Bionic leg needed; advice:

I know I'm not the only one getting back on board after an injury. Right leg (ACL destroyed, replaced, botched) drags like the hangman in Blazing Saddles after 15 minutes of riding.

Anyone got braces for some extra "spring" in that leg, or exercises to get the lower half of one side of the body up to speed again.

Asterisk Knee Braces

I don't ride in the dirt without these. They don't add strength. They do resist hyper-extension and twisting.
I could twist my knee doing next to nothing, but I've yet to get them bent out of shape while riding with these braces on.

I pretty much wear a suit of armor so that my wife calls me Robocop when I dress for a ride. I've taken plenty of spills in my gear without so much as a bruise. Takes too long heal at my age. I'd rather be out riding and having fun than recovering.

They're by far the most expensive piece of gear I own and I have zero regrets about that. Way better value than the pain and suffering I've been through so many times.

I don't know any dual sporters with really bad knees.

I do know lots of hockey players and skiers my age whose knees, for good or bad, are a testament to orthopaedic surgery.

The guys with permanently blown out knees all wear knee splints/braces, whatever you want to call them. The determined ones have them as a prescribed, custom made orthotic (which I suppose for some of them allows claiming them under a health care plan). If they can ski moguls on a double diamond run or play full contact hockey while pretending they're 18 again, I think most guys on a dual sport can go just as well - generally speaking (each injury has some element of uniqueness). The exception, I would guess, is if you want to continue trying to rail corners with your inside leg extended forward MX style - not the kind of impact you'd see in a normal day of skiing or hockey.

So the braces/splints are the first half of the solution.

The second half is a serious commitment to rehabbing the knee and other supporting structures to build strength and reduce the risk of further injury. A brace/splint does not add strength or function; it's just protective.

But you've probably already heard the second part from your physio & orthopedic surgeon.

Good luck with that, it's a long slow process and one of my buds is just coming back from having one of his knees replaced - he put a lifetime of use into the factory original in his first 60 so had to go bionic to finish the rest of his days. He says it's the rehab to come back with the bionic knee is the most painful thing he's ever done.

But he's on schedule for our annual sheep hunt this fall!

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. Jaeger, I made a word document with an earlier thread you started, regarding protective gear; awesome thread, very useful, and it led me to some knee gear, too. (Awesome arse-burn; hurt to look at!)

I'm optimistic it'll get stronger as I use it. Realistically, I don't expect to ever be where I was, but it's gotta get better than this. I did 2 years of hard therapy after the surgery, and only got to 60% of the other leg. May be genetic "slow-ness" in healing; older brother took 6 years, but now in good shape.

I saw guys come into therapy with full knee replacements that were in WAY better shape before I was walking normally, so I think replacement beats repair any day (except they only want to do it ONCE, so they don't want to do it in your 40's). I'm just shocked to see my leg dragging after short exertions, because the rest of the body is doing pretty well at the moment. The resistance and cardio training I do gave no hint of this.

I'm just going to enjoy the moment. Age happens; no sense complaining, but no sense giving in without a fight, either. I've re-discovered so much fun in the last month with this bike, I think it's the motivation I need.

Well, if your post reflects your rehab effort, you'll get there from what I've seen in other people. My physio is also a good friend, and he says (about everything physio related) that the hardest part is getting people to put their heart into it, especially once they start getting better. He says there is no easy road and it drives him nuts to watch people who should have much, much better recoveries fall way short simply because they weren't motivated and didn't put their heart into it.

Keep givin' 'er, and I'm sure you'll get pretty much where you want to be. You're right, getting old sucks, but it sure beats the alternative....