ride in it. But it's all but guaranteed to create some hot spots, at least until I develop some calluses. Probably not ideal for all the repetitive movement of pedaling and longer rides, but it sure as hell provides a lot of protection.
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That’s all that matters then! Upward and onward, or is it onward and upward?!
 
mike said:
Nice forward movement, Matt. The brace looks great for everyday use and probably terrible for bike riding. :geek: But you know that... Please take care – don't be lulled into complacency because you have a custom prosthetic joint enclosure. I did some damage with mine on. It was pre-surgery, but the principle still applies, eh? Here's to progress! :thumbsup:
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Thanks, Mike. As always, I appreciate the reminders. The durable equipment rep tried to tell me that the only way I could re-injure the knee with the brace on is through a force that would be strong enough to bend/break the brace itself. Needless to say, I'm dubious and do not intend to test that theory out. Still doin' time.
 
buggravy said:
Thanks, Mike. As always, I appreciate the reminders. The durable equipment rep tried to tell me that the only way I could re-injure the knee with the brace on is through a force that would be strong enough to bend/break the brace itself. Needless to say, I'm dubious and do not intend to test that theory out. Still doin' time.
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Thanks to you, I bail out on steep climbs more now. I picture unclipping, reaching back and destroying my knee! :eek:

Glad you are almost all the way back! :thumbsup:
 
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