ChrisButch wrote:Anybody have experience of how long recuperation is necessary after knee replacement before serious hillwalking becomes possible again? I realise every case is different, but it would be good to hear from anyone who's gone through this and come out the other side...
(Have fast developing osteoarthritis)
Just spotted this...
I've had a knee replacement for around 6 years now, hence my name on this website.
It's a massive improvement over the pain and restrictions I had before, and I've been able to do summer and winter walking and scrambling.
I agree with the other comments on this thread. My summary would be:
Keep doing the physio exercises
Don't overdo it
Keep your rucksack as light as possible
If you don't use them already, give walking poles a try
The overall mileage of a walk is not a problem
Take the steep bits slowly when going up and especially when going down
But, scrambles at Grade 1 (in ascent) are still fine, as long as you have enough flex (90 degrees or more) in your knee
Plan routes where possible to avoid steep rocky descents. In winter, using crampons is no problem, but again try to find less steep descent routes
Walking on grass or on typical hill paths / stalkers' paths is generally nicer than modern constructed stone paths (there are not too many of those in Scotland, but there are a lot in the Lakes!)
If you like camping, think carefully about all the bending etc needed - that can be more challenging for knees than the walking
Personally, my routes are generally not ambitious, and I also take time out in each walk to sit and look at the view. If you want to get back to big multi-Munro days over steep ground, you might need to do some additional fitness training.
Hope that's useful!
Tim