I'm currently 2 years out from bilateral replacements staged 5 weeks apart. I finally had them replaced when I could no longer spin a bicycle. To put things in perspective, I'm more of a participant rather than a competitor - not likely to ever qualify for anything. Pre surgery had restriction of motion to 20 deg-70 deg of flexion. After aggressive physical therapy, and the addition of the CPM ( a godsend ), motion improved to 0deg -100 on the left and 110 on the right. Then the COVID arrived and I went to more sport specific type rehab.
I was walking almost immediately, swimming after the sutures came out and pin sites healed (our pool reopened quickly at limited capacity). Able to spin a bike about 3 weeks after the second side, putting my heels on the pedals and the seat way up. After this gains were slow. Continued to walk walk walk up to 10 milers on the weekends. 6 months out I started to add small jog intervals - 10 seconds at first, increasing to 2 minutes. Hurt like hell at first, but improved. Gradually adopted a walk run protocol that was painless. Still jog anything up to 10k, run-walk anything longer. Went to a midfoot cleat position and 145 cranks, and have gradually increased the crank length back to 165. I think the combo helped me regain comfort on the bike more quickly, and gradually increasing the lengths has helped grab a little more ROM. Power levels still lag but are improving.
Some daily activities are sometimes surprisingly challenging. Stairs have just now become routine in the last few months. Squatting is difficult but not impossible. Standing out of a low chair is interesting. And I still work my ROM almost every day. But standing up in the morning without pain is wonderful.
I was able to finish IM Florida 2020 (one year post-op) and IM Cozumel 2021 (with my daughter - her first) with no pain at all. That was, after all, the main goal. And everything was done with the knowledge, encouragement, and cooperation of my surgeon. Hope that helps. Happy to answer any questions if ya got 'em.
I was walking almost immediately, swimming after the sutures came out and pin sites healed (our pool reopened quickly at limited capacity). Able to spin a bike about 3 weeks after the second side, putting my heels on the pedals and the seat way up. After this gains were slow. Continued to walk walk walk up to 10 milers on the weekends. 6 months out I started to add small jog intervals - 10 seconds at first, increasing to 2 minutes. Hurt like hell at first, but improved. Gradually adopted a walk run protocol that was painless. Still jog anything up to 10k, run-walk anything longer. Went to a midfoot cleat position and 145 cranks, and have gradually increased the crank length back to 165. I think the combo helped me regain comfort on the bike more quickly, and gradually increasing the lengths has helped grab a little more ROM. Power levels still lag but are improving.
Some daily activities are sometimes surprisingly challenging. Stairs have just now become routine in the last few months. Squatting is difficult but not impossible. Standing out of a low chair is interesting. And I still work my ROM almost every day. But standing up in the morning without pain is wonderful.
I was able to finish IM Florida 2020 (one year post-op) and IM Cozumel 2021 (with my daughter - her first) with no pain at all. That was, after all, the main goal. And everything was done with the knowledge, encouragement, and cooperation of my surgeon. Hope that helps. Happy to answer any questions if ya got 'em.