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Does Knee Replacement Help?

Although I love my bike and new sidecar, my knees have gotten so bad that I'm having problems getting on and off my bike. It is nice that the bike is so steady with the sidecar attached, but throwing my leg over the seat is getting almost unbearable sometimes.

So my question to the folks who have knee replacements is.... is it worth it? Does it make it easier and safer to get on and off and operate the brakes and shifter?

I've got Medicare and Tri-Care For Life which will likely pay for most if not all. I am lucky to have that!

I'd just like to hear about your experiences on this subject.

BnG

Just do it.

If it fails, you are done riding.
It sounds like you are done riding anyway so what can you lose.
If it works, you're back in the saddle.

When my toes were so screwed up I couldn't walk, I told the doctor to take them off.
He said if he took them off I wouldn't walk very well.

I told him that not walking very well was better than not walking at all, besides, if they weren't there they couldn't cause me pain.
He took them off and I walked fine. At least until the rest of my legs went to hell from something else.
When you have nothing to lose, take the chance. The odds are better that you will be riding again.

I've no experience with joint replacement, so I can't offer any advice on that. And I don't know if this applies for your Vulcan, but to get on my rig I stand up on the passenger floorboard with my left leg, then swing my right over to the driver floorboard and settle in the seat. Much easier than standing on the ground and swinging a leg over.

My back and knees are screwed from my Army days and it was getting difficult to keep the Harley up at stoplights or when rolling it in/out of the garage, so putting a sidecar on it has really taken the strain off my body. Next step is to install a reverse gear and I'm thinking about fabricating a tank mounted gear shifter to further reduce the strain on my left leg.

No idea on the Knee thing, I can tell you we often build sidecar bikes around the Honda Silverwing, Suzuki Burgman 650 and the BMW C650CT as these all have step through frames and with full length running boards you can move around more to find a place for your feet that works for you.
Jay G
DMC sidecars
866-638-1793

Jay G DMC sidecars www.dmcsidecars.com 15616 Carbonado South Prairie RD Buckley WA 98321 866-638-1793 Hours Monday - Thursday 6-4:30
I have had a left knee replacement and a right hip replacement.
My advice is get it done if you can. Your knees will only get worse with time. Absence of chronic pain will change your life.
The benefit to your mount/dismount routine will be unique to you. Artificial joints have certain limitations in type and range of motion. I am not troubled by my left knee when mounting my road king/liberty rig. My right hip however, requires a little care with angle/motion/flexion/extension to be most comfortable.

I am two years on from surgeries. I had to literally lift my right leg by hand to place my foot on the floorboard before my hip surgery. I could throw it over okay, but not lift it from the ground without assistance from my hand. Now I have to be a little more careful with the throw over but I can now place my foot from ground to floorboard with no problem.

My left knee was bone on bone at the lateral edge and quite wobbly/painful especially during the right leg throw over. Now no pain and stable. There is a loss of weight-bearing rotation ability with a prosthetic knee joint, but keeping your weight on the ball of your foot and pivoting quickly becomes habit.

Best thing.....NO PAIN!

Find a good orthopedic surgeon you have confidence in and discuss your concerns with them. They will be best able to suggest options.

best of luck to you

Choke

Hi Dave,

I saw your thread and thought that I would chime in. I would say to get the knee replacement as soon as possible like Choke wrote “your knees will only get worse with time”. You’re most likely going to have to travel because I don’t think that DR Borgen your local town doctor will have the expertise then it comes to a knee replacement.

I’m very familiar with knee replacements having been on one of the design team with one of the larger company’s when they were first being developed. They have doctors that specialize in just knee replacement and if it was me I would go to a larger city and get the best.

I have had a lot of friends over the years that have had the knee replacement done and have kept my hand in it as far as keeping up on how they turned out and the slight changes in the materials being used from when I was involved in it thirty years ago. Most go through it without any problems and the end results are almost always positive. Some people are back golfing in less than six weeks but like anything in life there are those that have had problems. Do a Goggle asking about the problems associated with knee replacements.

I just got off the phone with a good friend that had the process done five months ago and he’s still in some pain but not in the knee but the skin and nerves around it. The response from his doctor was that the knee replacement was successful even though he is in some pain. At this point they are looking in another direction and not the knee itself.

A little side note as to what to expect from the knee replacement. If you have been “bow legged” as they call it they will straighten that out. I’ve talked to many people and they all have said the same thing as far as they walk straighter after the knees were replaced. How this is accomplished is the tools that are used during the knee replacement operation. They start with what’s called a “distal alignment tool”. It’s a rod with mechanical ends that lines up with the hip joint and extends the length of the femur. When they cut the femur to install what’s called trials they need a way to align everything otherwise you could come out of it walking like Charlie Chaplin in the Little Tramp. The femur being the larges bone in the human body is the starting point and its cut at three angles. The trials are fit to the femur and when the size is determined it’s attached to the femur. Different processes have been used over the last thirty years for attachment and I’m not sure what’s being used today in 2013. The reason for the trials is that people are of different sizes and a small knee joint will not work in a large person and vice a versa.

The second bone that’s cut is the tibia and its cut on what’s called the tibia plateau and a matching trial is used. Next comes the patella and it’s cut in half and a matching trial is also fit.When they put you back together you will be better than new plus your going to be in alinement somewhat like your sidecar rig except you will be towed out not in. Who would think that they align knees like we do our sidecar.

It’s been thirty plus years and they have performed thousands of knee replacements in that time and the doctors that have become experts at it are good at what they do. My suggestion is to get the best doctor and at the same time check what hospital you’re going to use and see what the rate per hundred is on staph infections. You may have a problem getting any information on this but it’s always been a problem.

I wish you the best of luck and once you have your new knees you should be out and about running your rig in no time.

Johnny sweet

Folks who know mw well, know that I've walked with a cane since I was about 25. In Sept. of 2009, I had my left knee replaced. The Doctor finally figured I was old enough. I'm 62 now. About 6 months later, I was preparing for the Skunk rally and decided to pack a cane. Just in case. I couldn't find one! It had been so long since I used one that I didn't remember where they went.

Today I'm on the cane again, but this time it's the right knee giving me grief. Unfortunately, the Doc doesn't feel it's bad enough to replace.

As Larry the cable guy says, "Get-R-Done".

To prepare, buy yourself an exercise bike and plant it in front of the TV. When you get your new knee, watch TV for a couple hours every night. Peddle during the commercials and rest during the show. You'll be surprised how fast the healing will go.

In my experience its definitely worth the trouble.

I have two new knees, one two years old and one three years old, and ride all of the time, both sidecar and 2-wheels. Get them done, one at a time. YOU MUST DO YOUR PHYSICAL THERAPY REHAB FAITHFULLY! If you do you will get back your full range of motion, at least 120 degrees, and you will be fine to ride. It takes about a year for full recovery after the surgery. It's only about 6 weeks until you are walking around without crutches, a walker or a cane, but then there is gradual improvement up to about a year. Then schedule your next surgery. The rehab is a bitch, probably the toughest of any joint replaced, but if you are compliant the results are worth it.

And it's fun going through airport security too.

Yeah, that sucks. The last time I didn't even take the stuff out of my pockets and told the TSA goon that it didn't make any difference because we were going to become really good friends anyway...

I had total knee replacement last April first. Getting on the rig I sat on the passengers seat and swung my right leg, the one I had replaced, over the tank and down to the foot peg. For a long time I couldn't do the rear brake and made do with the front. Finally I was able to use the rear brake. I am so happy with the operation that I have scheduled surgery on my left knee September 30. I even went kayaking and canoeing today with grandkids. I turned 74 last Feb. Like has been said, do the rehab without fail and you'll be good to go.